During the gold rush of yesteryear, treasure seekers had to sift through a great amount of riverbed sediment for the desired golden nuggets. No one would ever consider hauling a ton of silt and rock to the bank–even if it contained the gold. That extra stuff was unnecessary and unhelpful.
Life comes at us much faster than the flow of a river. Change is everywhere. There are many pressure points shaping the face of the Church.
As we examine books, attend conferences, listen to podcasts, and read blogs, we must learn to pan for gold. Such is the way of the wise Kingdom steward. Too many people believe they must collect every piece of sediment that comes their way. We need the golden nuggets that will apply to our contexts.
This means we not only expose ourselves to the right resources, but we understand our contexts–not the context of the presenter, not the context we would like to have.
Sometimes you have to sift through a great deal of unnecessary and unhelpful stuff to find the gold. Grab a pan!