You’ve seen the articles:
“What every driver should know how to do.”
“What every parent should know how to do.”
“What every student should know how to do.”
The idea is that, just as there are certain things we should know, as in facts or figures or cultural literacy, there are certain things we should also know how to do.
For example, every driver should know how to fill up their gas tank, check the oil and change a tire (we’ll assume that because they have a license, they know how to drive—no jokes, please).
Yet such matters are different than knowing about cars.
What we’re talking about is the practical knowledge needed if you are going to drive one.
Got it?
OK, now that we’ve got the set-up, here’s the question:
Does this apply for someone hoping to follow Christ?
This isn’t talked about much. We outline a great deal about what a Christian should know theologically (about Jesus, the cross, the Bible), and what they should feel personally (forgiven, blessed, united), but not much about what a Christian should be able to do.
The key word is “able.”
To my thinking, this is a huge hole in current strategies surrounding discipleship.
The discipleship currently in vogue is termed “formation.” Usually this means making our personal relationship with Jesus even more personal. In other words, Christ being formed in us.
Which is, of course, good.
But somehow we seem to miss out on the importance of learning how to do certain things.
It’s like the value of the old Foxfire books. I don’t know if you remember them, but they were a series of books designed to capture how to do certain things before technology causes us to forget. Such as,
How do you plant a garden?
How do you breed chickens and gather eggs?
How do you turn cotton into cloth?
How do you milk a cow?
I’m no prepper, but maybe I’m watching too much of The Walking Dead. But if we lose these basic skills, we lose more than we realize.
So here are five things every Christian should be able to do.
