Self-Correction

One of the temptations I have when I am surrounded by like minded people is to not explain myself fully and to go from point to point with little in the way of transitions. This isn't so apparent when I write, but I notice the most when I am speaking and teaching. This tendency mostly stems from having so many conversations with people, that the points I make have become common knowledge, they have been said, repeated and explained so many times that further comment is unnecessary. In some regards, this is cool and it dramatically speeds up my teaching. In other regards, this is a problem because newer people to the community/teaching/group have a hard time catching up - they have difficulty connecting my points, they have other strongly held beliefs that keep them from understanding what I am saying, etc. This is what brings me to the point of this post.

I am going to make a concerted effort to explain myself more fully and to add in Bible references that support the things I say.

I am terrible at memory verses. I can quote you a verse almost verbatim (thank you God, mom and dad for giving me a near photographic auditory/visual memory) but I can't tell you where it comes from. Now I can see it on the page of my Bible, I can tell you what column, where it is approximately on the page, but telling you which chapter and verse is remarkably difficult. Because of this, I tend to omit references and rely upon the biblical knowledge of my readers. This is a poor habit for a bible teacher. And so, I want to apologize - I am sorry for not doing the leg work necessary in order to present things biblically, accurately and accessibly. It is my goal to improve this area of my teaching so that my students and readers will have the tools, resources and references necessary to study things out on their own.

I wanted to post this today because I realize that I say many things on this blog that I do not support with references. They are biblical and I believe them to be true, but I don't want you to believe them because I say them - I want you to see them in the Bible for yourself. This means I will revisit some posts, explain them more fully and ask for your feedback. I WANT YOU TO ASK ME QUESTIONS AND CHALLENGE ME! I need to see things from different angles, I need you to think critically and to challenge me. I need to refine my teaching material so that I can be the best I can be in equipping God's people for what is coming ahead. So there you have it, free reign to ask questions, challenge and critique. Thank you for taking it. :D I love you guys, thanks for reading.