Re-posting: finding the rhythm

It is very interesting how proactive one must be to find this rhythm in God and in life. Gotta be intentional!

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yes i know, the white guy at the dance club proves this, that we struggle with find our rhythm in life… well kinda. this week i have become very aware at the fact that i have not yet found my rhythm in life. from 2006 moving to ireland for a year to 2008 spring moving back to arkansas to graduate and then 5 months later packing up everything and moving to Colorado to work for ‘The F.C.” i have not found a common groove in life…out side of blogging from time to time….which that isn’t helpful at all

so this past week i realized this more than anything when i began to look at the pace in which i have been trying to go in our ministry. so often when we start a new ministry we want to really make sure we are grounded and as my old boss Brian says, ‘hit the ground running’ the problem is sometimes you don’t hit the ground

my analogy for the day is sometimes starting at a new ministry is like sky diving into a lake. as your landing you see the ground in which you are going to have to swim towards and then quickly you have to brace yourself for impact. you’ve seen in the movies probably the problem with landing in water is that your chute will start to drown you from going under if you don’t quickly regain your bearing and cut that strap.

some more imagry to help you get the picture of what i’m talking about

para-chute – this can be and is not limited to your expectations of self, others and the students and ministry. its the baggage we have in ministry that we have found to be helpful in ministry in the past.

the lake – first few months to year in ministry. this is the rocky not so solid ground when you walk into a new ministry. you have to know where to tread, know your kids, staff, volunteers and your congregation. it takes times and as you are coming from above into dark murky water you have know idea what lies beneath you and sometimes there are some bigobstacles in that water that can really do some damage coming in and trying to make it shore.

the shore – this the actual meat of the ministry…well the start of it anyways. we need to swim to it but to remember that even when we get to the shore walking into the jungle isn’t our first priority, we need to gain our bearings and remember what we saw as we were coming in. we might be on the wrong side of the shore

the problem is that some times when we land we become so disoriented in what just happened that we start to panic, and even if you manage to cut the chute strap you are so exhausted and disoriented that you don’t know which direction you now need to go to get to the shore

some might say…well to solve this problem… don’t land in the lake….well thats a novel idea, but in ministry you never know what you are stepping into. everything is going to be very fluid and unbalanced for a while..sometimes a long time before that balance and rhythm can be found. again it is why Christ and Paul teach us about the preparation in ministry and running the race. it is a tough road and very physically, mentally and spiritually challenging life and one that if we don’t take seriously you will drown at some point not to long after your landing

i don’t have very many wise words yet to how to prepare for this landing accept what i am learning right now my self (and something i will write about later today or tomorrow) know your surroundings and don’t forget that the ministry you are working alongside God and leaders with will only be as healthy as you your self are, take your time when coming in for the landing to look at where you are going to want to once you land…don’t panic when that chute wraps around your face and starts to pull you under, cut the chute and swim to the shore… read this post i wrote about things to remember when starting in a new ministry

(again this analogy i am going to carry over into my next post about what to do when your 50 yards down the field ahead of your students and leaders) and its imperative that you start in the right direction…(duh i know) more on this to come