Summer Study Break

Brian is an old friend who happens to pastor a megachurch.  The eight or nine years that separate us were far more significant when I was almost thirty and he had just finished college.  Back then I was more of the mentor and he was the eager learner.  Now, thirty years later, the age difference is hardly significant.  I am forever grateful for what he has taught me.

One of the critical things I learned from Brian is something he called his "Summer Study Break."  "It's not a break to study," he commented, "It's a break from study."  He went on to explain his need to recharge his preaching batteries each summer.  At the time, he would take about six weeks away from preaching.  He continued on with his other duties of leading and pastoring, but had others preach in his stead during those weeks.

My first Summer Study Break was several years ago.  I have enjoyed one almost every year since.  Inevitably this season leads to some questions to which I will add my answers...

1. Are you enjoying your vacation? A: I'm not breaking from work, just from the creative cost of sermon prep.

2. What do you have to do all day since you don't have to prepare?  A: plenty!  I spend my life in meetings, most of them for planning what we do around here.  I help mentor some younger pastors.  In addition, I'm preparing for Children's Camp next week (I'm Camp Pastor) and for a conference where I'll speak later in the year.  Finally, I'm doing additional reading to fill up my emotional well.

3. I don't want to make a decision about this church until we have heard one of your sermons; when will you preach again?  A: I beg you, PLEASE never make a church membership decision because of the preaching of the Senior (or Lead) Pastor.  That treats the church like a retail outlet and makes you a consumer.  This is the Body of Christ.  Find the local church where He calls you and devote your life to Him there.

All that said, I am preaching twice in July, including this weekend.  I can't tell you how much I have gained from the other speakers in our "Ancient Relevance" series through the Old Testament book of Zechariah.  I am deeply grateful for our pastors John, Tom and Scott, along with Paul Cunningham and Don Vickers (who will preach in a couple of weeks).  They haven't just shared the load; they have stretched us and helped us grow in the faith.

 

I Came, I Saw...

...I Hurt!

With a renewed respect (bordering on awe, but only bordering on awe) for my friends who run marathons, triathlons and ultra-marathons, I completed my first half-marathon yesterday. The race, at Camp Pendleton, which is just north of San Diego, was hopefully to be on a day with highs in the low 70s. Oh, and the previous day included a blanket of fog.

We must have taken a bit of our heat and sunshine with us! The only way to stay cool was to grab two cups of water at the water stations and drink one while pouring the other on my head. (I believe in baptism by full immersion, so I don't think I received any extra sanctification by this.)

Anyway, with lots of encouragement and the joy of running with a few good friends, I finished. I will probably do it again.

I will try to include a picture or two later!

Anyone want to preach for me today?

Labor Day Weekend

My summer has been rapid-fire with meetings on top of meetings. It culminated with an important decision by our church family last Sunday.

Sooooo, I'm gonna kick back this weekend. (Still bein' a pastor and preachin' on Sunday.)

What are you doing?

Writing Takes More Than Fingers

I have been away from Dwell & Cultivate for a couple of days. It wasn't my original intention to do so, but ministry happens at the speed of life. And writing takes more than fingers.

Now, before any of you imagine me sitting at my Macbook attempting to type with my toes, that's not what I'm talking about. Good writing, the kind that pulls the reader to the printed word, contains some emotion. Joe Friday would say, "Just the facts, ma'am; just the facts." But, while I'm certain that Joe was concise with his Dragnet police reports, I question whether we would have read one of his novels (not that he wrote any!).

So, my lack of posts for the past few days has been purely because my emotional writing well was dry. Yes, they were those kinds of days.

But I plan to be back tomorrow. I am always honored that you take time to read.

A Swamp Story

You may not hear from me this week. Maybe a little. Maybe not at all.

You see, I'll be somewhere down in a Bayou. Never mind that the Bayou is our church campus and it's over 110 degrees every day. (We did get a bit of a storm yesterday and perhaps 1/10 of an inch of rain, but that's another story.) It's VBS week at Stone Ridge and I'll be wrestlin' crockogators (or, is it allidiles?).

If I can fight off the water moccasins, I'll try to give you an update.

Swat them 'skeeters!

See Ya Sunday!

My Gift

I often write this post the day before it is published. That means that today's thoughts were written yesterday (duh!). And yesterday was (in the U.S.) Father's Day.

So this lack of substance is my Father's Day gift...

...to myself!

See you tomorrow.

Ahem...

Someone asked me recently about days off, given that i work on Sunday. After a very full week of Easter and writing, I'm taking one off from this blog.

Have a great Monday!

The Last Day

Have you ever noticed the emotional impact of "The Last...?" It can be "The last class before graduation -- yaaay!" It might be "The last kiss before we part -- tears."

In our family...drum roll please...it's the last day of Zoodle's first year.

So I'm taking the day off from writing.

Oh. Yeah. I always do that on Saturdays anyway!

It's Called "Margin"

It won't butter toast (ar ar), but it makes life smoother!

I told you yesterday about buying a car. I left a part out. I didn't mention the dealer, except to commend his business reputation. I didn't leave with any question about his honesty or integrity. In fact, I would choose to do business with him again and have no trouble recommending him.

But I left less than fully satisfied. The deal was fine. The salesperson was good and I felt comfortable with him. The experience left something to be desired.

I am usually busy during my work week. This week was even more hectic. The easiest, most efficient way for me to communicate with the dealer was through email. My salesman answered my questions quickly and thoroughly. I was met, shown the car I wanted to see and taken for a test drive. I followed up with a request for the final price with all fees. It was promised the next morning -- the time I requested -- and arrived as promised. So far, so good.

I knew the salesman was checking to see if they could come down further on the price and wasn't surprised when the answer was "no." The price they quoted was well under their wholesale value already. I then asked only for one addition to the listed equipment on the car. I requested a minimum of two keys -- three if possible -- and two remote openers. Most of you know that keys are now electronically encoded and they aren't cheap!. I also know that they are a huge markup item when sold to the public.

I received two. The minimum.

I provided some basic information by email in order to speed up the paperwork process. Upon arrival, they had a few more items they needed from me. I provided those and sat down with my father-in-law to wait. We sat in the showroom, which was amazingly quiet (probably short-staffed due to the economy and and off-site sale that day). Still, no one offered us anything to drink and water or a soda would have been appreciated -- it was warm that day.

I felt like we were "outsiders", even though I had just handed them a rather large check. There were none of the little extras that say, "It's great to do business with you!" At the end, as I took the keys, the salesman thanked me for the way I handled the transaction. I walked away and that was it.

Margin. It's what happens when a person keeps their promises "and then some." It's the second mile. It's the candy on your hotel pillow. It's the unexpected bonus.

With Jesus Christ, it was "Come on down, Zacheus, for I'm going to your house today." For a girl in Genesis 24 named Rebekah, it was, "Here's some water. Wait and I'll water your camels, too!" Margin is when you reserve the time, energy and money to forsake the good and do the great.

Margin happens because we make it a priority. We don't try to blacken every square millimeter of our life parchment with the ink of activity.

Then, when we encounter others, we have something extra to give them.

Do you have Margin?

Or are you spread too thin?

Saturday Selection

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's time once again for a day of rest from this page. Each week I feature a blog I have been reading and enjoy.

One of the early followers of Dwell & Cultivate is Rachel Cotterill. Her blog is but one part of her writing adventure. You will discover that she loves to travel and is sometimes tapped to write about it for others. She is also in the process of writing a novel. I look forward to the day that I will cruise into Barnes and Noble or click over to amazon and purchase one of her books!

More than anything, Rachel's thoughtful responses have often encouraged -- and sometimes challenged -- me. Check her out today!

Industrial-Strength Drainage

When is the last time you were invited to spend the evening with friends and found yourself looking at your watch within 30 minutes after you got there...counting the minutes until you could politely leave! Let's face it. Part of our relational lives includes getting into social situations that drain us dry.

When is the last time you went somewhere for the evening and were shocked when you finally noticed how late it was? "I can't believe it's past midnight!" That part of you that gets constantly emptied got filled back up again!

I once saw these described as as energy-draining vs. energy-charging relationships. Too much of one can take away your joy of living. Too much of the other can spoil you and make you worthless.

So I ask myself: if you were to spend the evening at our house, how would you walk away?

Tomorrow we'll explore some ways to be charging stations.

In the meantime, which are you?

Saturday Selection

First and foremost, Cathy and I are having a great time with Chickie and Zoodle this week. C.Beth just dropped them off and went to San Diego.

Not really! We are thoroughly enjoying all three and sorry that The Engineer couldn't be here also.

Today, for your reading enjoyment, I encourage you to exercise your mouse and head on over to another blog for your Saturday Selection.

I was glued to my screen the very first time I read some of Chris Bowers' writing. I tell stories. Chris creates! Get ready to stretch your thinking and catch a word or two of life wisdom along the way.

AND I'll see you back here tomorrow!

The Seventh Day

My friend Ox told me something very interesting the other day. Ox works on Harriers (you know, those jets that take off and land pretty much vertically). Well, Ox said that every 30 engine hours they have to run those jet turbines through a stress test. He said that metal fatigue is a common problem. I asked him how fast those things turn and he said it's about 20,000 r.p.m. at maximum power and you can add to that the speed (400-500 m.p.h.) they are moving through the air. I guess those things need a "Sabbath" after a work week of only 30 hours!

Here's the deal. Those turbines are pipsqueaks compared to some pastors I know. 20,000 revs is a slow idle for some of those "revs." On top of that, they almost never slow down long enough for a health checkup. My pastor friend Manolo from the Dominican has a huge problem with taking on too much and many of his friends are concerned about him. I was down there earlier this month and one of our little team convinced Manolo to go to the beach with us. Manolo grew up next to some of the most beautiful ocean front I've ever seen, but somehow he had felt it was inappropriate to go after he became a pastor -- over 25 years ago! I snapped his picture in shorts
even though he still had his phone glued to his ear.

Manolo got out into the water that afternoon, visibly relaxed and started cracking jokes. I'm certain it wasn't enough to handle all his "metal fatigue," but it was a start and he's coming here soon to stay for several weeks. Hopefully he'll be able to pass a stress test.

I'm writing about this because it's Saturday (to be published tomorrow) and the Seventh Day of this blog. I'm glad the first week is behind me. I am learning A LOT!

AND I slept in this morning. This "Sabbath" thing that God started -- I like it!