Christians are to pass on what (and whom) they know and love. This idea not only ties in with this week's message, it is at the heart of what we do here at Dayspring. Our mission involves training and nurturing others. In this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I want to share a little something about this process by means of a story about the blues.

Pastor John gave me Eric Clapton's 2007 Guitar Festival double DVD for Christmas. Susan Tedeschi, one of only a few modern female blues legends, is featured in the concert. In one song, she is about to rip into a searing guitar solo and she puts her pick in her mouth to use only her fingers. She flies into some blistering licks then winces in obvious pain - she's hurt her finger. Susan then pauses to take the pick again and finishes her solo. All along, the camera angle shows another guitarist in her band looking on at her failed attempt to do without the pick. The drama in this scene is that the guy is her husband, Derek Trucks. He is lesser known, but regarded as the superior player. Interestingly, Derek doesn't use a pick. The technique allows him more right hand creativity.

I wondered as I watched if Derek has been influencing Susan in this regard. Does this little vignette show the mentor watching the apprentice attempt something new and hard? If so, we've got two lessons to observe. First, this shows the importance of stepping out and taking some risks. Sure, early attempts will not produce the results you want right away, but what will be better in the long run is worth some pain in the short run. This little scene also shows the importance of the one passing on the skill (or character quality) having patience.

Even for those who don't like the blues, we can be proud when we see others we've influenced try new techniques and we should be patient when they take a few tries to get it right.