Trade Secrets

I think it was the US Army that used to recruit with the slogan "It's the toughest job you'll ever love". It's a good slogan, you can see why they chose it.
The thing is, I think I've heard a lot of other careers described with similar sentiments; pastoring, teaching, counseling, social work, nursing,...
At the risk of causing offense to a lot of people I really like and respect, I think many of those jobs really aren't that tough. At least they don't have to be.
I've seen some people in most of those fields who are really not excellent at what they do. The basic processes or systems of the field are sound enough that if you just follow along it works out a lot of the time. It's still a lot of work in most cases, but maybe not as incredibly hard as we tell ourselves.
That's not meant to suggest that a lot of people in these fields are coasting and generally incompetent; just that excellence is pretty rare.
Before I became a pastor, and certainly in my first few years of it, I bought into that. I had this sense that my role was incredibly difficult and I had to employ all my energies to fulfill the expectations. I was partly right I guess. It did take everything I had in me to try to meet the expectations.
As time went by I realised that I could be a whole lot more effective if I stopped trying so hard and gave up on the idea of being a great pastor; just accepted the role of being myself as best I can.
Of course it didn't turn out exactly as I hoped since I'm not a pastor anymore, so I guess I'm not one of the excellent ones.
Still, I really don't regret it. There were people who really wanted me to just play the part of pastor the way others did, and I refused. I couldn't feel right about that.
Bottom line is this I guess (after this rambling rant); there are lots of fields that are well developed enough that mediocre is actually pretty good. The only way to find out how capable we really are is to step outside the system and try something risky. In my case it didn't work out, our church plant closed and I'm going to be doing something else for a living for a while at least. But I'm glad to not be playing along.

p.s. I'm not saying everyone has to do what I did or that people who don't are mediocre. But if you're annoyed reading this and wondering if I've got you in mind as I write, you can feel free. You're probably wrong about my opinion of you, but if it makes you sincerely ask whether you're excellent or mediocre it's worth it to have you ticked...

What if we didn't know...

Religion Profile:

We are considering an ancient religion that can now be found in widely differing expressions in many places around the world, though it may not be recognizable to it’s original founders.
Multiple divinities and many other spiritual beings can be identified in their sacred texts and worship, although they offer a mostly confusing explanation of themselves as monotheistic.
There is some dispute about the identity of the founder of the religion with two primary candidates, one of which claimed to have a supernatural vision of the former, though they never met in life. Many adherents claim to have similar visions with varying degrees of frequency. The prominence of mystical elements is common in the worship, though some make no personal claim of such experience and consider it suspect among others.
Another outstanding feature of their worship is the practice of ritualistic symbolic cannibalism. Some practice this only rarely, others at every gathering and even in private. Many use it as a rite of passage into adulthood.
Currently there are such wide varieties of expression in their worship gatherings that an outsider would be unlikely to see them as part of the same faith. The relative success of this religion is rooted in broad adaptability to cultures, though this causes a great deal of controversy among adherents who often argue that their own particular expression of the faith is the only one that is true to the founders.
There have been many dramatic and violent schisms which have become permanent, though there are occasional brief attempts to reconcile.
There is some confusion about the sacred texts. While there is general agreement that the title is “The Book” (English translation); the separate texts included within that cover vary significantly, and the degree to which they are considered authoritative or relevant causes further dispute.
Clearly, it is nearly impossible to describe this religion accurately because there is little that all adherents can agree on. The history is full of violence, conflict, and difficulty. It is ironic that the founder spoke of himself as the way, the truth, and the life and is worshipped as the Prince of Peace. Christianity is a very complex religion.

Kids and Careers

Last weekend I had two interesting experiences.
Saturday night I went to a high school reunion to see some people I haven't spoken to in 16 years. Sunday we celebrated my oldest brother's 40th birthday.
It was good to talk with some old friends on Saturday night and get updates on their life stories. With few exceptions the conversations didn't go much beyond where we live and work and who we live with.
Maybe the reason I hesitated about going was partly because I'm not working right now (though I have just agreed to an interesting new position starting in February), and it's still a little tough to not be a pastor anymore.
But I think the real doubt was just that I didn't want to bother going to see people I haven't seen in so long if I wasn't going to see them again for another 16 years. As it turns out I enjoyed it and it was nice to catch up with folks. I'll have to see if it leads to any further contact.
For my brother's birthday we gave him 40 different beers from around the world. Which meant he really couldn't transport them home on the bus, so I got to spend an extra hour with him on the drive to Toronto. We had one of the best conversations I can remember. It started with typical work and relationship stuff, but before long we were discussing things that motivate us, give meaning to our lives, and the struggles that come when those things aren't working the way we want them to.
The bottom line is this; as much as I enjoyed Saturday night, I long for conversations like I had on Sunday. Kids and careers are central aspects of life (certainly mine). But for many of us there is something deeper happening under the surface that rarely gets touched. That's where I want to relate.

Maybe it's not that difficult...

Everyone I know is an evangelist...Everyone.

It's something we do constantly without often having any intent or even awareness that we are doing it.

It rarely offends anyone, is most often done quite sensitively and leaves most people with a clear opportunity to respond.

We are all evangelists; sharing with friends, colleagues, and neighbours the good news we've discovered about restaurants, TV shows, and music.

Few of us hesitate to mention in conversation that we ate a good meal out last weekend. We're comfortable hearing that from a friend and naturally consider whether we might want to have a similar meal ourselves without feeling threatened. We feel free to ask more about the restaurant, where it is, how expensive it is, whether there's a dress code or not... We might even suggest going with out friend the next time they go.

We're also comfortable telling others about new friendships we've made in most cases without pressure. If there seems to be commonality between our two friends we might even suggest introducing them or doing something together.

But somehow when it comes to Jesus it takes on this ominous tone. We cramp up and feel overwhelmed and unequipped. Churches spend big money on Evangelism plans, courses, and materials. We hope that some other person with the gift of evangelism will take on this onerous burden.

Salespeople generally know that a personal reference is the most valuable marketing tool. We just bought a car from a dealer because they had given my parents a good deal and they gladly did the same for us.

I wonder what would happen if we just determined to speak as openly about our faith and our churches as we do of our favourite movies...