The 3: What I’m Learning…

Each week I get a series of e-mails called Simply Youth Ministry Today. Each e-mail includes a few paragraphs of “stuff” related to youth ministry and being a leader in the church.  This week, I enjoyed a series where three different youth workers simply shared three things they are learning right now. (Post 1, Post 2, Post 3)

Topics ranged from practicing what we preach to discussions of how the more things change, perhaps the more they stay the same.  It challenged me to think about what I am learning right now.  What is God teaching me… yes, about ministry, but also about family, about friends, about life in general.  So while sticking to consistent themed blog topics haven’t been my greatest achievement, this is one I’d like to explore more frequently, perhaps just once a month or so. And today, on the last day of a month, it seems like a great time to start.

Here are my “3”… what I’m learning (or perhaps re-learning) right now:

1. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. It really is all about Jesus.   For the last few months (and possibly up to a year) I’ve been convinced of God’s calling to simply know him. To know Jesus more personally.   To challenge some of the false perceptions “the world” has created about him… to challenge some of the false perceptions I have made about him.  When push comes to shove, knowing the true Jesus is all that matters in life, and once you know him, you can’t help but share him… the real him.
2. Step Up! The last few weeks have been FILLED with conviction.  The message again and again and again has been “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Challenge yourself, Bekah.  Live to the full even when it’s hard.”  I recently started using The Verses Project to help me stay committed to memorizing Scripture and placing it in my heart.  This weeks verse hits on this topic again: “Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”  I’ve been learning what it means to step up and not be ashamed.
3. Love People Well. While on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I got to witness the wedding celebration of two of the most faithful Christ followers I know.  During the ceremony they shared a video with both of them sharing their testimony and telling all in attendance about Jesus.  At the reception, toast after toast after toast after toast pointed to their dedication and passion to live for Christ.  On a day that could have easily and understandably been all about them, they chose to point to Christ.  While this supports both of the first two things I’m learning, one of the main ways I’ve seen these people share Christ is by loving people well, even when that is hard, even when they’d rather do something else, even when that love involves accountability and challenge.  I pray that I never stop learning how to love people well.

So there you have it… three things I’m learning right now.

What are you learning?  What would be your “3” right now? Share in the comments.