A core tenet of my philosophy of life and ministry is that continued learning, and experimentation is not an option, but a necessity for continued personal and community growth. The second a person (or group) begins to think “I have it all figured out” is the second stagnation and eventual decline has begun to set in. I find this especially true in my own preaching and teaching. Something as simple as neglecting to continually learn from Scripture quickly leaves me drained, and flat. This is also true of churches as well. When programs, committees, and church structures become so locked down that there is no openness to learn and try something new, their slow demise has begun. It is only through continued connection with the Word of God, and His people, that we can challenge one another to dig deeper, learn, try things, fail sometimes, but ultimately grow and mature as the Body of Christ.
I am approaching my third year of service “out in the field” this coming June. My close mentor Dr. Bruce Hartung told me something that has stuck with me: “There is a difference between years of experience and years of service. You can do the same thing for ten years, but do you really have ten years of experience or one year on repeat?” I have worked to apply this and continue building new experience these last few years.