Stretch

Overall right now I'm think I'm in a time of stretching and I don't mean the middle age spread - stretch marks I do not need! But I do think I am learning some things:

- It is possible to plant a church in your own strength. But only for a very short time.
- My wife's personal courage and the love and unconditional acceptance she shows me challenges my relationship with God (in a good way).
- God changes people. I don't. I'm not sure I ever believed that I could. But sometime I place burdens on myself and do things that suggest that maybe deep down I do...seeing God change people has convinced me my role is much less than I feared!
- The most important person that I am responsible to lead is myself - even then it is more a part of me handing much of that to God. But I am responsible for showing up at the meetings he is calling me to attend on a regular basis. I am a fool if I think I can lead anybody anywhere worthwhile without having God first leading me.
- People are amazingly gifted, surprisingly resilient and well worth any investment I might make in them.

Trite maybe. But its one thing to read this stuff in some leadership book...its quite another to have them take deep root within you - I'm not sure that these are issues that are done and dusted for me. In fact, I'm sure they're not.

Had cession|core today, a time where the cession|community's leadership team gather to pray, vision, plan etc. It was a good time. We are only barely started on our leadership journey and I would love the ability to meet say as a staff every week, but we are getting there. Some cool things happening within the various ministry areas.

Tomorrow is a rather full day so don't expect to find me here:

- 6am Write sermon for Sunday evebing (a terrible habit I know)
- 7am Gather all the props and things for ECW morning service
- 8am Set up
- 8.45 Practice
- 10am Service - doing keys
- 12.00 Family arrive for lunch
- 2.30 Plugging in @ cession Seminar
- 4.15 Set up for cession
- 4.30 Practice
- 5.30 cession|chow meal
- 6.15 cession|connect worship gathering
- 7.30 Post gathering chitty chat
- 8.30 Pack down
- 9.30 Arrive home!

I'm very glad that I kept my Friday Sabbath religiously...I mean in the right spirit...you know...

Well better get back to it...a fun drama to write like yesterday!

Jonesblog