Guilty as charged

[nschatz]

“What do we as leaders eat? ...Is our ‘diet’ rich in God’s word? Are we as leaders good readers? Do we really study scripture and meditate on it daily, relishing its insights as spiritual delicacies?� (62)

Guilty as charged. While reflecting on Taniak’s quote above, I thought of three fallacies in my personal spiritual feeding habits.

First, I often read for teaching rather than for learning. My mind unintentionally slips into a teaching mode, hunting for an outline or pithy statement I can use someday in a sermon. Rather than letting the Word speak to me, I try and figure out a way to use it in speaking to others. I don’t mean to do this, and it rarely ever comes up in a sermon later, but I fall suspect to the same patterns that I’ve established in my sermon preparation.

Second, I sometimes adjust my morning Bible reading to accommodate the current sermon series I am teaching. If I am teaching through 1 Peter, for example, I am easily tempted to read through 1 Peter several times in my personal devotional time. This isn’t bad, per se, but it lends itself to my first error above. I am not really reading to hear God; I’m reading to cut down on my sermon planning time.

Third, my personal reading and sermon preparation could be compared to dieting while cooking a feast. Each Sunday for the sermon I want to give our congregation a bountiful, well-rounded and perfectly prepared meal from God’s Word. I spend several hours doing this each week. But my personal “eating� from the Bible is a little here, a little there, without real reflection. If I were to improve this, and “eat� my own fill first, I think it would positively impact my teaching.

[Ambassador_of_Hope]

I appreciate you wrestling with the implications of this chapter. I have practiced what you described and never considered the limitations. My preparation was in conjunction with leading a small home group meeting. Thanks for sharing your reflections.