Words

A few weeks ago in the Mitten State, I managed to land myself in a group of people much more well-read and smarter than me for a small colloquium on Limited Government and Rule of Law, put on by The Liberty Fund and Acton Institute. If, like me before the conference, you don't know what a colloquium is, let me give you the definition. Dictionary.com defines a colloquium as "a conference at which scholars or other experts present papers on, analyze, and discuss a specific topic." (Emphasis on discuss.) Obviously I did not attend to present a paper, but to learn and discuss ideas in a small, formal setting. Attendees were required to read selected works beforehand from philosophers and statesmen from different eras to discover how political thought, based on natural law, reason, and Christian principles, evolved over the centuries.

How does a guy like me get connected to this kind of stuff? Two reasons: One, I'm a student at Criswell College, which I consider one of the finest learning institutions out there. Two, I subbed out my basic philosophy course a few years ago for a class titled "Ethics, Economics, and Natural Law" taught by Dr. JosephWooddell. I would like to brag about how I managed to earn an M.A. and M.Div without taking core philosophy classes, but weekends such as the one I'm writing about only serve to humble me by revealing this serious black hole in my intellectual development. (One which I'm quickly bringing myself up to speed on through self-study, which means I'll really only know enough to be dangerous. But hey, I'm cool with dangerous as long as my pride stays intact.) For some reason, Dr. Wooddell, a brilliant guy with several letters behind his name and degrees to prove it, seems to think that I'm smart enough to handle myself these events. (Either that or he's secretly playing the best practical joke ever by getting me to facilitate "mini-classes" and participate in the conferences while laughing about it as he eats cherry sours in his office!) That one act of subbing a class led to the recommendation by Dr. Wooddell, which led me to the point I found myself in that Friday afternoon (which was a very dark and lonely place for a few hours).

The conference was Thursday through Sunday, and I was EXCITED! The opportunity to travel, learn, dialogue with other people who share the same interests, and eat some great food at the same time lured me in! I barely slept Wednesday night, and talked my buddy's ear off about community development, human flourishing, and church polity the whole ride to the airport. I arrived several hours early, hooked up with another pastor who was travelling to the same conference, got even more excited as we talked, and was ready for events to begin that evening. As the evening began, I introduced myself to each newcomer and readily conversed. Thursday night's discussion was one I could handle: biblical foundations for limited government and rule of law. I made a few comments in the discussion, but quickly figured out that I was probably the least educated and dumbest guy in the room. So many of the other attendees (12 in all, I think) were quoting philosophers and thinkers from different ages, and there I was with my "The Bible says....." statements, like any good evangelical. (Did I mention Acton was founded by a Catholic priest?) My confidence level was pretty good Thursday evening, but Friday would knock me down a few notches.

Friday morning, we ate breakfast together then marched into the conference room and took our places at the table. The discussion leader gave us our instructions, then said, "I know that you were given questions to answer as part of your pre-reading for this conference, but I have a few of my own I'd like to throw out for us to discuss." I had completed the readings and answered the questions, but it was all downhill from that statement on! The other attendees quickly dove into the conversation, stating points, refuting comments, adding to others, and generally sounding brilliant. The funniest part was how most of them began their monologues with, "I know I'm the dumbest guy in the room, but I want to say ______________," then made a statement that I had to take notes and spend the next 15 minutes figuring out just exactly what they said. (Needless to say, I felt a little lost.) I survived the morning, sat at lunch and didn't say a whole lot, then went to my room for the break, where I prayed to the Holy Spirit for wisdom. (Check out James 1:5 for those of you who may not be avid Bible readers.) I was even more discouraged by the afternoon sessions. I was so busy trying to come up intercessions or points, that I couldn't even follow the conversation. I was so discouraged that I even sent a good friend a text telling him that I had come to the wrong conference!

 After another session, it was time for dinner. At that point I had internally made the decision to tough it out for the next day and a half, make it back home, and never come back to one of these conferences. As we walked to the dining room, a friend and I were discussing the conference and I could tell that he felt the same way. As we walked through the door, a hand laid itself on my shoulder. I turned to look, and it was Dr. Ross Emmett, one of the discussion leaders (and the one guy holding his own in the entire conference). No matter the topic, it seemed that there wasn't anything he wasn't an expert in! (Not to say that he's arrogant; very much the opposite. I had to look up the link I put in and am even more amazed at how humble he is after reading his bio.)  He said to both of us, "You guys had some great points earlier and we can tell you're paying attention to the discussions; don't be shy about adding to the dialogue." I replied, "Thanks, but having new questions to answer and trying to follow the discussion is hard! By the time I come up in the queue, what I was going to say isn't even relevant." Ross said, "You guys don't need to worry about that. Just say you want to return to another point. As for the questions, chuck'em out the window; get in the queue and say you want to answer one from the reading, or ask your own questions." Aha! That was the trick that we hadn't known! My friend and I both agreed that we would skip the evening hospitality to look over tomorrow's discussions and have a few questions and points ready!

Saturday morning rolled around, and I resolved myself to jump into the queue quickly, so as not to lose my nerve. I entered the room and sat down, ready to contribute and pull my weight in the conference. I did, and while I can't say that I made points that were salient, much less understandable, I had a much better time than I had the day before. I even was able to make a few intercessions on others' points! Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the conference, made a few new friends, and learned how to hold my own in a formal Socratic discussion.

 If God's word is true, and therefore James 1:5 is true, then one could come to the conclusion that God had answered my request for wisdom. Granted, he certainly didn't do it the way you or I might expect. I had done my homework before coming to the conference! I didn't even realize it, but I was asking God for practical wisdom, which is what most of us are really looking for when we ask for wisdom (we don't really want knowledge; we want actions that help us with the situation we're in). That wisdom was in knowing the unspoken rules that Ross told my friend and me. Once we knew them, it was a game-changer.

When we pray for wisdom, most of us aren't expecting it to come in the form of a passing word of encouragement; we want the clouds to open up, lightning to flash, and thunder to roar as God speaks to us. Could it be, though, that God uses ordinary human voices to speak to us? Could it be that we, by providing a word of encouragement or quiet instruction to someone, actually are taking part in the grand plans God has for creation and answering prayers? ABSOLUTELY! God worked through flesh to provide salvation through humanity. We are made in His image. Wouldn't it make sense that He would use you and me to accomplish his plans?  (It does help if we have something to bring to the table, so to speak, and Proverbs is full of practical wisdom, so let me put a plug for Bible reading in here.)

I know I will think more carefully about my words from now on. Will you?