So I’m in the middle of a blog series on Kidmin careers and unfortunately I have to take a quick break this week. So much is going on. However, I could really use your help. So, whether your a Kids Pastor, Senior Pastor, volunteer or a family member of mine who is reading this post, I would appreciate your help.
I’m in the middle of message planning craziness. In a few weeks, I’m speaking at our kids camp and I’m currently planning 9 separate messages (10-15 minute talks in the morning and 20-25 minute talks in the evening). In addition, I’m speaking this Sunday to our 4th and 5th graders which I’m working on that talk right now. Last of all, my Pastor is leading a four week training where he’s teaching about 10-12 staff/leaders how to plan and prepare a message the way he does it. As a part of the training, we’re planning a message that we can and will deliver. Yes, I’m just a little overwhelmed right now.
So, I’m speaking this Sunday on patience as they’ve been focused on the virtue of patience all month; however, I’m speaking of patience from a fairly different perspective. Since I’m having to prepare a message from scratch for the kids this Sunday, I decided to make patience the message I’m working on for the training. So, I’ll do a lot of the work for this message I’m required in the training. Although I’ll give a talk on patience aimed at 4th and 5th graders this Sunday, I’ll prepare the same talk geared for adults as well.
So, I’m at the end of my content/information gathering stage and I want a little input.
One of the things I’m learning is that in every message, we should address resistance. Whatever we are talking about, someone has resistance to the message. They’re have a resistance to hear or believe what’s being said based on logic, past experience or cultural influence. They have a wall up and unless I specifically address that resistance, they’re not open. Here are some of the questions:
- Why don’t we trust? Why don’t we do this?
- What are people’s questions, doubts or fears?
- What gets in the way of living this way?
- Why should I? Why is God’s way better?
So, if you knew you were getting ready to sit down and hear a talk on patience, what is your initial resistance? What is the resistance of the typical seasoned Christ follower? What is the resistance of those still exploring faith? What other resistance might I encounter in a talk like this?
I have seen ways of expressing resistance to working on patience in these thoughts:
“That is just the way I am. That is my personality.”
“I am a go-getter. The work of God needs people who press forward…NOW! Why should I hang around waiting for something to happen, when I can make it happen.”
“Patience is such a namby-pamby attribute. Dynamism is what is needed.”
“Can you blame me for being impatient with some people. They are so slow at finishing their sentences/ planning their work/ understanding what I am telling them.”
I am an impatient person, still working on it! Can you guess where I got these thought from? 😉
.-= Lin Pearson´s last blog ..Very informative forum =-.
I don’t know if this is what you’re lookin for, but my first thought is that we want everything NOW. The society we live is bombards us with faster everthing- internet speeds, fast food, quick fixes, etc. Kids want games immediately, adults want to lose weight immediately. Even stuff like P90X isn’t fast enough- Insanity will give you a buff bod in 60 days!
When in comes to God I think the same things happen- we want an answer now. Quiet time and just waiting is hard to do. But it’s SO worth it!
Thanks for all the stuff u share with us! I don’t always commen but I always read!
Here’s one:
How long is it considered being patient, and at what point have you just become a door mat, waiting for change that may never happen.
Not sure where I’m going with this, and also not sure I should admit it, but it may be an “everyman” response.
To me, saying to be patient can seem like another way, but a passive way, of saying “no.” It says to me, “You’re not getting the answer you want or think you deserve, but you’re not allowed to be frustrated about that. Be patient instead.” But all the while, I might still feel frustrated, but now I also feel guilty for not having enough faith and not being patient. I don’t know if that makes any sense… it may make even more sense to 4th and 5th graders.
I’m a little late to the game here, but these are my thoughts:
What is your initial resistance?
Patience is hard. It’s funny, we’ve been talking about patience all month with the kids and I don’t know how many times I’ve used this line, “Patience is hard” or “Patience isn’t easy.”
I think the other resistance would be along the lines of “Patience is easy when everything is going well, but this guy just doesn’t get what is going on in my life.”
What is the resistance of the typical seasoned Christ follower?
I think it’s easy to excuse our impatience for certain things by convincing ourselves this is what God wants. By superimposing our desires on him, we convince ourselves that what we want to do is God’s will rather than discerning God’s will and making that what we want to do. Once we’ve convinced ourselves that it is what God wants, then there is no reason to be patient. If we take that a step further, we can convince ourselves that holding off or being patient is actually disobedient to God.
I think we also excuse impatience because we “prayed about it.” I think many of us feel that tug to be patient so we say a quick prayer as an excuse to go ahead and do what we want.
As an aside, I love the term “seasoned Christ follower.” 🙂
What is the resistance of those still exploring faith?
I think as Christians, patience becomes easier because we have an eternal reality to look forward to. When we can focus on that, it is easy to suffer through the times when we have to be patient. Without faith and an eye on the end, why be patient?
As Christ followers, we can trust that God wants what is best for us and wait for him. What is the motivation to be patient when you don’t have that?
What other resistance might I encounter in a talk like this?
People not be patient enough for you to get to your main point. 🙂
Not sure this helps at all, but it was interesting to process it.
Thanks for your help everyone. This is great! I’m certainly going to use some of this.