Monastery walks
“There is seldom a period in which we do not know what to do, and we move through life in such a distracted way that we do not even take the time and rest to wonder if any of the things we think, say, or do are worth thinking, saying, or doing.”
Henri J. M. Nouwen in The Way of the Heart, p. 10.
Last week, Carol and I were at the all-Europe staff retreat in Santander, in northern Spain. We had great times of interaction with the rest of our team serving in places across this incredibly diverse region–The Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Russia, Sweden, and other parts of Spain. We also had several folks who came as guests from Chicago who played a role with us in the retreat experience. The highlight for me was to get to know each other a little better and the time of breaking bread together at each meal.
One of the components of the retreat reflected a theme in the broader leadership of the Covenant denomination, the area of “sustaining pastoral excellence.” It may not be obvious to all what this refers to. Essentially, we are talking about how to keep going over the long haul, maintaining the internal fire for one’s personal life and ministry. I learned in one of the presentations that the Christian ministry is one of the most dangerous careers today with a very high incidence of health, personal and relational problems. It is tough going in other words. Missionaries are part of this equation. We have the added issues that come with separation from family and loved ones and pressures [along with the joys] of living in another culture.
It occurred to me somewhere after the retreat that I was exhausted. I also got sick during the retreat, bringing that back with me to Barcelona. This explains a little of the absence of posts on my blog for about a week. Hmm, I was supposed to be refreshed from the time away at the retreat. Well, I was in certain ways, but in all honesty, I think we tried to pack too much into our agenda. This brings me to think about our lives in general. While much of our daily life is good and full, how often do I run from one distraction to another? Somewhere in the last 2 days I read the quote above from Henri Nouwen and I felt like this describes my life too much. I'm like the little hamster on the wheel in the cage that goes faster the faster one runs? As servants of Christ, passionate about ministry and getting things done for the Kingdom, we too often resemble that little hamster! I admit, guilty as charged.
Our retreat last week was good. It was very good activity, all of it. But it was not really a retreat to recharge the batteries for life and ministry. I didn’t take enough time to rest, reflect and listen. This is serious stuff for, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain." [Psalm 127:1]. Pray for us as we take the next steps in life and ministry. We need to keep the passion of the Lord before us and discern what he would have us do and be, with each other, our loved ones, our children, ourselves, and our focus friends. Thanks for accompanying us in the journey.
