Six months ago I was a regular pastor, in a regular United Methodist Church, with a regular mid-life routine. It kept me busy. I knew what I was doing. I was good at it (most of the time. anyway!). I listened to CDs on my 5-disk changer; I watched Tivo-ed shows at my leisure; I kept my calendar on my Palm; I emailed, voice messaged, and I felt modern. Not any more.
Now, I am anything but a regular pastor. As a new church planter now, I have no church building (though that is everybody's first question), no official members to care for, and a schedule that changes daily. I am still busy, but I'm less and less sure of what I am doing. I now listen to music on an iPod, watch episodes of favorite shows on-line or You Tube, keep my calendar, contacts, tasks, photos, and more on my iTouch, have just learned to communicate via facebook and blogging, and I although I feel even more modern, I hardly feel proficient at anything anymore. All of this in six months or less.
Change.
It happens.
How do you handle it? Do you resist it, fight it, deny it, stress over it? Do you try to embrace it, only to discover there are a thousand more questions you didn't know that you didn't know? Can you live with the risk of being the naïve learner, the dependent colleague, or the incompetent beginner again? Are you patient with yourself, and willing to forgive your mistakes? Until things are routine again, are you OK with who you are and where you are right now?
These questions are part of the reason I need God. I need God because change happens, and it is happening faster than ever. I know how God helps me through change, and I'd be happy to share that, but this blog is already too long, so let's just leave you with something to reflect upon: how does your spirituality help you with change? If it doesn't, how in the world are you coping?
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2 comments:
Hi, Jim!
Welcome to the blogging world (Jan Johnson directed me to your blog)! Yep...change certainly does happen, doesn't it? It's fun, actually. Never boring, that's for sure! Sometimes it catches you off-guard, sometimes it's something you need but didn't want to admit, but mostly it just "is." The thing about change that doesn't change is that God is always there to guide us, as long as we allow Him to do so. I have no doubt that is exactly what you're doing and He will lead you to exactly where you need to be.
I'm blogging, too, and I love it! Check it out of you get the chance.
www.sjpfjohnson.blogspot.com
Peace.
Jeanine
I'm liking your laid back, one day at a time, "vagabond" style, pastor. It suits you, as well. Freedom looks good on you. And I'm really liking your new ways -- you ROCK! I'm totally envious of the iPod and ITouch you sport around with these days. I think I might have to put those on my "wish list" for another day. For now, I'll continue to enjoy my Macbook Pro laptop and all of it's capabilities. As for change? I think that I do all of the above. Resist, fight, deny, stress over it...AND...embrace, and even look for it to give me a fresh look or a new beginning. Routines can get boring, you know? It's good to shake things up once in awhile, don't you think? I don't think I do that enough, actually. Shake. SHAKE!! Let's shake up some happenings! KP (aka B.R.A.T)
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