Vacation=Clarity

We were on vacation for the last 2 weeks (woo-hoo!)...had a great time out in the beauty of Oregon. You can always tell when it's been a really good vacation because coming back in to regular life is extra difficult!

I came away from vacation this year understanding anew why vacation (and by extension, sabbath) is so important. It's not simply about the need for rest and renewal though those are valid. But when you take a break from life as normal for an extended time, i think there is a wonderful gift of clarity that comes

It wasn't until i went on vacation that I could see how unhealthy my work schedule is. It wasn't until i didn't have 15 urgent items on my to-do list every day that i saw that i'm trying to do too much. It wasn't until i got to immerse myself in my family that i realized how cool my family is and how much more time they need from me.

Of course making all these changes is a tough thing to do, and after being back only 5 days i feel like i'm already losing the battle, but i wouldn't even know what to do if i didn't have the time away to see things as they actually are. Perhaps God knew what he was doing when he only made it light outside for so many hours each day. And maybe he wasn't being a jerk when he commanded us to take a day off after 6 of working. It just might be that all those "breaks" they talked about in the Bible weren't only because the "protestant work ethic" hadn't been invented yet to show the Old Testament people how lazy they were :)

So let me finish this by encouraging you to do a very un-american thing. Take ALL of your vacation time this year to get away from regular life. And while you're there spend extra time with God asking for clarity on how to make your life better reflect HIS design for it.

who's the problem?

was at a conference today at a local church known for it's ability to change. I'll be back there today. There were some good talks given about the necessity of change, and also some of the keys were given to helping a church change. It wasn't about change for "change sake" which is good, i think in my life sometimes change is an idol, it's my boredom-rescuer. The change they were talking about is the good kind; changing to become more missional (even if i don't 100% agree with their outcomes).

PLEASE NOTE: by talking about change, i'm not trying to bash st. matthew, i love what God has done/is doing at st. matt. Still, change is necessary for all of us, daily being transformed and conformed into the likeness of Christ, individually and as a body. So st. matthew people, don't get ruffled that one of your pastors thinks we need to change, truth is we DO! we all do and so does every church in the world!

Throughout all the sessions yesterday i had this battle with myself, who is the problem? i'm sure you've experienced something similar. i might blame the people in the congregation for being too resistant. or i might blame our history for being too enslaving over us. i want to look at other staff people and point out their inadequacies. or i even might blame our denomination for being too confining. All of those outcomes feel good for a second because that means i'm not really a part of the problem, they fuel pride (the bad kind)- i come out smelling like a rose (or something equally nice-smelling but more manly).

But i also find that pride is damning. All of these attempts at pointing the finger make me feel good for a second, but they also make me feel totally hopeless.

Truth is, if i'm a leader worth my salt (BTW, i've noticed that you can by like 20 pounds of salt for a nickle, so that means i'm worth about 40 cents?), i should be able to bring noble change to whatever God has entrusted into my hands.

I am the problem.

and maybe that's n0t a distinction i share alone, but i'm certainly a part of it. I guess part of that is an ego killer. Perhaps i'm not the leader that i thought i was. But the surprise that comes along with this acknowledgment is hope. Godly change can happen and "i'm staring with the man in the mirror" (please read/sing the previous line with all of mr. jackson's vocal hiccups, emotion, and slick moves-go ahead it's friday!)

So now i AM talking to you who might be a part of St. Matthew, or i guess any other local church on earth. What are you doing to make sure that your heart is being won over (changed, transformed) in greater measure, day by day, by Jesus Christ? AND what are you doing to help others experience this same kind of transformation?

It really does start with any/all of us who care. You don't need a pulpit or an elected position. one thing is needful-live out the transformation that Jesus is working in you, and love others enough to invite them in on it. it sounds trite, or overdone, but (for right now at least) it's an amazingly hopeful proposition.