7-20-09
Time always marched on. For countless generations the younger have gotten older. Young life flourishes in folly and flame, then grows up, then gets old and steps aside for new young life to follow the same path. Kids grow up. They have kids. Then those kids grow up. It is relentless. It is reliable. Is has always been so. Life starts. It grows and swells. It expands and deepens and loves and strives. Until it reaches its climax. Then it shrinks back until at last it dies.
What comfort is there for the heart? In friends? No. They will fall away. In family? No. They will grow old and grow up and depart.
No. All is fleeting and shallow without the founder of all things. The Lord, the LORD alone will be my light. He will never leave me nor forsake me. In his hands are everlasting pleasures. He nourishes my soul as water nourishes my dry, thirsty body. His light is the one worth seeking. And it shines through a thousand little places in life every day. Through relationships. Through conditions. Life is speckled with his light shining through windows which I cannot number.
Look through the windows. Do not look at the windows.
My last two weeks at a glance.
-Moving, meetings, vision statements, training
-Reading theology
-Drinking huge amounts of Yerba Mate.
-Frequently stealing borrowing my suitemate’s longboard skateboard.
-Episcopalian eucharist on Wednesday nights, Baptist service on Sunday mornings, Grace Brethren school.
-A fresh batch of new students.
-Much, much more.
It is not objective proof of God’s existence that we want but the experience of God’s presence. That is the miracle we are really after, and that is also, I think, the miracle we really get.
Frederick Buechner
Here is revelation bright as the evening star: Jesus comes for sinners, for those as outcast as tax collectors and for those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams. He comes for corporate executives, street people, superstars, farmers, hookers, addicts, IRS agents, AIDS victims, and even used-car salesmen.
-Brennan Manning
Recent Activity On Summer Reading List
Finished
-In the Name of Jesus (Henri Nouwen)
-The Silmarillion (J.R.R. Tolkien)
-The End of Reason (Ravi Zacharias)
-The Mark of the Christian (Francis Schaeffer)
-Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)
-Desiring God (John Piper)
Reading
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
To Read (Again)
-In the Name of Jesus (Henri Nouwen)
A note: I took The Grand Weaver (Ravi Zacharias) of the list because my goal was to read all the books I’ve bought but not read. I never bought The Grand Weaver, it somehow found its way into my stack of books.
Leadership Summit 2009
I have had the incredible opportunity to attend Willocreek’s Leadership Summit at my church at home. Today was the first day. There were so many great things said, some of which I hope to write more about in the future. For now, however, I will just share some of the notes I jotted down in my journal.
Bill Hybels
-Are pastors to be businessmen? I don’t know. Money helps us minister to people. But it’s shifty and dangerous. How can you handle it? How can you be concerned with the financial health of your church without making it your end game?
-”Be Christian about it.”
…
-Self-leadership. I will be depleted. I will get empty. I cannot take on so much that I ignore the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is more precious than anything. It’s my priority. I must be replenished by the Holy Spirit.
Gary Hamel
-A church should: Be a powerful magnet to unbelievers. Be a nurturing incubator for believers. Be a catalyst for spiritual growth.
-The surrounding culture is set up against “the church.” But this great change opens great opportunity. Cynicism opens the door for God to speak when people are doubted. Thirst for authenticity opens the door for people to see Jesus, the most authentic person ever to live.
-”Church strategy must change to minister to the rapidly changing culture.” I think the key to this is that our method is just that, a METHOD to carry the TIMELESS message of the gospel. And we also can’t leave those who are older behind. The message speaks louder than the method.
Tim Keller
-Too much to write down!!!
