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.

Praise

I heard something this evening which I think is brilliant. I was talking with some friends about the subject of "praise." In our particular faith system - following Jesus - many of us believe that praise should anchor our communication with our God, which we call prayer. By praise we don't mean stroking God's ego. God doesn't need or seek any brown-nosing from us. Praise means acknowledging who and what God is, apart from any particular effect that has on us or anyone. It is to recognize the nature of a creating, loving, life-giving God, and to stand in awe of this God. It's a hard concept to grasp for Jesus-followers, much less to actually practice it.

One of my friends noted that there are times when he offers words of praise in prayer, but isn't really feeling in a praise-focused mood. There are times, he said, in which he mostly goes through the motions, kind of like covering a checklist. At such times, he noted, he feels it would be best just to offer God what's in his heart, good, bad or indifferent - simply and honestly sharing with God exactly what is at the center of our will, the center of our God given identity, the locus of our allegiances, and the pulse of our passions...exactly as we are.

It occurs to me that God seeks to inhabit our hearts. To offer the real state of our hearts to a God who seeks us unconditionally might be the most genuine praise of all. This may be what matters, over and above our mood, our feelings, our style of praise, or whatever.

Good thought. I'm always learning from fellow travellers on the journey. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.