Conversations

I've been lamenting lately how I only seem to have enough time and energy to write quick updates on recent events. It's not like I don't still think about things of more substance, I just can't seem to get past issues like schedule and weariness to dive into subjects that require a bit more effort to dive into.

That's why a day like today is such a blessing. I started out with a 30 mile ride where I had some time to think about how different an experience leadership at Mercy is than it was at Hanfield. At Hanfield, I had the luxury of having my vocation and ministry as one entity which gave me a singular focus that probably helped me more than I realized in growing as a leader and worshipper. The challenge with Mercy has been taking a somewhat segmented life where work, ministry and family don't flow as seemlessly and translate it into a cohesive approach to living a life of worship.

The challenge has been good for me in a lot of respects. I have a better appreciation for the challenges that our volunteers face in juggling their commitments. I also have more contact with unchurched people than I ever did at Hanfield. Unfortunately, some of the challenges also become more amplified in my current circumstances. The one that's been the hardest is that I'm not able to hang out with people and foster one on one relationships like I could at Hanfield. With one exception: Aaron.

After my ride, Aaron and I got together for coffee at Caribou Coffee. We've been getting together for the last few months and it's been a return to somthing that I've lacked since we moved from Marion. There, guys like Keith, Tim Lehrian, Ryan, Tim Tedder, Jason and others were a regular part of my schedule. I'd get together with them to talk about things, process thoughts and (most importantly) grow relationships. Here, I've not really had that same relational dynamic until now.

Aaron is one of our guitar players, works for one of the colleges in town and is someone that I've just clicked with. He's encouraging, challenging and exactly who I've needed to help unlock some thoughts. Today's coffee was good with a lot of conversation about worship, church and leadership. I'm recognizing that after ten years of leading worship that there are still a lot of areas where I need to grow. We talked about some of the unique challenges that we face at Mercy and in worship in particular. It was good stuff to process through.

About ten minutes after I got home, I got a call from Christer Lagerkvist who is a great friend and brother from Hanfield who I miss a lot. He had emailed yesterday and called to chat a bit. He's working on a masters in ministry at Indiana Wesleyan and was interested in my take on what happened at Hanfield between 2001 and 2005 as the church grew, stagnated and started to shrink. He's studying the tri-generational church and wondered what role the worldview differences between generations may have had in some of the population loss that Hanfield experienced.

It was an interesting conversation and played nicely off of some of what Aaron and I had talked about earlier. I think a lot of the population loss among the 20's and early 30's congregation reflected some of the restlessness that I was feeling at the time, so hopefully some of what I had to share was of some use to Christer. It was also another chance for me to look at where I am and where I've been in order to see where it is that I'm going.

I feel like I had two therapy sessions in one day with guys that I really trust and whose insights I appreciate a great deal.