1 Cor 2

Two things stand out to me about these few paragraphs. First, the man whose preaching turned the Gentile world upside down is self-described as one who "was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that you faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

If this man, this leader in the church, went down--which he would--the church that was established would not be thrown into chaos, because the knew that their existence was not owed to the master planning, charismatic magnetism of a man, but the Spirit of the living Christ.

Secondly, Paul is saying what Solomon said in the proverbs: The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. If we are to see people gain understanding into the things of God it will not be because of our amazing teaching skills, but it will be because the Spirit of God has changed the heart to be disposed to trust the Lord.

Are clear communication and strong leadership to be despised? No way, in fact Paul would elsewhere say that we should speak with clarity and boldness (Colossians 3), but the power for affecting change, the power for imparting God's truth, is God's power.

As a parent this brings an interesting application very near. How will I capture the heart of my kids for God? In light of these paragraphs in God's word, now what does the place of prayer-led, Spirit-dependant parenting have in my hopes of raising kids to successfully navigate life with an unswerving dependence upon the Lord?