Old Dog V
Field Of Expertise
Bob Neumann
Each individual with any level of life experience has found things that they are ‘comfortable’ doing. Personally I am extremely talented at sleeping on sofas, watching other people work hard, and enjoying the ‘little pleasures of life’ like the smell of flowers, babies when they smile, and ice cream, in general.
I hope everyone got a chuckle and a personal thought of the like….
Yet there are things we can ‘do’ and not mess up, so that when the opportunity arises, a crises occurs, a need becomes known, we can wade into the fray with sleeves rolled up, with the firm intent of just ”getting it done”. By this time we also know there are people around us who, when ”looking” at the same set of circumstances, will ‘waffle’….hemming and hawing until someone else goes and does it. Likewise, we know people whose first response would be to step forward and just freeze, completely overwhelmed but afraid to back away. Then there are those who ‘see’ and run away. Some of this group may collapse in tears at even the first whiff of ‘trouble on the wind’.
Over the years my compassion for the ”basket cases” has grown sorely thin at times. Usually, as I myself reach the ”worn out/worn thin” stage, similarly my tolerance of ”wafflers and freezers” that seem to talk the talk long and loud but never do a thing, is simply gone. Sometimes the image of ‘just keep them out of the way so we can work’ is the only thing I notice.
Is there a witness out there?
In the framework of the church it seems almost always to divide into three groups. There are those ‘tuned iní and eager to get done/get there. Call them ‘drivers’. Just behind the ëdriversí sit those who have a different destination/goal in mind….or are just happy to impede anyone who has a destination in mind or a goal to achieve. Then there are those who just haven’t a clue one way or another and are just along for the ride. Once long ago I heard an older brother describe it as the reality of church building. You invest your time and prayers and sweat to find and to equip people to be ‘pillars’ of GOD’S temple and then you fill it with caterpillars. Quite a profound image in many ways.
Another way to put it is that there are: 1. Doers and builders doing the work of THE KINGDOM. Then there are 2. Takers and breakers, taking all they can and never adding to THE KINGDOM. Finally, 3. The spectators waiting to be entertained in some way.
It should be obvious that I am addressing this to the doers and the builders.
There are things that we add to the KINGDOM. Often we are the last to notice what these “things” are because when it comes to areas of expertise others notice what we can do in situations better than we see ourselves. Other doers can see our ‘batting average’ when we only look at each pitch as it comes. The ability to defer something to another because they ‘are better at it than myself’ is the sign of maturity. It is the sign of “selflessness.” When getting the job done, getting a need met is of sole importance. Getting creditand/or acclaim is not a rationale for even beginning a job. Not in THE KINGDOM.
Our expertise allows us to look at a prophetic WORD, a TEACHING, an EXHORTA TION, and say “GOOD STUFF” because of the familial sense of oneness the MOST HOLY SPIRIT brings to all the SERVANTS of THE GREAT FATHER. It is HE, our TEACHER and OUR COMFORTER that has established these ‘abilities’ in us through practical situations. Just getting it done, so to speak.
So when we ‘touch’ ”something” we should discern HIS HAND/HIS SPIRIT. We should discern/ taste the ‘flavors/textures’ that the vessel has given. Finally we should be able to recognize the level of expertise the servant has reached as we are aware of the HOLY SPIRIT’S degree of PRESENCE and POWER as a ‘job gets done’.
When someone does something and you know that you could have done it better, what do you do? If someone asks for help, do you instruct or just take over? When someone steps out and tests their ‘sea legs,’ do you cut them slack and give them room to try, if only to stumble? Or do you tie them down ‘for their own good’?
Up Next: Field Of Training