We are slowly but surely un-packing the boxes in our new house. Last night I took out all of the boxes, trash and recycled stuff to the curb for pick-up today. We have been annexed by the city of Charlotte so our trash is collected by city workers. Last week I didn't do they recycling correctly but they took our stuff anyway. This week I did it the same and put out twice as many boxes but the workers today wouldn't take stuff. Today the worker informs me that I have to cut the boxes into 3x3 pieces and call the sanitation department for a special pick-up. This means I had to un-pack every box and put the packing paper into garbage bags. Then I had to cut every box. I have no problem with what they expect--I just wish they would have told me ahead of time. I didn't know any better. How can you do the right thing if you don't know what to do? Isn't that the way our spiritual life is? How can a person have a relationship with Christ without being shown how to know Jesus? How can a person grow in their faith if they aren't shown how to study the Bible or pray? I remember asking a student to read from the Bible during a study when we lived in Ft. Worth, TX. He snapped at me and acted all tough. After the Bible Study he pulled me aside and apologized. He said he was embarrassed because he had never opened the Bible. He didn't know how to read the Bible. I spent some time with him showing him how to use the table of contents to look for a book in the Bible. I spent time discipling him. Discipleship is essential to growth as a Christian. I'm not talking about Discipleship Training or any other program. I'm talking about one-on-one or small group discipleship. I'm grateful for being discipled in high school and college. I have spent time discipling others. I am convinced that if you don't know better, it is hard to do the right thing. That is why communication is important but training (discipleship) is essential!