On “Expertizing”
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 10 months ago
Posted on behalf of TCJ author WiscoDave.
For a while now Herschel has been letting me know that “anytime you feel like posting you still have access” and “if you feel like posting something, just go ahead because you still have posting privileges.” OK. I’ll admit I’m slow on the uptake. Maybe, just maybe, these were hints… So here we go.
As is our habit, we begin with a quiet recitation of A. Shepard’s Prayer.
In John Gierach’s book “Sex, Death, and Fly Fishing” he uses the term “expertizing.” He defines expertizing thus: “Expertizing means acting like an expert. Not necessarily being an expert, mind you, but acting like one.”
In the book he tells several tales that involve him expertizing. The one that strikes me as most applicable to my point is the one in which he is invited to speak to a group of people involved with fly fishing. As he looks out at the audience, he notes several attendees that are much better at fly fishing than he is. All are looking at him with rapt attention in anticipation of his great words. They are better, but due to his platform, he is viewed as the expert.
We are living in interesting times (like that has never happened before) and the local, nationwide, and worldwide status is in a state of constant change. In a search for information on the what, where and how of the goings on we can cast a fairly wide net in search of information. Some of what we catch is good eatin’ for the mind. Some of what we catch isn’t. And there also is that occasional boot that doesn’t even fit on the menu. While it is easy to judge good fish/bad fish/boot, information from a website can ofttimes be more difficult to discern.
There are those out there that have given themselves a platform from which to expertize. Others, having come across that platform, then share it on their own platform which can very much increase the size of the original platform. This then leads to more expertizing, and so on.
None of you are stupid. At the least you took a break from watching cat videos to come here for the Captain’s insight. (Unfortunately, you found me here today. Xin Loi). Each of you is capable of looking at the information presented and determining good fish/bad fish/boot. Use that capability when reading what the expertizers are placing on your plate.
On February 25, 2020 at 1:43 pm, Fred said:
Expertizing. And now you know how a man of God or preacher feels every day, wholly inadequate, but doing the work anyway, for who could be an expert at living a life in service of Holy God.
On February 25, 2020 at 2:28 pm, WiscoDave said:
Only the good ones @Fred. Only the good ones.
On February 25, 2020 at 2:33 pm, Fred said:
Or the fakes on TV. There are none good.
On February 25, 2020 at 2:55 pm, Fred said:
I guess I should clarify, and sorry this has gotten OT, (maybe). As soon as a man becomes an expert at being a pastor or preacher or man of God he is no longer qualified for it is not the man that speaks but God. I’ve never met a good preacher that doesn’t have fear and trepidation that his words may be incorrect, or come across wrong. I wonder, how many men of God have prayed that everything wrong or incorrect off of their pen or out of their mouth be removed from the minds and hearts of the hearers, and everything true and correct of God be used well for His glory by the hearer. That’s my point, there are none good. He may be endeared, he may get more correct than most, but if there were an expert, who would need his God and but only need the man.
On February 25, 2020 at 3:19 pm, WiscoDave said:
I have known a few of those, Fred, the ones that prayed God would speak through them. One was my father. Those men, THEY are the ones I called “good.” They carried the love and fear of God with them at all times. None would ever dare to take credit from God for what had been spoken through them.
I think we are in agreement.
On February 25, 2020 at 4:25 pm, pigpen51 said:
Fred,
I know what you are speaking about, from a personal point of view. I have in the past, preached in a Baptist church, of which I was a deacon, when we were without a pastor. And while I did have some education at Bible college, it was certainly not enough to prepare me for that. Trust me when I say that I often prayed that God’s words would be heard, and I would be merely the one speaking them.
It goes without saying that often humankind gets in the way of what God intends for us, as often God places hurdles in our path to bless us, yet we, being human, seek to avoid those hurdles, and thereby missing out on the blessings that God has for us, if we only allow Him to lead us down the path set before us. Because so often, what we view as painful, and something to be sidestepped, is really a thing that will end up with our gaining so much more if we only trust.
The internet is a miracle, in that we have nearly all of the information that has been accumulated from history, at our fingertips. The only problem is, the internet also has almost the same amount of false information as well. You have to be willing to discern which is correct and which is incorrect, based on your own intellect, and experience.
Remember, an ex- is a has been, and a -spurt is a drip under pressure. So we know what an expert is.
On February 25, 2020 at 6:27 pm, joe said:
An old friend of mine always said X is an unknown quantity, a spurt is what pigpen51 said above. Expert = unknown drip.
On February 26, 2020 at 9:40 am, steve said:
I have met, in my life, a very few true “men of God”. The ones I have met have almost no formal education in “Religion”. The true “Man of God” is one who is led solely by God’s Holy Spirit and nothing else. Period. Since God is truly Omnipotent and Omni-present that following is enough. To be sure these men have made some mistakes in their life. However the true “Man of God” will confess and repent and move on with his walk with God. I have had occasion to preach His Word. The best “sermon” has always been the one when I have prepared nothing and spoken purely from God’s leading at that moment. My experience with organized religion has not gone well. Whenever some experts injects their or anybody else’s doctrine/dogma the hackles on my neck go up. God’s Word is sufficient and quite clear about Salvation. Faith. Period. Nothing else. The idea that i have to be baptized into some congregation or follow some doctrine is contrary to God’s word. Jesus was clear on the reason we are to be Baptized in John 3:5-7 and it is not to be accepted into a specific congregation or denomination. It also is not to be saved. Baptism is the testimony of your heart and spirit to yield yourself to God’s rule in your life and accepting His Holy Spirit as your eternal guide. John 3:16-18 further solidifies the necessity of only Faith in Him for our Salvation. Faith and Baptism are distinctly different but necessary parts of a God led, Sprit filled, Spirit led life. I am certain that there will be those who disagree with this assessment.