A couple weeks ago, I taught on stage in church for the very first time. Afterward, a friend of mine pointed out the humor in something I had said during the talk. To emphasize a point I was making, I had said something to the effect of: “In my three years of leading, I’m more convinced of this than ever.” In a way, he was right to chuckle about it. Even though I was speaking to students less experienced than me, the notion that someone with three years of experience could be some kind of expert or hold some secret wisdom is laughable most everywhere.
The Church, however, operates under a different set of rules. I have the very Spirit of Christ within me, revealing to me the hidden things of God. So expertise in a Church context is not a question of years, but of revelation. In the economy of grace, wisdom belongs to the little children; we are all completely at the mercy of the only One to whom understanding belongs. He consistently uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27-31). He’s the only reason I have any authority to teach despite my youth and inexperience. You also have authority to instruct insofar as the Spirit gives you wisdom, though you are a mere child.
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