Some Healthy Bragging to Do

I have to brag on our men’s class for a minute. At first my prayer for this class was that we could have an open atmosphere where we could be free to discuss whatever needed to be discussed and for people not to walk away angry or bitter toward one another. They have gotten this done. These men have stepped up to the plate. They openly and honestly discuss their views on various topics we discuss with an attitude of love and respect. I am so thankful to have a group of mature men who are willing to take an honest look at scripture and try to make each other stronger even in disagreements rather than tear each other down. We have gotten into some fairly difficult subjects and are none worse for the wear. If iron is going to sharpen iron it is going to take some clashing and some of the rust being beaten off our swords but the end result is something sharper and stronger than anything we could have achieved if we had kept our swords dull in their scabbards. I will take the challenge of dealing with occasional disagreements over having a dead class where no one really cares about what we are talking about any day! My prayer now is that God will give me the maturity and wisdom to continue to help these men wrestle with the Word of God in a way that is healthy and helpful to their relationship with God and others. I also pray that God will raise up leaders from among the men of our congregation to humbly lead the congregation into the years to come.