Plenty, as it appears. I\u00a0was going to tackle the whole Dan Cathy\u00a0thing in my blog this week, but really, what hasn\u2019t already been said? Maybe later but\u2026 The Jesus Chicken is just symbolic of all the ways life went on without me. Songs got sung. Scripture got read. Excellent sermons came from this pulpit, in no way attached to me. New people came,\u00a0were welcomed and connected. Messes were made and cleaned up again.<\/p>\n
And folks\u2026it is summer time in PHOENIX, and this place was still full on Sunday. I didn\u2019t do that. I haven\u2019t been here doing it.<\/p>\n
But everybody else has. In the pause. In the blessed silence that I left in the wake of my usual chaos, the Spirit kept moving.<\/p>\n
So what i failed to learn on sabbatical about resting in the Spirit and letting go, I seem to be learning upon return. The clear evidence of ministry happening without my attempts at management; without my insight; and without my many, many WORDS to make sense of it all; the very life of this place seems to say, you\u2019re not the boss of this. Relax<\/em>.<\/p>\n Point taken, God. I\u2019m going back to work now, but with a fresh appreciation for the ministry of others, and hopefully, a little less dependence on my own ability to do\u2013or even say\u2013the right things.<\/p>\n Truth is,\u00a0the art of learning to\u00a0\u2018be\u2019 is the journey of a lifetime, and\u00a0not the work of a few short weeks. And while I spent a great deal of my away time visiting, talking and doing, I did get to rest my preaching voice, my writing voice, and that part of my brain that keeps a running commentary of the world on random shuffle. For a moment, (or several of them) I could rest, and yes, just be.<\/p>\n So, all told, it was 8 weeks; 8 weeks of travel and hurry, yes, but also 8 weeks of celebration; of connection; of good food from people\u2019s actual kitchens, and good wine from actual vineyards; of getting to worship as a guest and not a facilitator; 8 weeks of hospitality, and of pilgrimage; 8 weeks to be a whole person in the world; and yes, 8 full weeks to watch that world go by and not say much about it.<\/p>\n Of course, now that I\u2019m back,\u00a0you might want to turn off your\u00a0phone for awhile. And your computer\u2026<\/p>\n
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