All Good Things...

As Loverboy sang 33 years ago, "It's over! It's over! It's over!"

My nine-week sabbatical ended yesterday and so this morning I made my way to the church office for the first official time since early June. It was almost like a "first day on the job" feeling with the mixed emotions of both excitement and anxiousness. However, soon after the day began, the staff and I had a great time sharing over doughnuts (which always seem to make any situation better) about our summer from both point of views, and we all agreed that it went by very fast!

From my perspective, that was certainly true. To those who told me I'd get bored - you know, that just didn't happen. Did I accomplish everything that I had hoped to? Not even close. I've still got lots of organizing to do (and throwing away, gasp!) of personal and professional papers and digital files, as well as some unfinished house projects and unread books.

But did I accomplish what I needed to? Or what God wanted me to? I really believe I did. At least I hope I did. Since I had never experienced this kind of break before, I really didn't know what to expect or think. I just know that I now feel less burdened by some things that used to overwhelm me, and more determined about others that I used to look right past.

I don't really want to steal my "thunder" from this coming Sunday as I plan to share about some lessons learned throughout the summer, but here's a quick snapshot of the last nine weeks by the numbers:

• 8,000 miles traveled with family and friends (8,019.4 to be exact, or at least as exact as I can get)
• 192 geocaches found (including the Original Stash Plaque, my first finds in British Columbia, Ontario, Washington, Oregon, and Michigan, and a whopping 80 finds on a single day with the 2McTwins as we completed the HI - Be Happy! Geo Art)
• 150 / 4 Psalms / Gospels read
• 21 varieties of hot dogs stomached from Sonic's "Dog Days of Summer"
• 14 verses in John 14 memorized (and I thought I could do all 91 in John 14-16 - ha! I will continue to add to this each week...)
• 11 church families worshiped with on Sunday mornings, including 7 local
• 10 trips to Lowe's Hardware (it was at least 10, or enough for them to call and offer me a business credit card!)
• 8 days in a car, train, ferry, and on an island with my family during our memorable vacation to Mackinac Island / Ontario Canada
• 7 books read (but I would probably only recommend 4)
• 5 days in Seattle/Bellingham with my friend Scott for sightseeing and phenomenal training on Logos Bible Software 
• 3 weddings performed, including my first 6 AM nuptials and first ceremony in which my son was the pianist
• ?? numerous hours spent with my wife and son watching British TV, playing games, and just hanging out!
• 1 grateful heart for the opportunity given to me by our church family, leadership, and staff! The words seem small on the screen, but they are very large in my heart. Thank you.

The Power of 32

32 is really quite an impressive number. In mathematics, since 2⁴ + 4² (or  x^y + y^x) = 32, it is what's called a Leyland number. In science, in degrees Fahrenheit, it's the freezing point of water at sea level. In music, it is the number of completed, numbered piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. And in sports, it's the jersey number worn by so many greats - Sandy Koufax, Jim Brown, and Dr. J, just to name a few. 32 is the number of teeth in an adult human (including wisdom teeth), the average number of pages in a comic book, and, in case you were wondering, the code for international direct dial to Belgium.

32 is also the number of days remaining in my summer sabbatical...as well as the number of days since my sabbatical began. So, I'm halfway. Halfway finished... halfway just getting started. Half empty... half full. For once in my life (and hopefully it becomes a new POV), I'm going to go with the "half full" on this one, you know, Philippians 3:13 and all.

And yet, I don't want to rush past "what's behind" because I feel like the first 32 days were phenomenal! Granted, my plan was to not really have a plan, so while the number of items on a checklist might be minimal, the "intangibles" are numerous. Here's just a quick list:

Family (1st half):

• Spent the majority of my evenings with Kerri and Wyatt
• Helped out more around the house
• Visited Lowe's more than ever before in my life because I...
• Started and finished the project of extending my backyard fence and laying a patio

Personal (1st half):

• Read through the Gospels
• Read three other books (but none that I would recommend)
• Had a Dr.'s appointment with my lowest recorded blood pressure in months
• Received invaluable training from Morris Proctor on Logos Bible Software
• Found 20 geocaches while traveling to the NC mountains and the Pacific Northwest and Canada and spending some time with good friends
• Was generally a more pleasant person to be around (or so I'm told), being more relaxed with much more energy
• Worshiped with six separate church families (three local), each being a very different but blessed time
• Began a personal challenge to eat one of every hot dog featured on Sonic's "Dog Days of Summer" menu (21 different varieties - of course, I started with the Peanut Butter Bacon Dog)

I began this post with a "Ministry" column, but I believe that if God grows me personally, that will automatically reflect a difference in how I serve Him in ministry.

As I move into the "half full" weeks ahead, I hope you will pray that my plans are not just mine, but God's plans as well. I plan to...

Family (2nd half):

• Invest as much time as possible with Kerri and Wyatt, doing whatever it is they want to do
• Spend an afternoon with my grandmother
• Continue to help out more around the house
• Enjoy a unique vacation with my family on Mackinac Island

Personal (2nd half):

• Read through the Psalms
• Read other books, including 30 Words, Church Elders, Crazy Busy, and Pursued 
• Memorize John 14-16
• Spend two separate days at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center
• Worship with at least four more different church families
• Do more geocaching, including a possible trip to the NC coast
• Exercise daily (please see last item under "Personal" above for explanation)
• Allow this unique time of rest to reflect in my attitude towards those around me and myself

Oh yeah, there's still plenty left in the sabbatical glass! As I've said all along, the next few weeks have the potential for the most good in both my ministry and me. May God make it so!

Go West (not so) Young Man!

When I first starting planning a sabbatical, I initially thought about traveling to the Four Corners section (where AZ, UT, CO & NM meet) for hiking and geocaching. However, as the plans began to progress, I found an opportunity to travel to northern WA for some much-need training on Logos Bible Software. Although Week 3 was a busy one (one of my two main travel weeks of the summer), it basically boiled down to three things - geocaching, sight-seeing, and Logos (four if you count cross-country travel round trip). Here's some of what Week 3 was about:

Geocaching: After arriving in Seattle late Sunday night, I drove south until midnight so that I would be within 75 minutes of Portland on Monday morning. Waking up early, I began driving south on what some refer to as the geocaching pilgrimage - to the site of the very first geocache. Although it's no longer there, there is a plaque commemorating the event and some nearby caches to find. Not only was I able to visit the "original stash plaque," but Tuesday was the day when I got to cache in Fremont, WA (northern suburb of Seattle) and visit Geocaching Headquarters! Finally, to add to my first caches in OR and WA, I crossed the border to White Rock, British Columbia for my first Canadian cache.

Sightseeing: This was a trip I did with my best friend, Scott Patterson. While he didn't travel to Portland with me on Monday, we planned to meet up later that day. On the way to meet Scott, I did my first non-geocaching sightseeing - Voodoo Doughnuts. Later that day we toured the Space Needle and went to the Red Sox-Mariners game. It's not often you get to see a team bat around in a game, but the Mariners did it twice - in the 4th and in the 7th. CF James Jones led off both innings and made the final out in both innings as well, going 1-4 in the two innings with a double to lead off the 7th. While in Seattle we also spent some time downtown at Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks.

Logos Bible Software: I have had this software on my computer for years (actually, since 2003 - thankfully as well, I wouldn't be able to afford it now!) and have even done a little training with it, but what I learned on Wednesday through Friday should prove to be invaluable when it comes to both personal study and sermon preparation! This program is amazing! We also got to take the tour of Logos' offices as well.

Coming home was a LONG day. I left the hotel in Seattle Saturday at 5 AM and landed in Charlotte at 10 PM. While I had planned to drive home to Reidsville, the spirit was willing but the flesh was definitely weak. I stopped just north of Charlotte (didn't get that far, did I?) and worshiped on Sunday at Lake Forest Church. I originally visited the campus a couple months ago for the Sticky Teams Conference and was curious what Sunday was like. It was what I imagined - great worship with a very laid-back atmosphere (complete with full coffee bar). I really liked how a child read the story of Noah from the Children's Bible to introduce the teaching.

All in all, it was a busy, fun, and productive week... but I'm glad to be back home. This week I'm praying for our student ministry MOVE trip, for the RCC family and their known needs, for our staff and elders and their leadership, and for God to be at work in each of our lives!

(So You Know) What I Did This Summer - Week 2

Note: This was written on 6/22/14 but never published...

As I'm sitting in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, I'm thinking back over what I accomplished during Week 2:

• I read 1, 2, and 3 John multiple times. In 1 John, I focused on the three aspects of change in a Christian life: 1) how we think theologically, know/believe, 2) how we act morally, love, and 3) how we relate socially, fellowship.
• I finished reading The Jesus Chronicles: John's Story. While some may like this book, I was very disappointed. To me it seemed that many times it was nothing more than John's gospel and the book of Revelation being recopied word for word rather than a historical fiction novel helping me understand the culture and time period better. In fact, I had planned to read all four gospels but will stop with John's for now.
• I am still reading Jack Bauer's Having a Bad Day and rewatching 24, Season 1 (which coincides with the book's chapters), although I only read one chapter / watched one episode this week.
• I am also currently reading The Machine about the greatest baseball team of all time, the 1975 Cincinnati Reds! This book was recommended by my nephew and has not disappointed yet!
• I continued to work on the backyard patio, leveling the ground and laying the pavers. A huge thanks to David, Daniel and Dustin who helped out two straight hot days! However, before I can call it "finished," because of the unlevel ground, I'm going to need to go back and recompact the soil to avoid erosion.
• Finally, after ten days, I went geocaching! The 2McTwins and I drove past Asheville on Wednesday night so we could get an early start on Thursday. While we did not get to many that we had planned for, we drove several hundred miles and saw some of God's most beautiful creations, including The Devil's Courthouse and Chimney Rock. Total geocache count - one traditional, four virtual, two webcam, and five new NC counties cached!
• Today I worshipped at The Cove. On the way down to Mooresville, I listened to over an hour of Third Day, so my ears were ringing, my eyes were wet, and my throat was hoarse before I ever got there, so I was ready! Worship was powerful, the teaching on the Lord's Prayer left me with some things to think about (including "A strong discipline of prayer will give you a strong passion for prayer"), and the outdoor baptisms were awesome! Bonus - there was a female drummer (something I can't remember ever seeing during worship)!
• I'm not sure I got a single nap in this week.
• I did continue to pray for the RCC staff and family daily!
• And I avoided wearing khakis all week (even to worship today).

However, I did miss being a part of VBS and working the kitchen with Kerri, Wyatt, and others. I'm so thankful that our Body has such a great opportunity to reach out to our community's youth in such a big way!

Two weeks gone, seven to go - I'm not bored, yet, but I am missing the RCC family! More to come...

Eight More Weeks (but who's counting?)

By now most of the RCC family knows that I will be on sabbatical this summer from June 9 through August 11. This time represents a (almost) total break from work and ministry and will be an opportunity for me to recharge and reconnect with God, myself, my family, and my friends. It is also just one more outpouring of God's unmerited "more" on my life.

Words can not express my appreciation to both our elders (who view this time as a long-term investment in both the RCC family as well as my own) for initiating the break and to each of you from Reidsville Christian Church for your consistent support of Kerri, Wyatt, and me. While I believe this is a good and necessary thing, I know it will not be an easy thing. I love what I do and being away from it (especially the weekend teaching) is going to be a challenge.

One thing I am confident of is the amazing opportunity this provides for our elders, ministers, and staff. The prospect of each of them being able to lead you in new and different ways with the gifts God has given them is an exciting thing!

Some of you have asked what my plans are. My “unplanned” plans include:

• Spending the first couple weeks just trying to unwind and catching up on some things at the house that have long needed my attention.
• Participating in some in-depth training at Logos Bible Software in Bellingham, WA (and of course geocaching in OR, WA, and Canada) during the last week of June, then performing two wedding ceremonies locally during the July 4th weekend.
• I believe the final five weeks have the potential to be the most beneficial. The first four are completely unplanned (which again is extremely uncomfortable). I hope to do a lot of reading and scripture memorization, but I am intentionally not going to plan or prepare any future teaching or programs. Instead, I want to be open to what God has to say during this unique time rather than “plan” what I think should be next. I will begin the month of August performing a third wedding ceremony, followed by a week spent with my family on Mackinac Island as the nine weeks conclude.

Here are a few things you can pray for and with me:

• Pray that God would bless this time of rest. The word for “sabbatical” has the same root as “sabbath” – which means “rest.” As I explained at our congregational meeting, I do not do a good job with this and am hoping to discover some new habits that will help prepare me for the next season of ministry. Pray that I will truly be still and know that He is God. Pray for renewal spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
• Pray that God would bless this time of family. Because Kerri will continue to work during most of the summer, we hope to keep things at home just as “normal” as possible. However, because of your graciousness, we are planning to do some fun things together as a family as well. Throughout the summer and beyond, pray that I would love God by loving my family.
• Pray for our elders, ministers, and staff, that God would grow them in their gifts and wisdom, and in their love for God and His people.
• Pray for Frank Dodson, Harry Gill, Scott Patterson, and Clay Perkins as they lead you in the majority of the summer teaching. Support them with your attendance. Let God speak to you through new voices on Sunday and etch into each of your hearts a clearer grasp of this amazing mission we are all on to grow as Jesus’ disciples.

You can read about my summer - the books I’m reading, the places I’m going, the things God is revealing - here on my blog, but hey, there are no promises it will get updated with any regularity. I mean, look how long it's been since my last post!

Kerri and I are so thankful for this gift of time and space that we believe will allow our family to experience joy, rest, and connection together, as well as equip me personally to be a better pastor for God’s flock and the RCC family.

I simply can not wait to see what "more" God has in store for all of us!