Realities of Life Together – Travelling At Different Speeds

One of the things that bothered me when I became conscious in church services was people not getting it.

The nature of our bible studies was conversational (kinda) and so a question would be asked and people could contribute thoughts as well as answers (occasionally).  It wasn’t really directional/lecture type study where someone would talk for the best part of the hour.

As a result you could get an idea of where people were at in understanding concepts and aspects of Christian life.  I remember one sister in particular who seemed to regularly have a baffled look on her face.  She would come up with a view that was somewhat unorthodox.  Someone would ‘correct’ it.  She would not understand the correction and reiterate her view.  Some would endeavour to patiently explain why the view wasn’t quite right.  More often than not, however, most would be exasperated by her inability to ‘get it’.  I can still see her in my mind’s eye standing up and saying this,

Without understanding can I not understand

Which was her unique way of saying that it didn’t matter what others were saying, if she couldn’t add it up in her mind, then it simply didn’t make sense to her.

I grew to sympathise with her plight, as others grew more frustrated by her seeming lack of getting it.  Yet I too gained an irritation at people not getting it.  I was particularly annoyed by older folks who should have got it, blatantly remaining mired in staunch and unyielding ignorance.  It got infuriating at times.

Later on I got into teaching.  First at church and then beyond it.  One of the key basic elements I grew to appreciate, from the teaching perspective, was the fact that people learn in different ways and at different speeds.  Things that I could grasp instantly when reading it, someone else might not grasp until it was presented to them in a play or a scenario.  Something that someone got from watching a video, I wouldn’t get for ages, until having a conversation with someone about something vaguely connected to it that showed it for what it meant.

That can sometimes make the teaching experience all the more daunting if you’re looking to deliver something that people should ‘get’. If there’s a group of 12 people studying a chapter in the Bible, there can sometimes be the thought that the effective teaching/learning experience sees everyone getting it.

Thankfully that precious is greatly releived because of the reality that in learning we do so at different speeds.  Of course some are not even actively engaged on the joyrney at all.  So the real responsibility is to faithfully deliver a learning experience that is as open and engaging as possible.

This was brought back to my rememberance whilst sitting through another communal bible study.  There were two people who were new to the church and they held views that reflected their inexperience on Christian issues, yet at the same time a significant experience in spiritual and emotional matters.  The teacher of the study sought to address their perspectives patiently, but it was tough at the time because of their lack openness to consider other perspectives.

The bottom line remains, however, that as a community of grace, we’re committed to travelling together at the different speeds.  That, however, indicates the need to share learning and development beyond the formal study sessions.

That is all part of life together.  Not racing ahead, but learning and helping us travel at our various speeds, till we all grow to maturity.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden