So, I’ve decided that this year is going to be a year of change for myself.  I intend to change the things about my life that irritate me all of the time.  Like that junk drawer that flows into a junk pile, which inevitably ends up in the garage.  That’s probably why I hate our garage…

One of those areas of change is going to be to surround myself with even more people who are better at things than I am.  A lesson that I learned a very long time ago is that you need to seek out mentors in your life.  I think we often want to “be discovered” by someone and have them take us under our wings.  It doesn’t work that way.  You need to make the effort to seek out people who are more mature or who are better at something than you, and hang out with them.  Ask them to go out to coffee with you.  Buy the coffee.  Come with a list of questions ready, like, “What is the one thing that makes you successful?”  “What is the most valuable lesson you learned in the last year?”  “If you could tell yourself something when you were 14 years old, what would you go back and say to yourself?”  You are in charge of finding your own sources of growth!

I’ve also learned that you need to give back to your mentors.  One of my friends, Jana Jones, who I also consider a mentor, once told me that it was difficult to mentor a certain individual because it was all about them…all of the time.  It was a very one sided relationship.  I heard that comment and decided that I would ask about her life just as much as she asked about mine.  I took an interest in how she was raising her kids and how she loved her husband.  I emailed to see how her church was going and I made the conscious effort to shut up and listen when she was having a rough day.  What happened was amazing… In the midst of caring more about her, I was being fed by our conversations in ways that I had never noticed before.  I was growing.

It’s actually easier than it seems.  If someone has great kids, ask them how they got that way.  If someone has a passion for the Bible that you want, ask them how they got that way.  If someone is really good at resolving conflict, ask them how they got that way.  The responses you get will mold and shape you.

As pastors, we have spent years telling people about the Bible.  We have talked about the Ten Commandments, the Fruit of the Spirit, the awesome stories of the Old Testament, and the Parables in the New Testament.  We have disected the spiritual gifts and grieved over the verses about gossip and unforgiveness.  We have analyzed every step of Jesus’ life with our congregants and begged them often to live more like Him each day.  We have preached the Bible’s principles from cover to cover.

There is nothing deeper or more profound to teach in the pages of the Bible.  We are as deep as we can possibly get.  We talk about it all, so what’s left on the road to spirtiual maturity?

And here’s the answer…obedience.  You see, we often think that spiritual maturity is more profound teaching, but just like many principles in the Bible, that’s our backwards thinking.  Jesus didn’t make it deeper.  Trust me, never gossiping again and forgiving that person who hurt you the most, is as challenging as it will ever get.  He didn’t need to make it more profound because He knew that those people who grabbed ahold of not just listening to His Word, but actually doing it, would be challenged for the rest of their lives.

We have seen people’s lives change dramatically and we have seen other’s walk away from the gospel for a multitude of different reasons.  The common denominator – obedience.  I have seen many people on a quest for a deeper level of knowledge, but they are usually the same people who are lacking spiritual depth in issues more related to character than knowledge.  

So, my challenge to you in 2009 is DO what you learn.  Watch God not only change your life in the process, but I guarantee that people around you will be challenged as well.  May you be blessed beyond measure in this new year!