I’m part of the Reformed camp.
We are known for a few things: a deep love for theology, a desire to be right in that theology, and often, an unwillingness to bend and learn from people outside of our camp.
This isn’t true of everyone the Reformed camp, but it is what we are often known for.
I think the strongest leaders and the strongest churches are willing to learn from anyone. I didn’t say, they do everything they do or even agree with every part of their theology, but they learn from them.
I was asked by a new church planter in Acts 29 who my favorite preachers to listen to and he was surprised when I listed all guys who fall in the “seeker targeted” world of evangelicalism. Why? They know how to do things many in my world struggle with: making their messages relevant and calling people to action. They are also great at inspiring people.
Let me illustrate what can easily happen when we believe churches and leaders don’t learn from everyone: They look the same.
Recently, we were talking with someone that we were interviewing for a position at Revolution. When he learned that we organize our church around missional communities he said, “I can’t get on board with that, I don’t like that model.” At this point, he had no idea what our model looked like, only what he perceived it to be. He had an expectation, that we would be like every other MC model, which we aren’t.
Last year, I spoke at a church planting event that attracts thousands of planters to it. When I was talking to one of the organizers about it, he said, “I’m surprised you’re here because most people in your camp don’t come to our events.”
Why?
An unwillingness to learn from everyone.
This isn’t just the Reformed camp. This is everyone. Pastors not learning from business leaders and vice versa. Seeker churches not learning from the Reformed church or the high church. Worship leaders in attractional church not learning from missional/organic churches and vice versa.
Sadly, many pastors when they start their churches and settle into their camps seem to be above learning from outside their comfort zones. So, they read the same books they’ve always read, go to the same conferences with the same speakers who line up with them saying the things they are expected to say.
Here’s what it can look like. At Revolution, we’ve been heavily influenced by leaders like Tim Keller, Jeff Vanderstelt and Matt Chander. We’ve also been enormously blessed by Andy Stanley, Nelson Searcy and Bill Hybels.
How does this work? Two things need to happen:
- Humility. This is a willingness to learn from anyone, to read outside your camp and be pushed to think and be challenged. The moment you think you can’t learn from outside your camp, I’d say you’ve decided to stop being challenged and pushed and when that stops happening, you stop growing.
- Wisdom. This is knowing who to listen to and read. Not everyone is worth learning from. Sometimes your deeply held theological differences are worth listening to and not learning. Just because you differ on women’s roles in leadership, the purpose of preaching or worship, or how they do church doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them. The people outside of my theological camp I learn specific things from. I don’t go to Nelson Searcy for Biblical knowledge (in fact, I’ve heard him mess up bible verses in seminars), but he is a systems guru. I could listen to Bill Hybels and Andy Stanley talk for days on leadership and never grow tired (in fact, those 2 guys have had a bigger impact on my life than any other leader), but I disagree with them on a number of doctrinal issues.
As long as leaders are able to hold humility and wisdom together, they are able to grow and do great things and see God use them to their full potential because, they are learning from everyone.
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