Learning Patience

Hello Emmanuel,

It’s that time of year again!  Time to sit in front of the tv and watch the most grueling, exhausting, competitive, 21-day sporting event of the year.  That’s right!  The Tour De France!

For those who don’t know, the Tour De France is THE bicycle race of the year:  21 days of 198 bicyclists riding through wind, rain, mountains and crazy people.  Since it takes place in France, it is live on TV from about 8:00 in the morning until 12:00.  That’s right!  Four hours of bicycle racing!  I try to watch it live.  If I can’t, I tape it and watch it later.

Ok.. so it isn’t quite as exciting as I’m making it sound.  Actually, there is probably a reason the race doesn’t get great ratings.  It’s a bit boring.  If you don’t know the intricacies of bicycle racing strategy, it is REALLY boring.

So I’m probably a little weird.  I’ve long learned this about myself.  I seem to enjoy events that require a long, patient grind to them.  I also would love a 4 hour chess match and have been known to watch the entire America’s Cup race (that’s a yacht race that rivals the boredom of the Tour De France).  So for those who think I’m patient because I can watch a 3 hour baseball game…  I’m even weirder than that.

This leads me to today’s topic:  patience.  I’ve had to learn patience over the course of my ministry career and in life in general.  However, specifically in ministry, patience is truly a virtue.  I don’t think I’ve ever prayed for patience, but I’ve certainly had to practice it.  Any large organization that is made up of people (churches, businesses, corporations, social clubs, political groups, etc) always seemed to move at a sluggish rate in my mind.  The time it takes to dream, plan, implement and evaluate has often frustrated me.  I have had to learn patience.  To learn patience, I’ve practiced patience.

I like to see it as a spiritual practice, though some may not think that watching 4 hours of pedaling very spiritual… or very productive.  However, it has taught me how to cope just enough to not lose my mind.  For those who see me as an impatient pastor, you may be frightened to think how I would be if I didn’t practice patience.  I would agree.  It frightens me too.  I likely wouldn’t be able to lead a church…. Certainly not a larger church. 

So for those of you who are frustrated with your lack of patience, you could pray for it.  However, after you pray for it, you might want to lend a hand to answering those prayers:  practice it.  In a world that runs 1,000 miles per hour, find a way to slow it all down.  When you can do so as a discipline, it will help you cope with those areas in life that you just can’t wait for. 

Now back to pedaling…

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Baby Pools and Nerves

Hello Emmanuel,

I’m excited about the next couple of Sundays.  I want to extend a special invitation for you to attend and to pay extra attention to what God might be saying to us.

On July 20^th there will be some special sharing.  First, I will be preaching on what I think God is saying to Emmanuel about how to tackle the future.  I have hinted and talked about this in general ways the past year, but this will be the week to get a bit more specific.  I believe Emmanuel is now poised to push ourselves to listen more closely to what God may want from us and to go and do.  I will also identify what I see as potential ‘cages’ (from the recent series ‘Wild Goose Chase’) in which Emmanuel could get trapped and how to avoid those cages.

In addition, there will be significant sharing from our leaders about your recent Youth/Children ministries:  mission trips, camps and Vacation Bible School will have happened and we want you to know the highlights. 

On July 27^th there will be a showering of God’s grace… literally!  Have you ever seen a baby pool in the sanctuary?  4 baptisms are scheduled and as many as 5 people will be joining the church.  Services such as this are at the crux of disciple-making:  celebrating God’s grace and watching individuals and congregation commit themselves to a supportive relationship with one another.

In the midst of all of this, I will admit that I’m a bit nervous, not because of what is on my heart, but because of what challenges I may need to overcome in the not-so-near future.  It’s been a while since I’ve really been asked to stretch myself as a leader.  Much of what I’ve been able to do at Emmanuel has been a natural extension of what I learned as a leader in my previous appointment (i.e.  administrative structure, Small Groups, one-on-one mentoring) .  To go further as a church means that I’ll need to go further as a leader.  Scared?  Yep… me too.

But what I also learned in my previous appointment is that when fear and anxiety is overcome, blessings abound.  I have learned it over and over again.  You would think I’d stop being nervous about it.  However, our tendency is to rely on ourselves instead of relying on the One who is our true Leader.  This time, I think I’ll try harder to just let God be God and relax. 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe