Jan 21, 2024
In the late 1600s and early 1700s a half-literate Italian craftsman named Antonio Stradivari designed and made a series of beautiful musical instruments. Today, those violins, named after the Latinized form of his name, Stradivarius, are considered priceless. In 2010, a Stradivarius was purchased for $3.6 million. It is believed there are only around five hundred of them still in existence, some of which have been submitted to the most intense scientific examination in an attempt to reproduce their extraordinary sound quality. But no one has been able to replicate Stradivari's craftsmanship.
Today we do know that Stradivari used spruce for the top, willow for the internal blocks and linings, and maple for the back, ribs, and neck. He also treated the wood with several types of minerals, including potassium borate, sodium and potassium silicate, as well as a handmade varnish that appears to have been composed of gum arabic, honey, and egg white.
But the genius craftsman never once recorded his technique for posterity. Instead, he passed on his knowledge to a number of his apprentices through what one scholar called "elbow learning." The apprentices of the great Stradivari didn't learn their craft from books or manuals but by sitting at his elbow and feeling the wood as he felt it to assess its length, its balance, and its timbre right there in their fingertips. All the learning happened at his elbow, and all the knowledge was contained in his fingers.
As Jesus begins his ministry of announcing the good news about the Kingdom of God, the very first thing that he does is find some apprentices, you would know them as disciples. Here is how he invites one third of his disciples into their apprenticeship.
We
learn a lot from Jesus' strategy for growing the Kingdom; it's more
then just announcing good news. The Kingdom strategy for expansion
is about finding apprentices/disciples and inviting them to engage
in some "elbow learning".
Who showed you how to be a Christian? Was it a parent or family
member? A friend? Or was it a book you read, a class you took or a
video you watched?
What is clearly missing when it comes to living as a follower of
Jesus is good, old fashioned, Stradivarian, "elbow
learning". To discover more about Jesus' strategy for making "elbow
learning" disciples, check out the lastest sermon from, Come,
Follow, Me.