A Habit of Learning

October 12, 2014 // Posted by Brad Hoffmann // 2 Comments

learnLearning is one of the five habits I taught about today. This practice involves a couple of routines. Let me briefly share those with you.

A familiarity with Scripture

How do I do this? Commit to reading Scripture on a regular basis in some sort of systematic fashion. You can do with any number of pre-determined reading plans. Google “Bible reading plans” to discover a plan that will work for you. At Cool Spring, we promote an annual reading plan for the church each year. We’re reading through the Bible chronologically this year.

Find a good commentary, Study Bible or Bible software to accompany your reading. There are several good one to two volume commentaries and Study Bibles out there that’ll help you understand context and characters. This is typically an inexpensive option. You can opt for software for additional resources and more in-depth study. Personally, I use the Logos Bible Software that provides me with an additional smart phone app for access on the road.

Interest or Subject Study

While I’m obviously a proponent of Bible reading and study, I also encourage growth in subject areas related to faith and culture. Choose a subject you’d like to grow in over a specific period of time. Let’s say you’d like to grow in the practice of prayer over the next six months. Choose to read several books and articles on prayer to gain a better understanding and determine during and at the conclusion of your study what to apply. There are a vast number of subjects such as the spiritual disciplines, cultural issues, leadership, history, hermeneutics, relationships, missional movement, ministry and more. I think it’s essential for us to be students and learners of faith and culture.

Conversations

What are others saying? With the availability of podcasts and online resources, we have a great opportunity to listen to experts teach. Take advantage of what others are saying about subjects and topics that challenge us to grow in our understanding and practice of faith in culture. Following a couple of podcasts on a weekly basis is a good investment of your time.

Application

You learn to grow. Learning is more than gaining information. It’s about the utilization of the information – application. Being a Christ follower is more than soaking in lots of data, it’s about living it in life. As you learn, apply knowledge, understanding, discernment and wisdom. Become better because you “know” better.

 

2 thoughts on “A Habit of Learning”

  1. Bob Maistros

    Thanks, Pastor Brad

    I was out of town Sunday but will be sure to watch this sermon before Sunday.

    I was once called short by a boss who told me that my problem was that I was a know-it-all who didn’t think I could learn anything from anyone. She reminded me that we all can learn something from anyone in any encounter. I’m usually too quick with my own opinion instead of listening and learning.

    But you’ve inspired me with this post. And I think I need to do some studying on “time management” (not that I haven’t in the past). It seems like so many of us, I let my time be controlled by others, even for seemingly good purposes.

    Thanks again,
    Bob

    1. Brad Hoffmann Post author

      Hey Bob,

      Thanks for joining the conversation. Learning is truly a life long process and sometimes our learning is simply to review that which we’d previously learned. Time management is a great topic to review and grow in understanding and practice. Let me know what you gain from the study!

      Brad

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