Although I was now a them, I still identified with the us s of the world, the people desperately in need of God s daily grace just to smile and say nice things to strangers. At times, my greatest gift as a leader was saying that I was sorry sorry for my pride, sorry for my selfishness, sorry for my giving you a hard time for doing the same. I d doled out the greater strictness myself, so I knew about that. Anyone who makes no mistake in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. There was us again making mistakes in a grand way.
Teachers usually have an attentive audience when they say something wrong.
I did too, only now I was teaching not just with my words, but with my life as I discipled younger believers and others seeking spiritual truth. When I made mistakes in this kind of teaching, much more than rephrasing was necessary to clean up my messes. Much, much more. In fact, I began to realize that I would need all of the power to be found in the blood of Christ if I was ever going to lead my life in a manner worth of the gospel. At that point, I got scared, and in my fear, I learned to reach out for the body and blood of Christ.