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Pastor’s together.  Talking, watching instructional DVD’s, eating, praying, more eating, bowling (thank goodness for a scheduled chiropractic appointment today).  All good, in the midst of the recognition that this world is not all good.

Tomorrow is our SPN – Senior Pastor’s Network.  We gather a few times a year.  To inspire one another, to learn, to push ourselves, to support and encourage.  Generally we do this in a 24 hour period.

My turn to host is tomorrow — or should I say, my wife will serve as our hostess.

So, tonight we went over the meals.  They will be great!  And we will house the three other pastors who will be here.  Our basement suite suits beautifully.

The menu is great.  Thanks to my very gracious wife!

And so, I’ll eat, drink and enjoy the “fellow”ship we journey on from noon to lunch the next day!!

Sounds like an awesome day!  And it was.

Ross spoke of working in a country we do not know.  Working with people we can not name.  The work is tangible and the people are real.  But to name names and places could create problems.

For many this type of visionary work is exactly what spurs them on. 

A mission that is worth living and dying for.  That is the Christian vision. 

Life here and now will continue in the after forever.  There really is no dying — just a new lease on life.  And that’s the same place we want everyone to exist — now and eternally.  So we push on  in mission to bring people to that life.

Where that mission takes us, we do not know.  And what we will go through, we cannot fathom.  But this we do know, this visionary work is worth the final landscape we will see someday!

You think you can survive a mere ache in the back.  You try to adjust your daily walk, quite literally.  But the backache continues.  So, you add muscle relaxants and keep going.

By yesterday I realized — you can’t go full steam and come out the other end standing tall!  I also realized I was to be out with a group of youth in the evening, planning outdoor games and indoor refreshments.

Therefore, in good logical sense, using <if> <then> statements I spend the day in bed resting my back.  The evening went well — with 20-25 people playing hide and seek, and capture the flag.  I walked and ran slowly and had a great time.  This morning I’m a bit stiff and may have to rest a bit more.

A tidbit from yesterday — working with Muslim people to bring them to Jesus usually takes about seven years of relational interaction.  I wonder how long it takes to bring a secular or “turned off church” person in Canada to Jesus through relational interaction?  Some of our church people would say they are still working on some people 40 years later!!