Learn
There isn’t much we adults do well which isn’t the result of learning and practice. Things we take for granted today, walking or talking for instance, are each the product of exposure, observation, practice, and encouragement. Are we done with learning after reaching adult life? Ask any man who has ever stood before an audience for the first time to deliver a presentation, or any “walker” who has ever undertaken to walk the Appalachian Trail. The more we demand from ourselves, the more life demands from us, the more required from us by the relationships we enter into or the work which we’ve chosen, the more we must learn and practice, observe, and receive encouragement.
Learning, as we embrace it in men’s ministry, is the on-going process of equipping ourselves to achieve our individual purposes, and of growing to meet the challenges of life.
To offer productive and meaningful service in the workplace is a challenge. Ask any man who
feels stuck in his job, or finds no purpose to what he does there.
Growing in my skills, my wisdom, and in such spiritual qualities as patience, grace, and giving
while I father my children requires on-going learning. Ask any Dad who has ever spent a
sleepless night worrying about his family if this need for understanding isn’t real.
The practice of seeking to serve rather than take, listen rather than talk over or talk past,
or to speak words of healing rather than condemnation is also something learned. Ask
the man who has recently failed this test in his marriage.
Discovering my strengths, my gifts, and then the ways to unselfishly use them for the best
good and at the right times; this too demands learning. Ask the young man who sits
bewildered, wondering what to do with his life, or the man at mid life wondering if
the chance to make a real difference has passed him by.
Listening for God, hearing God, Understanding what He is saying – these are all learned
and practices skills. They are skills which may often be learned in the presence of men
who themselves have and perhaps still do struggle with this. Ask the perplexed man who
only weeks before was sure he understood what God wanted from him.
At Morning Star, we see learning as an enjoyable, helpful, and necessary way of life. We value learning
from God, and from each other. We believe the processes of learning, practicing, observing, and
encouraging are best accomplished when we do them together. For that reason, we strive to create
special events, and on-going groups where practical, beneficial, and enriching learning can take place.
In short, we are a spiritual community of learners and we invite you to participate with us.
