Experience is a big deal.

There’s a lot of things that I wish I knew when I was younger. This is one of them.

There’s a ton of value in getting together with other friends or leaders in ministry and sharing life. Solomon, who Scripture tells us was the wisest man to ever walk the earth, said more than anything else – seek wise counsel.

I’m realizing more and more that experience is a significant factor in the wisdom equation.

It seems that in general, young leaders are much more interested in giftedness (and even education) than they are in experience. For example, most leaders would rather listen to a Matt Chandler podcast than sit down with an older, wiser man and glean from his vast, life experience. I think it’s this way for a few reasons…

1. It is easier. It is much easier to listen to a podcast or read a blog than to schedule an appointment with someone. It just is. It’s also safer. The truth is that many men are afraid to pursue meeting with other men, because they either don’t want to be vulnerable or they don’t want to put themselves out there and get shot down.

2. We don’t value life experience. We value expertise. My meeting filter tends to be “how can this meeting help me sharpen my skill or increase my knowledge in a specific area?” This isn’t bad… There’s certainly value in pursuing meetings in order to grow in our competencies.

But there is something to be said for sitting down with a man who has seen more than you have, someone whose faith has been seasoned by the ups and downs of life, and asking them to teach you out of what they have learned over the years.

That, in and of itself, is incredibly valuable.

Excited to keep learning.