Every Monday

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Contents

Dedication..........................................vAcknowledgements....................................viiForeword............................................ixConfessions of a Fleeing Leader.....................1Dancing Grapes......................................5The Juggling Act....................................9Ground Zero.........................................13Vignettes...........................................17Hiding Places.......................................21Bad Spellers ... Untie!.............................25These Days..........................................29The Hunkie Cooper Principle.........................33Somewhat Lost.......................................37Are We There Yet?...................................41Play It Again, Sam..................................45Glory Days..........................................49Serving in the Shadows..............................53Things to Keep......................................57Outside the Lines...................................61Dancing with Danger.................................65Do You Get It?......................................69Beyond Charming.....................................75A Forgotten Priority................................79Rough Times.........................................83Kindergarten Leadership.............................87Honk If You Love Jesus..............................91Gullible Travels....................................95A Mother's Ears.....................................99Resurrection People.................................103What Works?.........................................107Falling Stars.......................................111Fast Food for Thought...............................115The Wonderful Church................................119Mystified...........................................123Pennsylvania Driving................................127The Worship Ordeal..................................131Random Musing.......................................135Appreciation........................................139Lookin' Good!.......................................143Things to Remember..................................147Vision Revisited....................................151Playing the Percentages.............................155Where the Water Flows...............................159

Chapter One

I ran away from God for a long, long time. Frankly, I was pretty good at it. Oh, I knew about God. My grandmother took me to church. I attended MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship). I participated in Vacation Bible School. I even had my fair share of warm fuzzy God-feelings at Epworth Forest Church Camp, but I managed to keep God's call at a safe distance.

With minor wear and tear on my small-town psyche, I survived being a chubby little kid. My parents were good people. They both worked outside the home yet managed to provide most everything that an only child could want. My grandmother, who lived with us, died when I was twelve. Henry, my dog and constant companion, was "put to sleep" the day before I left for college. Nevertheless, for the most part, I did okay.

Along the path of boyhood, I learned to love sports and even won my fair share of awards. I discovered girls at an early age and engineered a healthy dating plan. I even owned a couple of cars, including a 1957 Studebaker station wagon that the gang (a good term in those days) nicknamed The Blue Eagle.

Manchester College brought studies, a few more dates (the best ones were with Victoria Jean Sayers), and more sports. I had it-my life-all planned out. I was destined to be a great college football coach except for one thing; in the last semester of my senior year of college, I discovered that I hated teaching! Here is the sequence that followed: Considerable oops! Plan change. Life shift. Vocational nomadic phase. Eventual segue into business.

Business life was favorable for a season. I married Victoria and we had our first three little girls. We owned a charming house on a full acre of land in a nice suburb of Columbus, Ohio. A small creek meandered through the back of the property. Every now and then I would go to that creek, listen to the water trickle over the rocks, think about life, and wonder about God. Our family even joined a local United Methodist church just down the road. Life was good. Well, almost.

I could easily ramble on about this personal life stuff. But my point is this: I persisted in running away from God and his call on my life-his call to make me his own. When I finally stopped running and succumbed to Christ's tolerant beckoning, he filled an enormously empty chasm in the core of my soul. Yet somehow, I knew there was more. Jesus was calling me to do something more than just believe in him. He was calling me to more than an intellectual grasp of the facts about his existence; it was something more than an emotional assent to lofty feelings about God. He was calling me to know him, love him, commit to him, and ultimately serve him.

I was scared to death! I was fairly certain that Jesus had simply confused me with some other much more talented person who just happened to have the same name! Obviously, this was a simple mistake in ministerial and leadership identity.

After many clarifying moments alone with the Lord, I told him that I would do whatever he wanted me to do and go wherever he wanted me to go, just as long as he didn't put me in a church! After all, I didn't like to get up in front of people. I wasn't a good reader, especially in public (a fear from childhood); and I didn't know how to act like a pastor. While I was pretty certain that God knew most of this stuff, I needed to be sure. So, I told him.

One long and sleepless night, I tossed and turned and finally blurted out, "Okay! Okay, Lord. I'll do it. I'll do whatever you want me to do. I'll go wherever you want me to go ... (long pause) even a church." Immediately, I sensed a gigantic crane hover over me, lower a winch, and hoist an incredible invisible weight off my chest. At that moment, an unforgettable quiet came to rest right where the unbearable weight had lodged. This quiet filled me with immeasurable peace, and nothing has ever been the same.

So, what about you? Have you ever tried to run from God? Any fleeing church leaders among you? Any reluctant prophets? Stammering preachers? Hesitant deacons? If so, it's okay. Because here is the important thing: when you allow your story to meet God's story, there is always a better story to tell.

The Leader's Prayer:

Pursuing God ... you are faster than my flight. You are stronger than my fear. Your sweet persistent hunt for my life leaves me in awe. Thank you for seeing gifts within me when I could not see them in myself. By your enduring grace show me how to keep investing these gifts in your Kingdom's work. In the name of the One who sees very unique traits in very common places ... Amen.

Chapter Two

At one of our regional church conferences, the judicatory leadership chose a theme from John 15. In this chapter Jesus told an amazing story by painting word images to describe the landscape and operation of a vineyard. His intention was to explore the model of a true believer's life and his relationship to the divine.

Jesus unashamedly broadcast the nature and identity of the vine, the...