The Importance of Unlearning
Pastor and author Mark Batterson got my attention in a big way when he wrote, “Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning. Unfortunately, unlearning is twice as hard as learning.”
“Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning. Unfortunately, unlearning is twice as hard as learning.” – Mark Batterson
By way of illustration, Batterson notes how it’s like missing your exit on the freeway. You have to drive to the next exit and then double back. Every mile you go in the wrong direction is really a two-mile error.
Unlearning is not only twice as hard as learning; it often takes twice as long. It’s more difficult to get old thoughts out of your mind than to get new thoughts into your mind.
“You have heard that it was said…”
The necessity of unlearning is the challenge Jesus faced as He taught about the Kingdom, isn’t it?
If you study the teachings of Christ, you’ll see that in order for His disciples to learn, they had to be challenged to unlearn. This is why two phrases are repeated over and over in the Sermon on the Mount.
“You have heard that it was said…”
“But I tell you…”
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-29)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (Matthew 5:38-39)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44)
Half of spiritual growth is learning what we don’t know. The other half is unlearning what we do know.
Embracing this challenge is especially difficult for leaders. We pride ourselves on the research we’ve done and the decisions we’ve made in light of that research. Moreover, we then communicate it with those we lead.
Thus, it takes both teachability and humility to admit the need to unlearn. Yet if we don’t, we will not only continue in our error, we will pass it on.
It takes both teachability and humility to admit the need to unlearn.
Unlearning About Diversity
In these past few months, I have been forced to “unlearn” in several key areas. One was triggered by a challenging, indeed disturbing book as it relates to the issue of race in our country. White Lies is a no-holds-barred expose of that which needs to be “unlearned” by white evangelicals.
Drawing from more than twenty years of working in cross-cultural communities, Pastor Daniel Hill offers clarity on what White supremacy is and how it is much more than extremist groups spewing hatred, but lamentably an ideology that has infiltrated us all.
Hill offers nine lies that continue to divide the church along racial lines (“You have heard it said…”) and nine practices rooted in Scripture (“But I tell you…”) that have provided me with practical ways to unlearn and to learn.
Unlearning About Discipleship
The second area where I have been challenged to “unlearn” was exposed by a book by Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks titled, The Other Half of Church.
Hendricks’ job was to oversee spiritual formation in his church. He bought into the standard thinking that transformation and growth were a function of gaining the right information and making the right choices.
The problem was that approach didn’t seem to be working. Not that it was bad or wrong. It just wasn’t enough. Transformation was all too shallow and all too fleeting.
He then tells of his encounter with neurotheologian Jim Wilder whose study of brain science revealed that this approach to discipleship is actually contrary to how the brain works. Believing the right things and making the right choices are left brain functions. But everything the brain processes goes through the right side of the brain first. The right side of the brain is where loving attachments, attunement, joy, and identity are developed. It’s where character formation takes place.
His conclusion? We have been seeking to make disciples by using only half of their brain. We need to look for ways to engage and even prioritize the right side in order for spiritual transformation to be significant and lasting.
Both of these books rocked my world. I had been so confident that I was accurate in my assumptions and correct in my conclusions. But I wasn’t.
I have been forced to admit that Batterson’s observation is oh, so true: “Unlearning is twice as hard as learning, and it often takes twice as long. It’s harder to get old thoughts out of your mind than to get new thoughts into your mind.”
Yet, when one dares to unlearn and relearn, the result can be profound.
So, what might you need to unlearn and relearn? I’d be curious to know. Feel free to let me know in the comment section below.
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