Dear Timothy, Bring The Books

     Having returned from a pastor’s conference I was once again reminded that good people never quit learning. After all, the reason pastors go to conferences is to continue to learn. By our simple presence at one we are stating that we need help; that we do not have it all figured out.

 

It is extremely refreshing to hear an excellent pastor who is 30 years my senior publicly expressing that he does not have it all figured out. This reveals his honesty and his continual dependence upon the Father. Now, since the most learned people do not have their learning career all sewn up, the rest of us need to keep learning too. And, we would do well to remember that the Apostle Paul was a life-long learner. This was something our conference teacher pointed out to us.

During the last conference session the good pastor took us through 2 Timothy 4. He read “When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). We were struck by the Apostle Paul’s desire expressed in this verse. His life is near the end; he has almost completed his race and is now jailed in a cold dungeon where he needs his cloak. And he insists that Timothy bring the scrolls and the parchments. The man who has the equivalent of a triple doctorate, who founded many churches, who taught many people could have said “Oh, I don’t need any books written by man or parchments of Scripture,” but he does not. His longing for a copy of the Old Testament whereby he will learn from the Triune God of the universe is predominant. But is it predominant in my life and yours? Or are you willing to believe the lie that says, “Oh, I know; I don’t need any books, or bibles, or teachers, I learned all that and read all that already.”

On learning, Major League Baseball knows something that many are not willing to admit. Specifically, that no one is ever too talented or too old to learn. Every spring the youngest major league pitchers along with the oldest and the best return to pick up where they left off. They admit that they need coaches to teach them a new pitch and to hone their God-given talents.

Dear reader, we all need a coach to help us become the type of woman or man that God is growing us to be. The design of the church is such that we come together to admit problems and to learn about something that is old, or something that is new. We do not come together to count dollars, or people, or to garner praise. Toward the end of his amazing life Paul leaned on Timothy and Luke, they were his coaches. In addition, we notice that Paul never did much alone; faithful men who made him better always surrounded him. If Paul needed coaches and teachers, I do too. If Paul needed to keep learning and growing, I do too. No matter where we may be, let us all aim toward more fellowship and learning for the glory of Christ.