Empowerment Lesson From a 2-year old

The hardest thing for my 2-year old son, Sev, to convince doing is taking a bath. First, we would chase him all over the house. Then, if we do get to catch him, with the loudest of sounds, he screams in protest. Then upon taking a bath he would be crying, wishing this part of the day's routine ends the soonest.

After many bouts in the bathroom, I had an idea. I gave Sev the tabo or dipper. He then realized playing with the tabo is a lot of fun. He soon filled the tabo with water, and bathed himself. Of course I had to do the soaping and shampooing. Now, it's hard to make Sev stop taking a bath. He tells me, "Daddy bath time!" Then after the whole ritual, I tell him, "ok, bath time is over." Then I get a "not yet Daddy" as an answer.

Empowerment is about giving the "tabo" to your member. Empower means to delegate power, giving others the power to decide and the power to act. Jesus exemplified empowerment,"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)."

What's important about empowerment though, is showing how things are done first, then empowering our members to do it. In His 3 years of mission, Jesus showed us the way. Then when He went to heaven, He gave us the "tabo," His Holy Spirit. "

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father(John 14:12).

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you (John 14:16-17).