Why Study the Bible Discussion

week 1 - an intro and answers!

week 1 - an intro and answers!

by Jim Damman -
Number of replies: 4

Greeting classmates!

My name is Jim and I am a husband, a father (of 5), and a pastor since 2017/2018.  Prior to being called to vocational ministry I was a special education teacher for 17 years!  I look forward to journeying through this course with you...

Of the reasons listed for why I should study the Bible I find that learning who God is acts as both the most compelling AND the most challenging for me.  Here is why:  I grew up in church (the Catholic church to be exact) and so, from an early age, I knew how to interact with church activity.  I went to church with my parents on Saturday nights, I went to youth group and volunteered my time as an alter boy.  I spent a lot of time in church but who God is was not revealed to me in those years - I wasn't paying attention enough to discover that!

Fast forward years and as a husband, father and teacher I was again participating in church activity - this time "leading" my family in modeled behavior from my youth.  For 10 years beyond college I was no closer to knowing God and was not actively pursuing a knowledge of Him through scripture...

Then my life fell apart.  I had a personal rock bottom.  I was lost and desperate.  I crawled into a church on my knees and THAT is when God first revealed Himself to me in a way I knew was going to be important.  Now, these past 9 years I have been growing closer to Jesus in a daily walk with spiritual disciplines and learning who God is has become my ultimate desire.  I must not discount that as a middle-aged man with a lot of life behind me and a lot vying for my attention on a daily basis I also find learning who God is to be a challenge.

Having been a pastor now for 5 years I would say one reason studying the Bible is important is that many Christian do not understand it equips us to be better prepared to serve (church/world).  I choose this one because I see the consumer-driven society we live in and I observe how that seeps into the church.  Many people whom I have known for years attend faithfully on weekends, call themselves Christian, perhaps have even been baptized and yet NEVER lift one finger to contribute to the mission of the church!  The leave as quickly as they enter each Sunday.  They walk right past sign up sheets and tables looking for volunteers...

If the Bible shares equipping language to carry out the mission of Jesus then I see a lot of "Christians" misunderstanding their duty on a regular basis.  The few that do get it end up getting "burned out" because the many do not take up the mantle and help.

In reply to Jim Damman

Re: week 1 - an intro and answers!

by Audrey Morris -
Thank you Jim for sharing your background. I worked briefly at LESA from 2015-16 & remember how much the kids and staff appreciated you.

Your final point is something I am trying to wrap my head around. I agree that I see a large number of people attend without serving on weekends. I've also seen high capacity volunteers struggle with saying "no" and allowing space for others to step up. Burn out is a very real experience for many people who are high capacity volunteers because there is no end in sight. There is always a need/opportunity present. I appreciate bringing this conversation back to someone's Biblical foundation. I appreciate reading how you're recognizing the challenge. Now, I have plenty to consider as I contemplate how we can encourage volunteers to bring others alongside them into the serving side of ministry.
In reply to Audrey Morris

Re: week 1 - an intro and answers!

by Jim Damman -
Yes Audrey - the balance between burnout-level involvement and no involvement is a constant tension we as church staff encounter. I lead my staff with guardrails to place around serving for their leaders and volunteers: 2 times a month is the sweetspot and more than that they must be in constant communication with the leader/volunteer around rest and rejuvenation practices.
In reply to Jim Damman

Re: week 1 - an intro and answers!

by Alex Nagy -
Thank you for sharing your story here, Jim.

I feel there are so many people in the Church who can resonate with your story and I also love what you said about the "consumer-driven society." I find it challenging to help people understand why living out their faith and chasing to know God better is so important.

I also couldn't agree more with the burn out part. I have seen churches run volunteers into the ground because they don't emphasis recruiting but rather rely on those dedicated volunteers and I've seen churches have robust pools of volunteers. I just haven't been able to figure out how to create the culture in a church body that is willing to give up their time to help serve the church/community. I'm curious if you have any advice on how to communicate the importance on growing deeper and being engaged in the church to the average attendee who comes in late, leaves early and is reluctant to engage outside of the occasional weekend attendance?
In reply to Alex Nagy

Re: week 1 - an intro and answers!

by Jim Damman -
Alex! This class will be better because you are in it :-) Your question is so worthy of exploration. I wish I had a silver bullet...but I do not. What I will say is that very few people ever go deep with a discipled journey into volunteering through an alter call - its almost always been through a personalized invitation (ICNU conversation), at least in my experience. I have been working hard with my ministry team to be sensitive to those conversations when they present themselves and LEAN INTO them as a priority over their task lists...a lot is at stake with this!