Thanks-living

In his book, GOOD TO GREAT, Collins talks about great leaders effetively serfving the people who work with them.  It seems a given to me.

Unfortunately, in much of corporate America we are discovering recurring accounts of company executives and leaders plundering the company's financial assets and leaving their company employees holding the bag for a bleak future.

It is not only the coporate world.  We see it in the political arena as well where we discover politicians behaving poorly, disregarding the effects of their self-indulgeent behavior on their constituents and the states and cities they are elected to serve.

And, sadly, even the world I serve in--the church--is hounded and humbled by stories of domineering pasrtors and trusted church leaders forcing their will upon unsuspecting members, boith finanancially, and sexually.

Jesu said to His disciples, "I came not to be served but to serve..."  He encouraged them not to do as the pagans who lorded their positions of leadership over their subjects.  Accordingly, Jesus demonstrated throughout his eaqrthly ministry a servant's heart, a pattern not forgotten by Peter and Paul in their letters to the early church.

With that  in mind, and looking ahead to my final three months as a pastor at the church I have now served for over fifteen years, I am looking for ways to express my love, thanks and appreciation to the people who have been my co-workers and congregants.  Hopefully, this is not a new "Dale" they are seeing, but someone who has served them with an attitude of thanksgiving for their faithfulness and participation in the ministry they have shared together.

Thanksgiving season stirs up an appetite for turkey and dressing; but it also stimulates within me a renewed attitude directed towards letting those who are special to me, letting them know how much I love and appreciate them. I hope to write my co-workers and family members in particular in the next few days an expresison of my love and gratitude for what they mean to me.

I hope they won't be surprised, but that my intentional mindset of "thanks-living" will be reflected in thanksgiving.

Back into the routine

Returning from Haiti is always a huge culture shock--arriving there, and then transitioning home.  The shock to my system on re-entry is usually a good one, but there are the issues of cleansing my system, acclimating to weather, jet lag and returning to a mountain of work.

There are always certain regimens at work--e-mails, correspondence, meetings, visits, administrative responsibilities, study and preparation, and unscheduled emergencies.  They are just a normative part of the every day work environment of a pastor.  Your job, no doubt, has much of the same predictable and unexpected.

There can be an accompanying sense of dread, or, at least, apprehension,  about what awaits me.  But I have learned I win the battle in the trenches of my mind long before I sit down at my desk in the office.      Here are some of the things I do to counter the giant of dread.

D-etermine some boundaries for the week or you'll be submerged in an inundation of more than you can handle.

R-ely on your ability to decide what is really important though others may press their agenda on you...and then do those things first.

E-xpect that not everyone will be happy with where they fall on your priority list, but be content that you are committed to quality work, not a quantity of work.

A-ffirm those around you who have been waiting for you, and remind them that you will make time for them as you work through your checklist of things to accomplish.

D-on't neglect your relationship with God and your family--two areas that generally succumb to the "tyranny of the urgent".

I've been home three days from a week in Haiti..and reminding myself what really matters now that I'm back to the routine!

"Retreading" versus Retiring

At a recent celebration of forty-five years of ministry on the eve of my retirement, my stepson suggested that we were not "retiring" but "retreading".

I've been thinking about that.  I can't afford to retire and, thankfully, God has given me new direction for my life.  But there is a tendency to think that our utility and productivity--things by which we often mistakenly identify our value--will diminish.  With that for me, at least, come feelings of sadness, sometimes depression.

"Retreading" helps me focus on getting a new set of wheels and heading out in a new direction.  That is exciting and energizing.  I will be develop my counseling ministry as well as sharing ministry in Haiti--an adventure I can't wait to unfold.

If you're standing on the brink of retirement, think of "retreading"--finding a new purpose and direction.  The measurement need not be utility and productivity; for me, it is obedience to God--a God who loves me-- and embracing the ongoing purpose and plan He has for my life.