Practice, practice, practice

John wants to play golf with his dad. Last fall, he received a set of kid’s clubs. So last fall, we started hitting balls together. I thought it would involve lots of instruction as I helped John learn to hit a golf ball. I learned there would be no instruction. He just wanted to hit the balls. He was not interested in any instruction. It was (and is) very hard for me not to try and help him. I want to teach him how to align his feet, hold the club, keep his head down, etc. He just wants me to be present and quiet. Well, not just quiet, because when he hits a good shot, he wants me to affirm him in hitting a good shot.

Now that spring is arriving, John doesn’t just want to hit balls, he wants to play golf. This presents a dilemma because few courses (if any) allow a child his age on the course to play. But it also raises the internal challenge in me because John doesn’t know how to play. He doesn’t know all there is to know about playing golf. Who does, by the way? I anticipate a very frustrating experience for me as I “golf” with him. Will he receive instruction? Will he obey the rules? Will we play so slow that we’ll get kicked off the course anyway? Can he last 9 holes?

It reminds me of how we learn something. John wants to play golf, so he thinks the best way to learn is to play golf. He doesn’t want instruction. He wants a club and a ball and a course and his dad to take him.

So often we see learning as what happens in the classroom. We sit and listen to someone who knows what they are talking about. They impart information to us. We learn. We acquire the information and it becomes ours. It is often what happens on Sunday mornings. The preacher preaches and the people learn something new.

But learning is incomplete if it just involves the acquisition of information. We have to apply what we’ve learned. Whether it’s using the multiplication tables we’ve memorized to figure out how much it will cost to buy mulch or putting the letters of the alphabet together to form and pronounce words or keeping my head down when I actually swing the club, we have to apply what we’ve gained in our minds to the actions we take.

I’m learning that learning is often a process with three important components – information, practice, reflect.

Let’s use John and golf as an example. We tell John how to hold and swing the club to hit the ball. He acquires new information. Has he learned how to hit the ball? Yes, he knows how in his mind. He could repeat back the information. Then he practices. He actually grabs the club, swings it, and attempts to hit the ball. He actually practices the information he’s acquired. Then he reflects. Did he hit the ball? Did it go very far? What did he learn in actually doing what he was told to do? Repeat. He receives more instruction (information) about aligning his feet and keeping his head down. He practices holding the club, swinging, after aligning his feet and keeping his head down. Now he reflects. Did I hit the ball? How far did it go? Did I improve on what I did last time? Why did I improve? Repeat. On and on the process of learning goes. We don’t think through this process; it’s just natural.

But somewhere along the way, the church has lost sight of the need for practice and reflection. We are good at telling each other what to do, but whether or not there is any practice or reflection, we don’t know.

You can hear thousands of sermons. You can read thousands of books. You can have all the information and know how to do anything. But it means almost nothing if it’s not put into practice. Do you know how to pray and why we pray? Does that matter if you don’t pray? Do you know the Bible and could quote chapter and verse? Does that matter if you don’t put it into practice? Do you know how to love your spouse? Do you put it into practice?

You see one of the issues which hold us back from practice is that we expect mastery immediately. Or because we’re not very good at it, we stop trying. That’s what practice is for! John will not master golf – ever, but he can grow and learn and enjoy the game of golf. Another reason we hesitate is because we care too much what people think. If I practice and don’t look good, what will people think?

We all need practice. None of us have mastery in following Jesus Christ. But we cannot be content because we know what to do. We have to live into His life. We have to try. We have to do what He tells us to do. We have to practice and reflect as we learn. Because isn’t it true that John is not going to learn golf because I tell him how to do it? He is going to learn to golf by playing – by practicing – by growing through the experience.

Are you putting into practice what you know? It is time for practice. Practice, practice, practice.

Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act – they will be blessed in their doing. James 1:22-25