What’s new in CHAPTER two?
Today (as I’m writing this) is the first day of chapter two of season two! When I think back over the last three years, the amount of change is breathtaking! Healing from depression led to courage to make multiple changes in what we came to refer to as “season two” of J17 Ministries. More changed than stayed the same, from my vantage point! Especially in comparison to six years of remarkable stability.
It’s way too early to know how this next year will differ from the last one in terms of the magnitude of change: is this a new chapter, or another whole new season?! But here are some obvious shifts within the first few hours!
Work hard, rest hard - another both/and!
I am happy to report that no whiplash has occurred - either from my sprint to the finish line at the start of the month, or from my reentry after a beautifully restful July! I love our ministry so much I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let it go, even when I knew how important it was to do that for an extended period of time. Yesterday I was concerned that I’d loved the rest and long-dormant hobbies so much that I wasn’t sure how challenging it would be to jump right back in. Both missions seem to be accomplished! Health is so improved that I anticipate continuing some of the hobbies at the end of the workdays… like tonight!
Empower and release…
Chapter 2 already has a title. I realized in June that in 35 years of ministry, I’d never been responsible for a staff-level team of more than about a half-dozen. I learned after several years as a pastor that I spent far more time doing rather than equipping - even though Ephesians 4 couldn’t be clearer about leaders’ primary responsibility. But it took oh, another couple decades or so, to realize that any equipping I’d done had been equipping doers, but very little time equipping equippers. That changed when the calendar hit July! My primary job today wasn’t to jump back into doing, but to learn what had been done… and how to empower and release for even greater momentum.
…through abiding!
Near the beginning of May, I was running a bit harder than I probably should have, and hit a mini-wall, so to speak. In my morning meeting with the Lord, I cried out, “I can’t.” And to my surprise, He replied, “You’re right!” But then He continued, “But I can, so let’s go.” That has become a new mantra, which I try to remember even when I'm not overwhelmed! “I can’t. -- You’re right. I can. Let’s go.” May and June kept building on that experience. Here's just one more example: a group of John 17 fanatics in Kansas City were praying for me in mid-June and kept coming back to Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary… take My yoke upon you… for My burden is light.” I realized that I’d functionally discounted that beautiful promise without even knowing it, because I kept looking at my yoke, which was neither easy nor light. The invitation isn’t to trade in something hard for something easier… it’s to trade in “mine” for “His.” Nothing is impossible for Him - all yokes are easy and light. Instead of evaluating my task list based on my capacity, the invitation was to abide and let Him produce fruit.
Today has looked and felt different than any return-to-work in my lifetime. It actually is possible for old dogs to learn new tricks - more frequently than ever before. Who knew?
