I'm Back!

I am back. After four weeks away, (and then some serious catching up at church) there are many stories to share. Thanks for checking by the way.  Here is a look at what is going on:

My first week away was a solo retreat near Creede, Colorado. All of my time was spent in meditation, long walks, journaling and some time fasting. I get some puzzled looks as to why I do this so let me explain. My leadership and spirituality vitality is dependent upon hearing and feeding upon the Lord. In other words, to be a leader, I must continually learn to follow him.

I do this every year and every year is different. By far, this was my hardest year. It took me six days in solitude until I was still and quiet before the Lord. And God is faithful, every time I seek him, he reveals himself to me (James 4:2).

The Lord moved me to mediate on Leviticus. Not my first choice as it felt like I was eating ash for my spiritual diet. But from this experience an entire sermon series unfolded. The Lord really impressed upon me that he wants the Blue Sky community to deepen  our appreciation on the cross of Jesus Christ. This journey begins in Leviticus. This will be a challenging series, but I believe it will be the most important one delivered to date.

My second week was devoted to the EFCA National Conference in Denver, Colorado. At any conference, the best part is talking to fellow pastors. I was thrilled to see the Spirit of God raise up new leaders to plant new churches. The conference had its strength in ethnic diversity. I would not call it a diverse conference, but it is headed that way. Yet, even in its diversity, the conference disappointed me for its lack of inclusion of younger pastors. There was little there to reach, equip and give voice to this growing demographic. I speak of men and of women. I really hope some leadership will emerge and understand what the Spirit of God is doing with these younger leaders.

My final two weeks were vacation. Vacation for me is time with family. Usually we get away but we were home. As a result, I did many "honey to do list" projects and as a result, the marriage is good.

During my final week, my grandmother died at 87 years of age. I drove with my sister and Dad to Spokane, WA to lead the funeral service. This was the first time I had ever done a funeral for a relative. Talk about tough. I had so many emotions and I felt a great responsibility not only to honor my grandmother, but to also honor those who call her mom, grandmother and great-grandmother. Seven boys call her mom, 23 of them call her grandmother and 31 call her great grandmother.

One bit of encouragement in all of this. One 14 year old boy came up to me afterwards and said, "It is sure nice to hear a funeral message from the Bible."

The picture (forthcoming) is a view of our lake cabin shared by my mom's family (a big family as well.) I took this picture through the screen of the upstairs window. Our kids missed going here this year so I was thankful for one day, I got to enjoy it. For those who know my story, this is the place God called me into ministry.

Comments

[Makeesha]

wow Joe, that sounds like a really AWEfilled month. I'm excited for you all and what God will do with you this next year.

on an aside note, I've been corresponding with Dawn, she sounds very excited to be joining the Blue Sky family :)

[Bennett]

well done, well done. btw, i have some of your james commentaries, i will mail them back to ya...

[Rachelle]

Sounds like a great time. Can't wait to tell you all about my missions experience in Paris. It was different than I expected, but I have a completely different view of reaching people now.