The Send Off

Our journey began on May 24 with a formal sending ceremony from the church.  The point of this time was to formally designate the beginning of this focused time for the church and for our family.  In our sending ceremony, I had a chance to express my love to the church and say some things that I was looking forward to over the summer. 

For the church, I was looking forward to seeing our teams function without me in the mix to see how they work on their own.  Also, I was excited about what the church would be experiencing in the Seeking Him study, a chance to pursue personal revival.  For myself, I am anxious to connect with both with my immediate family as the church is demanding personally, and with my extended family with a family reunion this summer.  I am also looking forward to gaining fresh perspective that comes from stepping away for a bit, not to mention having access to travel and some of the great art, architecture, and landmarks of the world.  Beyond that, one of the things I'm really anticipating is chance to be relieved of the pressure of weekly sermon production.  It's a joy and something that I'm called to do, but it takes over your life.  I'm excited about just reconnecting with the Lord for its own sake, and not for what it produces in the sermon.

I believe that the basis of any relationship is trust. Without it, relationships die. With it, relationships can thrive.  The send off was a chance for me to say, "Church, I trust you. I trust the leaders who will lead during this time.  I trust that you will be faithful to nurture this precious community that we have been developing all of these years.  I trust you."  It was also a chance for the church to voice that as well.  To say, "Pastor, we believe that this will be good for you and for us.  We gladly and willingly release you to do this, knowing that when you come back, we'll all be better.  We trust you."  And this is a beautiful thing to me.  Excited to see what God will do in these coming weeks!