Expert

“Please come and help us, you’re the expert.”

I hear this a lot. I like to be invited to “come help” and I don’t mind needing (on some topics) to be the “expert.” I have lived a long time and I do have quite a lot of experience and I’ve built up some expertise in some areas. Believe me, there are plenty of areas where I’m no expert and I know what it means to need to call on someone else for the expertise I clearly lack.

But here’s my dilemma. Many of the things I’m “expert” at don’t need to be my exclusive domain. I’d much, much rather be AN expert, rather than THE expert, if you know what I mean. CEM is a broad area with many communities, many people and many more people we could reach or touch if we just had a few more experts.

In fact, you don’t even need to be an expert. If you’d be willing to build your own knowledge about some of the things I know, I’d just be ever so pleased to help you along. I’d surely love to hear of people who would like to learn from me. I’m always on the lookout for folks who don’t yet feel entirely competent or experienced, but would like to learn how to teach a class or facilitate a workshop or recommend a trusted resource or review a promising book. Those are some of the areas I get called on. How I would love someone to co-teach, to take notes, to debrief, to compare opinions. In other words, to build up their own expertise.

We need lots of experts if we’re going to succeed with the goals set before us (2020 Vision). But none of us began as an expert. We all started out just being interested in something, or suspecting we might find a passion if given half a chance. If you’d really like to develop some experience, here’s what I suggest:

Look around for someone you consider an expert. Get to know them better. Tell them, straight out, that you’d like to build some knowledge or skill in the thing you see them doing. Ask if you can spend some time with them. Ask them to recommend something you could read. Suggest you chat about it later. Invite yourself to tag along the next time they’re …fill in the right word…teaching, preaching, listening to a speaker, going to a movie, preparing a budget, searching out a new text book, visiting in the hospital, cooking for a crowd, setting up a sound system, designing a web page. There are just myriads of things where we have experts and where we’ll be needing lots more skill/wisdom/expertise as we say good bye to our retirees and move with confidence into the decade before us.

What do you think? Is there an expert near you that you’d like to nominate as your teacher/mentor?

Posted by Marion

Pastor

2020 Vision Goal 3: Every Congregation in Relationship with CPI (Co-missioned Pastor Initiative).

“Russ preached a really great sermon last Sunday,” I was told. “The kids were really paying attention, and really ‘got it’.”

If you are a preacher or public speaker, wouldn’t you like to have that kind of ringing endorsement for your messages? Don’t you wish every sermon was so captivating? Can you imagine what that would do for your congregation? The possibilities are almost enough to take your breath away!

Russ, of course, is Russ Pirie; Pastor of Hamilton congregation, and if he is reading this, he is probably both surprised and blushing; surprised to find himself spot-lighted here, and blushing due to the praise that came from a member of his congregation. But how did this pastor get so skilled? Where did he learn to speak that way? At the risk of over simplifying, the answer may lie in the fact that Russ is a trained, CPI Pastor. Along with the other three CPI Alums in CEM, he is a better trained, more competent and confident, and a more effective pastor and speaker as a result of spending time every year for four years in training. That is the benefit we want for all our pastors and their congregations. Consequently, we have begun the CEM CPI program. As far as I know, we are the first mission centre to do so. So far we have twelve pastors from seven congregations involved in our first cohort. This is our pilot group. We are planning for more.

Earlier this year when first we met with this new cohort for team building and orientation, several of the pastors spoke about how they “just knew” this was what they had to do. There was something ‘calling’ them into this new program, even if they didn’t understand exactly what all might be involved. There was an eagerness in each person; an anxiousness to learn, a quiet excitement. I smiled, and knew they would not be disappointed.

This fall, we met with that group of twelve again, this time for a week of intense study with the Dean of the Community of Christ Seminary, Don Compier, and South America Mission President Arthur Smith. They came together in retreat to study theology and learn scriptural exegesis. In the weeks leading up to the retreat, and even at the beginning of the week itself, we heard a fair amount of groaning about the amount of reading, and whether they really had time to do this much work. Again, I smiled. I smiled because I knew of the benefits that would come to them as a result of this commitment of time. Despite their reservation, they began immediately to apply themselves faithfully to the task. One by one, around the room, the light dawned as each began to understand. And I know, without any testimonials, that their sermons are better, their confidence has improved, and their ministry is stronger as a result of that week together.

Our goal is to have every congregation in the CPI program. It won’t happen overnight. It does take work and costs money, but it is worth every minute and every penny. It is an investment in our congregations and in the future. I thank God for pastors who are willing to grow.