The Latest

So I'm sitting out here in the driveway watching Cami ride her scooter around, trying to get ready for the week.

On Tuesday I'm headed out to Ocala, FL, to talk coaching networks with these guys. I'm looking foward to hanging out with some very high-caliber people and seeing what role I might be able to play in coaching other pastors who are walking the same road I have.

I picked up A Sense of Urgency by John Kotter. His main point: its the job of the leadership to identify and communicate their organization's opportunities and hazards now. The key is not to fill up your schedule with meetings, but to accomlish something significant in those meetings.

Right now I'm preaching a series called "The Story of Joseph: Integrity no Matter What." I've decided that I really love expositional preaching. That might sound strange to put it that way, but I've always felt that tension between being "true to the text" and inventing some incredibly great sounding topical series that everyone and their mother will want to show up to hear.

Because I would never give up the truth of the text to fit some predetermined title, I usually end up trying to cram two ends that together that don't really fit, and the result has been a lot of frustration and wasted time.

Besides, I've seen more than my fair share of really lame topical sermon series, and the whole thing is rather embarassing if you think about it. Here we have the greatest life-changing book in all of history and we're worried that if we don't put some sexual or super artsy spin on it, the general public will yawn and completely ignore us.

Maybe I'm just getting old before my time, but I think we can do better than all that. The way I figure it, if I can get to the truth of what God is trying to say, and then be real about how I either like it or don't like it, but either way I have to deal with it because its not about me, and get my hearers to do the same, then I've probably done my job.

I appreciated what this article had to say and the idea that even the younger unchurched want an authentic approach in our preaching and aren't afraid to swallow the heavier concepts.

Anyway, I did a 10K in Litchfield Park yesterday in 46:51, and got second in my age division which was 30-34. On June 17 I'll graduate to the 35-39 category, and then its all downhill from there.

But for a guy who has never won an award for any athletic achievement in his life, it was a nice start to the day. After the race I saw my son's team win their basketball game, in which he scored 6 points.

There are times when I don't believe life on this earth can get any better. As of now, I can say that these days are the happiest I've ever had in my life. To be honest, most of my life has been lived with some degree of angst and dissatisfaction.

But since I've finally made peace with the fact that nothing will be absolutely perfect until Heaven, and after a long time I'm beginning to see some of the fruits of years of labor, I have to say things are pretty good.

Most importantly, however, I've grown to trust my Savior ever more. I've given up trying to prove myself to the rest of the world (which has been the root of my greatest mistakes) and learned to love what I have been given and make no excuses about anything else.