It is wise to bring attitudes like this into the Christian assembly. In the church we must understand that the men before us deserve our respect, regardless of their individual issues. The Christian elder is even more unique than the elder birder. He has enjoyed for long years being a citizen of a totally different realm. When he gets together with those of like understanding and encounter, it is wise for the uninitiated to approach with humility, and just listen. Though knowledge can lead to sinful pride, it can also lead to wisdom. And wisdom demands silence.

Another thing one can learn from birdwatching seems to contradict what I said in lesson one, written elsewhere. There I saw the value of the group for each individual. But though we need other birders, eventually one becomes strong enough to take binoculars in hand and go to the uncharted wildernesses alone, identifying fearlessly every bird encountered... and eventually to take that expertise and pass it on to the next generation of bird enthusiasts.

So should the church family be viewed, as a training ground for one's own initiation into ministry near and far, and thence to leading others into the wilds of God's Kingdom.

One negative I picked up from associating with birders I have also noticed among Kingdom people. It is a well-known trait of fisher-folk too: Embellishment. There's always the one that got away, or flew away, or walked away.

"Had 'em on the hook,[ in my 'nocs, by my side] , then just lost 'em. Would've been the biggest prize ever."

Or those who love to speak "evangelistically" about the number of birds, or fish, or people they were able to do business with. "Why, there must have been a thousand of 'em," these wild-eyed exaggerators claim. And wild-eared listeners take it all in as Gospel truth.

It's something we all need to work on, this truth-telling, if we are ever to be believed when being believed is important.

Then there's the birder who saw the very same bird you saw, but swears it was something else than you recorded. Seeing two birders arguing over an identification is quite an event to behold.

But you " a'in't seen nothin'" until you've seen two believers go at it. Same Scripture, same basic outlook on the Bible, two totally different insights as to the meaning. Round and round they go, drawing a small crowd at times.

Sadly, often the end to which the believers here aspire is no more important than whether we saw a dark-eyed junco or a Carolina wren. Strife is strife. It destroys the spirit of a bird outing and quenches the Spirit of God in the church. Right is right and is important to discover. But there are times when you say, let's leave this until later, until we both can see a little more clearly, and until we value our friendship over our ability to identify.