Iron Sharpens Iron—Better Together! (Prov. 27:17)

 “Iron sharpens iron,
      and one man sharpens another.”

This is a message we often hear in the church, especially in the context of ministries aimed at men, though it is equally true for women. It is a powerful metaphor of the relational element of whole-life character (and perhaps even personality) development. It has often been said that such engagement might produce sparks, but it also brings strength and respect.

Pondering the concept of “iron sharpening iron” causes me to ask practical questions such as, “How can we sharpen each other for greater effectiveness and faithfulness in the long work of the harvest? What needs to take place for us to overcome the dulling effects of living and ministering in a fallen world? I have a 45-year-old boy scout hatchet (see below left) that is a bit the worse for wear. It could stand to be sharpened if it is going to be useful for chopping this summer.

Forged in Fire is currently a very popular television show, where four contestants are challenged to construct their signature blades in such a way that they will stand up to a series of sometimes gruesome tests for strength, sharpness, and lethality. The final two contestants are then tasked by the judges with building a specific weapon from history in their own home forge that will be brought back to be tested and a winner will be chosen. While within our learning cohorts we are not in competition with each other, there is a spirited discussion on matters of importance so that we can hear, learn, and grow in understanding—all while taking seriously the call to build (not puff) each other up.

Photo Credit Greg Dueker

A Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program is for those with considerable ministry experience—having run, walked, or crawled through some victories, some defeats, some wise decisions, and some foolish decisions. Yet just because we have experience doesn’t mean that we know everything or can even rightly perceive what we know. In cohort-based learning, we subject our pet ideas and approaches to the scrutiny of the community of learners. Untested ideas get tempered and nicked up a bit while the gouges and notches left by past and present conflicts are hammered out, heat-treated, and honed through lasting relationships and reexamination of the Scriptures, learning about the lives of fellow saints and spiritual soldiers and humbly seeking godly wisdom in our ministry contexts.

Earlier in the same “sharpening” chapter, the author of Proverbs wrote,

“Better is open rebuke

    than hidden love.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Prov. 27:5-6)

This is also hard to hear…especially if we don’t like having our ideas and methods questioned. Yet, for the sake of the gospel, we should be willing and ready to face sharpening if we are going to be effective over the long term. Have you ever taken the time to consider how open rebuke is better than hidden love? I’m not sure that I have except to intuitively know it is better. The Book of Proverbs is consistent in talking about how the wise man responds to rebuke differently than the fool (See à13:1; 17:10; 28:23; 9:7-8; 12:1,15; 1:7-9, 23-27). The wise man finds value in being rebuked for he can “learn” or “gain understanding” from the process. Even if the rebuke is undeserved, it may still help produce humility in the wise man and increase his dependence upon the Lord. However, hidden love doesn’t help anyone. This verse (5) reminds me of a technique you may have seen on the popular TV show, The Voice, where, in the early stages of the competition, the coaches often try to sell contestants on why they should pick them as their coach. One coach, Adam Levine, often is complimentary, but then points out some minor issues that need to be corrected and how he could help the singer improve. When he uses this approach, it works almost every time over the “complements alone” approach other coaches might employ, because serious performers want to get better.

As pastors, chaplains, missionaries, and Christian leaders, we would do well to seek wise counsel before going into the spiritual “battle” that swirls around us. As it is written,

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
    but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14; See also 24:6)

The Bible—the whole counsel of the Word of God—when we delight in it, provides just such an abundance of counselors (Psalm 119:24). It is a wonderful thing that we don’t have to face the enemy, or prepare ourselves for the task before us, alone. In fact, we shouldn’t even attempt it. The Apostle Paul wrote to a younger pastor,

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

This means that the Bible, read and studied together in community is God speaking into our lives and ministries. It will be very useful since it …

• reveals what is right and true (teaching or doctrine)
• reveals what is not right (reproof)
• reveals how to get right (correction)
• reveals how to stay right (training in righteousness)

The bottom line is that we all need a heart that is teachable, a mind that is applied to seeking understanding, a heart overflowing with the love of God, the faith to leave our comfort zone to join in the mission of God and to encourage others to keep up, that and the physical strength to do the work.

I am thankful to those men and women of my cohort who walked with me in full or in part through the sharpening process—Mark Nicklas, Cliff Chappell, Joe Luce, Eric Knox, Chris Haughee, Jody Bormuth, Noel Schaak, Jim Polenski, Joe-Silem Enlet, Wilfred Kaweesa, John McKenricks, Serena Briening, Bill Myers, Will Berkley, Paul Louis Metzger and many others who supported us along the journey!

"In Process"
Photo Credit: Greg Dueker

I hope that you have faithful men and women to encourage and challenge you as you serve the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a committed learning community check out cohort-based programs at well-respected seminaries. 

If there is one thing I know about axes, it is that a dull ax doesn’t split much wood, and just might be more likely to cut your leg than a log! Don’t be that person!