Through the end of the year I’ll be on a Social Networking Sabbatical. No Twitter and Facebook for me.
Twitter and Facebook are tools that have allowed me to connect with old friend and make tons of new ones. Truth be told, I value these connections and look forward to continuing to engage through these tools. Additionally, they bring me closer to the people I serve and help to lead in the Brooklake family…love that!
But, I need to re-calibrate. I need to focus on other priorities.
I plan on re-engaging after the first of the year but until then, I’ll be detoxing…so to speak.
Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that phrase. It’s a good way to live. Pray about this…pray about that. Nothing wrong with that!
But do we need to pray about doing the right thing. I mean sure there’s a chance of burning out serving too much (I suppose) but is that a matter of prayer or just plain old good decision making?
What do you think? Is it possible to use prayer as an excuse for inaction?
On an early Thursday morning last June, I told the Elders of The Rock that we would be stepping down as pastor to follow God’s will for our life and ministry.
Other than when we told our daughters and I proposed to Michelle, I’ve never been so anxious. Because I think I knew the shock that was to come.
The moment I announced the news is the moment all the oxygen left the room. One guy thought I was joking and said a few choice words but then we all just sat there. Stunned. I teared up.
Silence.
The point of this post is not the emotional climate of that meeting but what happened next. You see, The Rock is a portable church…gathers on Sunday’s in a High School. Most of you know the drill, one 24 ft. cargo trailer and another 14 ft. cargo van pull up at 7am and Roadies for Jesus offload and set-up everything.
EVERYTHING!
The Rock doesn’t own any major assets. No building, steeple, swing set, toilet…nothing except what lives in the trailer, truck and a few leased offices. So the only thing they had to protect, when confronted with the reality that their founder was leaving, was their mission. Was it worth the pain?
If we’re honest, what we fear losing keeps us moving forward. For a local congregation that too often is their building, property, carpets and their image.
But Jesus calls us to whole different set of criteria: People. Period.
I am so proud of the Elders of The Rock for choosing to pay the price to keep the mission of Jesus first as they worked through a very painful period in this awesome church. These guys (and their families) will probably never know the Kingdom impact their hard work will have.
Announcing the decision of our resignation to the The Rock Church was difficult.
But it was not nearly as difficult as telling the individuals that we chose to tell the week before. I know I run the risk with this post of hurting the feelings of those we didn’t tell but the truth is that we couldn’t personally meet with everyone. But there were a few folks that deserved to hear it from us with the intimacy that only a tearful explanation can offer.
I dreaded each and every meeting. It was like a brake up and I/we felt horrible each and every time. At the end of the week I literally felt as if I’d gone 5 rounds in the octagon.
I’m not sure if there’s much of a lesson here other than this: sometimes God’s peace doesn’t feel very peaceful.
For what it’s worth the most difficult conversation Michelle and I had was with our daughters. Never want to do that again!
