Blackberry Season at Spiritual Life

So the news of the week at Spiritual Life, besides great programs on The Problem with Evil, and the Black Jew Dialogues, over a dozen regular weekly Bible Studies, and the three weekly worship services, is that Anne Gibbons and I got new cell phones.  We actually got Blackberries, otherwise known as “Smartphones” (a name which somehow makes me feel inferior).  An important thing to realize is that ministry type folk have counseling skills, skills for leading worship and preaching.  We are good at public prayer, asking questions about shared values, thinking about and acting on social justice questions, and being present with the community in good times and bad.  Neither of us received our call to ministry or our calls to Lynchburg College because of our technology skills.

I have had a Blackberry before, but I am actually a Palm Pilot user from 15 years ago.  Anne has had a basic flip phone, but has her Blackberry set up and going; I am still having some trouble getting my email to interface.  (Interface wasn’t an SAT word in my generation.)  Since my email was hacked last week too, I am very thankful for our ITR department and particularly Julie’s help as I navigated the tragedy.  I confess that I spent the first 12 hours thinking that I had just somehow forgotten my password.

I run into the most trouble in life when I try to do things that are outside my areas of strength.  We all have areas that we are intuitively more gifted about than others.  That is what makes a liberal arts education so important, since we explore the full range of the academy and get a sound general knowledge base before focusing on an area of particular interest or intellectual curiosity.  It is important to stretch and grow, but to do that consciously.  When we are outside our “gift zone,” we need to ask for help and mentoring.  We need to read an article or seek advice of a person with different talents.  We have to put ego aside and realize that we always have things to learn—and there are always things that others can do better and more efficiently than we can.

My new Blackberry is a reminder that I have gifts and graces for ministry—and that I will always need the gifts of others do my best.  I have growth edges that often stick out and talents that sometimes go unnoticed.  My prayer for you this week is that you will do the things that you are good at and that you can ask for help for the areas you need the gifts of others.  I hope your present area of service is related to your strengths and that you will continue to grow on your rough edges.  Together we have the gifts to change our corners of the world.

Blessings,

Stephanie