I’ve been thinking a lot about The Curse Of Knowledge recently.
Just what is The Curse Of Knowledge?
This: once you know something, you forget what it’s like not to know it.
The applications in church life are almost endless:
- Once you know the Apostle’s Creed, you forget what it’s like not to know it.
- Once you know the Lord’s Prayer, you forget what it’s like not to know it.
- Once you know “salvation by grace through faith,” you forget what it’s like not to know it.
- Once you know the best time to raise your hand during ‘The Great I Am,’ you forget what it’s like not to know it.
And in forgetting what it’s like not to know those and a thousand other church habits and practices, you unintentionally make it very difficult for newcomers to know what in the world is going on. The Curse Of Knowledge is why, for example, I almost always say when talking about a letter of Paul, “some of you know that Paul was a pastor & missionary and others of you never heard of him until this morning, and either way is OK.”
But the reason I’ve been thinking about The Curse Of Knowledge is because we have brought in several new staffers at Good Shepherd over the summer months.
And because I know what it’s like to work here, I forget what it’s like not to know it.
I know all the whys and whens and hows of inviting all people into a living relationship with Jesus Christ so well . . . that I forget what it’s like not to know them.
I know where to go to pick up expense report and absence requests so well . . . that I forget what it’s like not to know that stuff.
I know who is in assisted living and memory care so well . . . that I forget what it’s like not to know those people.
I even know what matters to me as a leader so well . . . that I forget what it’s like not to know what makes me tick.
So onboarding new employees into a place like Good Shepherd involves driving a stake into the heart of the curse of knowledge.