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I'm starting to get used to a day off.  Six days a week I work.  The job description is rather varied, from counseling to meetings to preaching to helping to . . . So, today I did some banking, renewed a car license, watched TV, cleaned up some computer files, ate a great supper of steak and a lunch of newly made pea soup.  The time flies - quite literally it seems to pass by, even during the afternoon nap time!! I'm not sure I totally understand the idea of sabbathing.  But I sense that there is a difference in a week when a day is off.

I'm not sure how to describe what is happening in our church.  By the church, I mean the people - not the building (although we are seeing things happen with the building - furnaces are working properly, walls taken down, sound systems possibly being reconfigured, etc.). One way or the other, our Sunday services have increased from around 70 people last spring to around 110 today.  Some of this is transfer growth from other churches, but some is people who have not been related to a church lately.  They may have been in the past, but not until lately have they returned to a group of people that we call the "institutional" church. What brings that about?  God!  Yes, that's true.  Some of it is people with kids.  Other is a need for connection with people of like mind.  What else we will see! For the moment, I'm trusting God to provide direction in knowing how to pastor these people.

It has been awhile.  I used to help with our youth group up until this past summer.  At that point our associate pastor was able to step in - and I added one more evening to my week! Actually, I missed that one evening a week!  So tonight I was together with the youth group.  We played old fashioned games.  Dodge-ball and old fashioned exercises and tug of war.  All just fun!  I didn't realize the shape I'm in.  Which, for my age, is not bad.  I kept up to the kids and hardly ran out of breath. And now, I'm revitalized.  Ready for tomorrow's church service.  Where we are not sure how many will attend.  We've been seeing increasing numbers, for a number of reasons.  We'll see how tomorrow fares. I'm speaking on Colossians 3:16 - on thankfulness.  Should be good!

Yesterday I sat with other "senior pastors."  Some have been in ministry for four decades.  The rest of us have at least two or three decades of ministry in hand. One of the elders talked about the high rate of dropout in the pastoral vocation.  Another talked about burnout.  By 40 most pastor's have realized that you can't get by on programs or fads.  And most of us have tried the "next thing."  Not out of malicious intent.  If anything this movement is towards the best for our churches and the best for Christian life. Not that it always helps! The truth is - unless we begin with intimacy with Christ - we end up with the lesser instead of the best.  That's was the discussion around the table.  We came to the reminder for all of us - remember to live with Christ in us.  That means setting aside our own interests and seeking Jesus Only.   Sounds like slogans, but the longer I live the more I realize there is a reason slogans last!!