Sabbatical journal

Today marks the start of my second week on sabbatical. My goals for this time are threefold:

1. Rest and rejuvenation physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually
2. Learn about how other ministries engage students with social justice
3. How do difference churches do multi-site with students
a. Why to certain communities decide to do multi-site while others do not. What are the intended and unintended consequences caused by the increase of this model?

I realize that point three is sort of cheating by throwing in as much as I can into one question but hey it is my sabbatical and I find it interesting. To help facilitate my goals becoming reality I am planning to do the following:

- Sleep in without an alarm
- Work out at least five hours a week
- Read at least one book a week along with the bible
- Go on prayer walks one time a week
- Journal at least twice a week
- Take long walks in silence or with a favorite podcast at least twice a week
- Watch lots of March Madness


The first book in my reading queue was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman which reveals one of my guilty pleasures. I love how a story well told has the power infuse new meaning and feeling into subject matter and in doing so defies stereotypes. Gaiman’s book reads like a Tim Burton movie and skillfully weaves together death, ghosts and murder with love, parenting and self discovery. Besides merely enjoying the story as a fun kid’s book, I wonder what in this book reveals deeper human truth, if anything. Regardless…good stuff.


Book 2: Into the Mud by Christine Jeske


I have a deep envy for the few people I know that get free preview books from publishers and/or authors so it was great excitement that I unwrapped my first ever from the publisher copy of this book. The author is a friend of mine from college and it has been enjoyable to see both her and her husband grow as writers over the years. I expected to enjoy Chrissy’s book on the level of proximity to the author and I was not disappointed. However I did not expect the stories to challenge how I view ministry. I love to think big picture. I love dreaming about what could be. I love to consider what is and then jump 1-5 years into the future. Chrissy’s writes stories about every day people and how God can be seen in the mess. I have been challenged to not just think in futuristic terms but to see the world through specific stories in the here and now.

This may appear to be a bit of a rabbit trail but a group of friends of mine have been exploring how we might take the first steps towards starting a free/low cost medical clinic and I have been wondering how something like this ever starts. My initial observation is that these sorts of things start with a relationship. Micro-finance starts with knowing someone who needs a small loan, medical clinics start when a medical professional meets someone without insurance and does something about it and so on. Into the Mud has challenged me to look at what God might be doing in the relationships around me and then in turn dreaming about what could be.

I want to learn to dream in light of what God is doing instead of dreaming in a void and missing out on what is going on right in front of me.