I really should be doing other things besides blogging this afternoon. Oops, just got a call that I am not in range of my monitor, no not a crime related monitor, heart. I have to charge it at least one hour during the day and I left it in the other room charging. I'll be right back. OK, I'm back and I'm wired.
I started following a few anonymous parody accounts on Twitter. Most of them have to do with church work and ministry. They are funny and spot on when it comes to insights into working at a church. I especially enjoy the ones that have to do with being an assistant to the pastor and other staff types. A great use of humor to convey realistic encounters and adventures with the called and the congregational called. So I found other humorous accounts to follow, senior adult types, church volunteer types, youth workers, youth pastors, pastor's wives, running church facility types and I guess you are getting the picture of all the 'types' out there. I especially enjoy the humor of Back Row Baptist. But I may have to stop following so many of these guys because it fuels my cynical side and I really have to battle cynicism daily. I thought yesterday's sermon was really good, the second part of the series on what to do when you are overwhelmed based on Psalm 142. One of the points our pastor made was God will take the misery you are experiencing and turn it into ministry. So true, but I can't help but think of all the ministry that turns into misery and God has nothing to do with it. I love this quote by Christine Caine, "The more free you are the more inclusive you become. When you are bound by fear, doubt and insecurity you default to exclusivity and control!" That's a good word! I'm thinking back to my early days working full time at the church and there was a staff member that I could never figure out what their job entailed, yet this person had the most storage space in the office suite and for what I had no clue. They had trouble keeping an admin because this person ministered out of insecurity and if anything made them look bad in front of others and mainly this was due to their own incompetence, they would find some specious reason to fire the admin. This person exerted a lot of wanting to control everything yet they sat at their desk all day long doing nothing. One year this person told their admin she could not go to the staff Christmas lunch because of some 'deadline.' Believe me, unless you are in the music and worship/preacher departments, most all other ministries are on a holiday schedule and most staff if they have vacation time from the year are out of the office. Fortunately, a senior staff member stepped in and stopped this ridiculousness. I just checked Twitter and there is some funny stuff being said, so I won't un-follow today. Maybe I should change my thinking when I read these and avoid cynicism. Just a side note this said staff person is long gone and has been for quite some time.
Tomorrow night summer Bible study wraps up. The subject, Godly friendships led and facilitated by Becky Kiser. She's done an awesome job with the format of the study and she makes sure we all have a lot of fun while we are at it. I cannot help but think that in my life I have been given the privilege of having some of the best friends in the world. There have been a few stinkers along the way but the good outnumber the not so good. In the easier world of social media relationships one has to be very committed and determined to spend time, face time or at least phone time with your friends. Don't limit yourself to friends that are like you. There is a whole lot of joy and fun with hard work and patient understanding to having friends that are nothing like you. Also, realizing that I have a few very good and close friends, the next tier is friends and the third tier is acquaintances. I used to try to spend quality time with all levels all the time. I was worn out trying to keep things evened out. Jesus is our example, Peter, James and John-close friends, other disciples and some of the women who followed Him-good friends. Not talking ministry here but His relationship with those the closest to Him.
Here are some friendship quotes that I have read in the last month. I think they speak for themselves without any other comment:
Friends who shame you, friends who harbor grudges against,
friends who expect or demand certain performance from you, friends who are
disappointed in you as a person, friends who won't forgive you, friends who
don't/won't/can't give you freedom, friends who get angry with you and close
off emotionally from you, and friends who expect/need certain things from you
are saying, "I have
placed you on a platform of performance expectations, and if you don't meet my
expectations, I want nothing to do with you."
Leigh McLeroy
Leigh McLeroy
“A holy friend is one who challenges the sins we have
grown to love, affirms the gifts we are afraid to claim, and helps us dream the
dreams we could not otherwise dream.”
May you have--and BE--a holy friend.
The real treasure in life isn't things but relationships. Sadly, most
people don't figure this out until retirement.
Well, it's Tuesday so the randomness continues. Maybe it should continue into a Tuesday type of thing. Ok, it's decided. Happy Tuesday everyone!
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