They call persons like me "bird listers" not "birdwatchers" since our sport is merely to see the bird, add it quickly to the list of the day or the month or the lifetime, and move on. A watcher on the other hand can see it and see it and see it, delighting in its every move, even recording such by pen and video for others to delight in. I totally respect the proper birdwatcher, but that is definitely not me.

Through the years I have seen parallels in what I do with the workings of the Kingdom of God, my true life's obsession. Let me share as many as my space allows for today, then meet up with you some other time for the rest.

Birding, whether by the list or by the hour, is not ideally a solo sport. Experienced watchers can go out from time to time on their own, but even they understand it is the group that has the knowledge, not the individual.

How true this is for the people of God. private devotions is an essential for sure, but begins to have a hollow feel after awhile if not fueled by fellowship. Jesus is in me. No doubt. But in a greater sense He is in the Body, speaking this word or working that miracle through a large number of individuals who when they come into one place become Jesus Himself.

I have exhausted what I can do on the trail by myself. I see the same birds, make the same list, and almost develop a religious-like expectation that this is what birding is about. But when the expert comes along at my side, and I see the woods through his eyes, it is a new trail altogether.

So with Jesus' people. Experts abound when we have ears to hear them. Granted, as on a field trip there are many "wannabe" experts, who see things that aren't and identify wrongly the simplest of manifestations. Pooled ignorance is not a delightful time in nature or Super-nature. But bring along those who have seen this trail before, those who have long known the things that will certainly appear on our pathway, and life is fun.

Of course, having a good bird guide is helpful. The guide is nothing more than an expression of the group. A group of authors and photographers put their expertise in printed form, and in one sense they can accompany you on the journey.

Easy comparison there, right? The Bible is not just any book. God chose a group of people to see and to write for us. What can we do without the guide book? Still, as in birding, there are those who can't quite interpret the bird they are seeing, even from the guide. That's when the expert shows up and takes you to the exact page, the full description, and the particular field mark that proves it to be so.