Relationships and Resources

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to hear an amazing teacher speak to a statewide gathering of career and technical education teachers. (Our daughter-in-law received an award at this convention.) The speaker was Rita Pierson. She's apparently a much-sought-after educational motivator. She spoke around this theme - "No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship." (Dr. James Comer) Building on this, Dr. Pierson believes that a child, youth, or adult must have a certain set of resources acquired through significant relationships in order to survive, thrive, and succeed. These include financial resources, emotional resources, mental resources, spiritual resources (the sense of being valued by something/someone greater than themselves), physical resources/health, support systems, relational and role model resources, and awareness of hidden rules (knowing the expectations everyone else knows.)

This makes simple and incredible sense. Sometimes people on the so-called "left wing" in our country assume that all we need to do is throw money at under-resourced people, when that's only one of several resource areas in which such people need help. Some of those on the so-called "right wing" assume that people should pull themselves up, when the absence of any of these key resource areas makes that expectation completely unreasonable. In our movement, that of those who follow Jesus, our mission is about building relationships with people designed to enable them to thrive. It's our DNA. (For any who have Bibles, see Acts 4:32-47) It makes no sense to offer a new spiritual life in Jesus, without addressing the other resource needs. And it makes no sense to deal with the other resource areas, and ignore the anchor which is spirituality.

Good stuff. Sometimes we who are church people need to get outside the church walls more often. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.