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July 06, 2007

Am I Blogging Again?

Perhaps I am. But one thing is for sure: the tone and nature of Slings and Arrows will be markedly different than it was two years ago. It will be different because I am different.

A lot has happened in the last couple of años. When I was blogging two years ago, I was paying the bills by manipulating little switches in little boxes called computers. It paid well but I had realized something many years previous: what I did didn't matter much in the cosmic scheme of things. Not that there is anything wrong with programming; it's a worthwhile and profitable profession. I just knew that God had called me to something else.

If you have read the two or three blog posts I managed to scrape out over the next twenty-four months, it is evident that I had lost my taste for political commentary. To tell you the truth, I believe this was a God-ordained thing. He knew I was going to need every bit of mental energy I had in the work that He was very soon going to call me.

And call me He did.

In August of 2005 I began pastoring a church in the San Diego suburb of Lakeside, California. When I started, I was the only paid staff. The church has been around for almost 70 years. It's had its ups and downs and I came in just shortly after one of its downs.

The previous pastor had served for only nineteen months or so. He'd done a great job bandaging up and unifying a very hurt and lost church. Unfortunately, he had to move to Washington to take care of his gravely ill mother. That's when I came in.

I had never been in full-time ministry, so taking over a church and flying solo as my first go has been quite the challenge. I've learned much in the last 100 weeks, made countless mistakes, goof-ups, and bad judgment calls. But with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, faithfulness to God's Word and unshakable love for the congregation and the community we've seen God move in remarkable ways. The church is strong, growing, and looking for God around every corner. We're biting off much more than we can chew, confident that God will fill in the gaps.

That's the kind of church I want to be a part of.

Here's the biggest lesson I have learned. When you make yourself available to God, you get a front row seat to watch what He is doing. Anyone can sit back in their study and grow in "the knowledge of the Lord." But that's not enough. You have to get in game to really experience God's power. You've got to stick your neck out, take risks, invest in other people and take action when you have absolutely no idea what you are doing.

When you do that, God shows up--and trust me, you want to be where God shows up.

It's cool.

Posted by bubba138 at July 6, 2007 03:32 PM