2 Mission Trips. Tithing Time. Still on Sabbatical.

When I applied for the Sabbatical Grant, my proposal included four themes to justify the request:

1. Reflection on the past 12 & 1/2 years of vocational ministry, especially the 10 years since PCC began.
2. Re-connection with some important influences on my ministry.
3. Re-envisioning the next 10 years for me and for our church.
4. Rest.

When you write the grant proposal, much of what you say is an 'idea'. You haven't received the grant (and I really didn't think I would receive it) and you haven't actually been given the time yet from the church.*

Once I actually receive the grant and began planning, I realized that I had left out something important to me and central to my core values and beliefs: The Tithe. Tithing is the Biblical concept that technically dealt with money (or material things). The Bible is quite clear about this, and I believe that one cannot be a fully devoted follower of Jesus and not give 10% of their income to their local church. I don't mean that to sound judgmental. I'm simply stating that this is part of my core beliefs and values.


But I believe that the tithe can (and should) also be translated to time. Christ followers should tithe their time, in addition to their money.


The Bible expands on the tithe, and most people who were dedicated to God gave far beyond 10%. They gave the 'tithe' and then they gave 'offerings', which were gifts that went above the tithe. I try to give more than 10% of time and money, but the tithe (the first 10%) belongs to the local church.


Because tithing is a way of life for me, I felt strongly that God would open the door for me to tithe the time I'd been given with this Sabbatical. And He did open that door in a very cool way.


 

Puerto Rico

First, Erik Edwards asked me if I would consider going on the Puerto Rico mission trip. I remembered how my life was changed with the first mission invitation I had been given - to go to Panama in 1997. Wayne and Nita May's encouragement for me to go on that trip altered the course of my future, and I wouldn't be in ministry today had they not invited me. So, when Erik asked, I wondered "How might God use this invitation to change my life again?" I had the rare gift of some extra time, so I actually could go without a burden on my schedule, and I thought God had put it in front of me. I prayed about it, talked with Susan, and agreed to go. In most every mission trip, there is some play time and some work time. The work begins today, but the playing has already happened. Yesterday, we went snorkeling. Here are a few pics:

But one week was not a tithe of my time. I felt God wanted me to do something else, and there was also one week that was still 'open'.

Powhatan

Increasingly, I felt that God wanted me to give that week back to PCC, in the way of a mission project at our Powhatan campus. I would not do my normal work or spend time working in my office - that would violate the spirit of my Sabbatical. Instead, I would quietly come in every day and would install the landscaping that was so badly needed. Someone heard I was going to do this and offered to donate the money to buy the plants.


But as the week approached, I started to feel like I should invited others to join me. I wondered how much more we could actually get done if a bunch of people got involved.


Charlie Towler and Chris Ashman agreed to head it up. For weeks, we made lists, inviting the staff into the conversation, refined the list, and signed people up.


It's been many years since I physically worked that hard for that long. For 5 days, I was at PCC at 8am and worked most days until 8 or 9 pm. A couple of days, I'd take a 2 hour break. I went home at 6pm ony one time. Others were a big part. Kevin Mann came all day on Saturday and then every evening he came after he got off of work. Chris Ashman and Charlie Towler were there all day every day, working their tails off. Scores of people were there Wednesday night. More than a hundred pitched in at one point or another. Several people donated lots and lots of time.

The results were fantastic. The Powhatan Campus has never looked so good. The Big room was repainted with a new color scheme, the landscaping finished, all new mulch, new patios at the children's entrance, the playground area prepped and ready for mulch and swingsets, the hallway doors were coated in polyurethane, baseboard installed in the big room and alcoves, a new sidewalk from the upper parking lot and the big eyesore bed between the lower lot and the upper lot was fixed, planted, mulched, the wall removed and new erosion control installed; the dead tree removed; painting in the office suites; shed and trailer moved; stonework finished around the portico pillars...and that's just what I could think of off the top of my head!

I'm so thankful to so many people who gave their time to PCC at the Powhatan Campus Get R Done week. I'm also thankful for Erik and the many people who made a way for a 30+ older teenagers to experience missions in Puerto Rico. And I'm especially grateful to be able to freely give some time back to the community I love so much.

I loved the idea that I would be giving 2 weeks of my 13 week Sabbatical back. This was more than a tithe. It was taking the love of Jesus to the 'ends of the earth' in Puerto Rico AND in our back yard in Powhatan. This is how I want to live my life, and it makes my Sabbatical feel complete.

*The Steering Team and I agreed that I would not take a Sabbatical this summer if I didn't get the grant, but would wait until next summer, apply again and see if I got it on my second attempt.

**The grant was given to PCC for the purpose of my Sabbatical, so there was no need to tithe the gift, as it was already given to the church.

 

 

REPLENISH

One book we started reading is Lance Witt's Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul. I bought it strictly on the title. Didn't really hear about it from anyone. But wow...what a timely book for me and Susan! We're not very far into it, but what we've read so far is outstanding. We each have a copy to make our own notes, but take turns reading it outloud to each other, and we talk through the questions at the end of each chapter. It's very reflective and introspective, but for a linear or concrete person, it has enough data to also be quite compelling. For example, Witt notes the following:

• 1,500 pastors leave the ministry permanently each month in America. (emphasis mine)
  
• 80% of pastors and 85% of their spouses feel discouraged in their roles.
• Over 50% of pastors' wives feel that their husband entering ministry was the most destructive thing to ever happen to their families.
• 71% of pastors stated they were burned out, and they battle depression beyond fatigue on a weekly or even a daily basis.
• [Only] One out of every ten ministers will actually retire as a minister.

For the record, for the past year or so, I have been in one of the most healthy places I've ever been. I have worked through some of my own internal struggles and issues (though the scars remain). I didn't feel discouraged or depressed (though there are always challenges, to be sure). Susan doesn't feel that ministry has been the most destructive thing to our family (neither do I, though there has certainly been a cost), I'm not burned out (just a little tired). In fact, I know I was born to do this and am in exactly the place and role where God wants me to be.

But the data is still startling. And the risk is still high. Ignoring it would be a huge mistake.

So, I appreciated the responsibility that Witt places on the leader. He quotes Quaker author Parker Palmer: "A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what's going on inside of himself or herself...lest the act of leadership create more harm than good." Witt follows with a grave commentary: "When leaders neglect their interior life, they run the risk of prostituting the sacred gift of leadership. And they run the risk of being destructive instead of productive."

I particularly appreciated this one simple statement he made, "It's scary to realize that the path to external success and internal emptiness can be the same road."

So, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of this book and to processing through it with my best friend and the one who knows me better than anyone in the world.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a little canoe trip down the Shenandoah River, stopping along the way to read together and have a little picnic.

 

Welcome to our SOAL

It started with 90. Every day we would count down. Every night, when we fell exhausted into bed, one of us would ask the other, "Do you know what tomorrow is?" And the other would answer with an ever smaller number. "86" "77" "51". The closer that number approached zero, the more panicked we became, because - while 'tomorrow' was a smaller number, the to-do-list for 'today' was not.

We were counting down to our SOAL. This is what I've affectionally titled our 'Summer Of A Lifetime.' Today, we officially begin that journey - 12 weeks away from my daily responsibility at the church. Today, begins my Sabbatical. A Sabbatical is NOT a vacation. It's a time of study, bigger picture strategy formation for the church, and replenishment for my spiritual life. Yes, I'm going to have a LOT of fun. Some of it will be work related, as I figure out how we get PCC to the next place. Some of it will be pure fun with Susan and my family. (You can find out more about the Sabbatical by clicking here and you can see a special message from PCC's Steering Team by clicking here)

So, we started counting down at 90. When we got to 20, I wasn't sure I'd make it. At 14, I went into full panic mode and quit sleeping (seriously). At 7, I started eating only when I had to, and then only just a little. Nerves were shot. Mind was in overdrive. Body operating on pure adrenelin.

And then, the strangest thing happened. At 1pm on Sunday, after all the items on the to-do list were checked off, church was over, and I was ready to pull out of the parking lot, I sat in my car and checked email and facebook for one last time - just to be sure nothing had been missed. I read new messages from the prior several days from folks talking about the massive, life altering difference PCC has made in their lives. I sat in my car and cried. Truth be told, I sobbed. The weight of the past week finally off of my shoulders, the joy of knowing that I still matter. But more than that, the satisfaction of knowing that I don't carry it alone anymore, because of the people at PCC who also believe in what we do.

I'm not counting anymore. There were no numbers exchanged last night as we fell asleep. I'm going to find a new normal now. A more healthy normal.

For the next 3 months, my blog will take on a little different form. More soul (or SOAL) searching and the fleshing out of thoughts, ideas and feelings. There WILL be some informational posts, as some members of the staff have access to post about the good things happening at PCC. But from me, it will feel different. I hope you follow along my journey. We can stay connected this way.

I'll be back tomorrow, but tomorrow has no number!