"Wisdom Teams"

 

“Wisdom Teams”

 

This year Karen and I are joining our church family in reading Capture the Moment, a 365 day devotional guide written by Houston Pastor Gregg Matte. These articles have been relevant to everyday life and prompted discussions in our after breakfasts times together. For most of our married life we’ve used Our Daily Bread to start our day and it’s been amazing—really a God thing—how often the two resources dovetail to emphasize what we need for that day.

“Ironically” Matte’s thought for April 1 (April Fools’ Day) is entitled “Getting Wisdom”. In it he describes setting up “wisdom teams” in churches he’s led made up of godly individuals to whom he looked for counsel. Such partnerships have been referred to as “accountability groups” in the circles in which I’ve been involved. The older I get the more I see the need for this resource in my life.

God has given me wise friends since my high school days who told me what I needed to hear but often didn’t want to (“…Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”—Proverbs 27:6). Most of these have been for a season but two are still among my closest confidants: one from Christian camp days as a teen and another from seminary. And for almost six decades there have been church leadership teams, pastors’ fellowships and small groups which have served as “wisdom teams” to provide counsel, guidance, different perspectives and other supportive actions to enrich my life and ministry. Without their input I shudder to think of the mistakes (and sins) that would have put me in bad places.

But there’s one person who’s stuck with me through thick and thin for almost 53 years: Karen. To my shame, sorrow and detriment I’ve often failed to appreciate her godly wisdom and regretted the less than positive outcomes when I didn’t heed it in church and family life. Solomon states, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22). (He may have written this late in his life after trying to sort out the “input” of his 700 wives!) And near the end of the book we’re told, “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.” (Proverbs 31:10). To both these statements I say a hearty “Amen!” and ask for God’s and Karen’s forgiveness for the many times I’ve failed to recognize the treasure He’s given me. I pray I’ll listen to my “wisdom team of one” that together we might profit in our walk with our Lord.

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan