People Work, Week 9, Taylor Shanks

            I don’t think that there is any particular easy way to help with learning about people, but when you are put into ministry and are an extremely relational person those two factors help.  Some advice might include spending time with others, through relationships and spending time with others you are learning how to interact and be with others.  Secondly, I think learning to listen rather than hear yourself talk is a great way to learn about people.  If you talk about yourself all the time, how do you expect to learn anything about anyone else?  It doesn’t quite work that way.  I think you can also learn about others through knowing your own learning style and learning to adapt and be aware of how other people learn and manage.  Knowing this can help you adapt how you manage or how you interact so that you can get along and work better with others.  Another way would be to handle conflict in a mature and Biblical way.  If you feel that someone has an issue with you, be honest and approach him or her.  And try to handle it in a caring and intentional way.    

            I think allowing others to get to know you and loving them for who they are in Christ is how you jump over walls and loses barriers when it comes to working with others.  When God is in control of your relationships it causes you to think how he would treat others rather than how you would interact with others.