Government Work

For years I have mocked the role of supervisor in labor situations. I enjoy manual labor, but it will never compare to that feeling of promotion which comes when you finally get to stand by and observe others doing that same job.

I say this tongue in cheek, but I have been struck by this method of task structure and how it is now permeating the private sector. In the past week I have walked through no less than three retail businesses as an obvious manager stands with a few other skirts/shirts and ties to stare at some seemingly miniscule issue on the floor.

I am less bothered by the redundancy and more by the potential that this redundancy will cease to be a joke and soon be accepted as status quo. Deep down, I fear that there will be one more area in life that my structural superiors will have to view me as subversive.

Some of you know me well and others are just scratching the surface of my complex, regularly perplexing, highly emotive, seldom revolutionary existence. One thing that holds true to my outlook on life is that investment in personal relationship is a more substantial investment than merely gathering for with the goal of task/corporate advancement. That said, I have little affinity for meetings, especially those meetings that are under the guise of relationship and instead reinforce the dysfunctional redundancy that is becoming more prevalent in society.

I am contending with the economy of God's kingdom as it differs from the world's economy which seems to be in a current state of decline. Our families hope in moving to Ireland is to live according to a Kingdom economy that calls us to give freely rather than a monetary system that needs consumers to survive.

We will see how it works, but while we takes our bumps and bruises will you do me this favor and I will seek to share this mission. Don't stop meeting! But when you do will you not see your mission as deciding the conclusion of a task whether it be how clean is "clean" for the restaurant's fireplace window, which isle should the chips be located in, etc. rather look at those around you who could finish that task as competently as you could if they were given the freedom to do so and invest.

Redemption is Here!

FACT: Bobby has three weeks left as the director of middle school ministries at Calvary Bible Church.

My departure will have consequences, both good and bad. The beauty of where our family is headed is that the good heavily outweighs the bad due to one foundational truth that we continue to see in our lives and the world around us. We trust and serve a redeeming God!

I have made plenty of mistakes over the past 3 years 3 months and 26 days. Undisciplined communication, not running tight programs, and fostering debate(which can often be interpreted as dissension)rather than peaceful community among staff are a few of the weaknesses that I have displayed over years. The beauty is that I leave knowing that God can redeem the past and raise up another leader to care for the hearts of Calvary's middle schooler students and their families in a whole new way.

That same reality of Christ redeeming a broken world gives our family hope into the future. Why quit your job in the middle of a global recession? Why leave a house that is safe, comfortable, and has beautiful views to watch each day rise with the pink glow of the flatirons and then settle over the mountains? Why Ireland?

I cannot answer every question in life. I also cannot answer the limited amount that we face during this transitional phase of our lives. The one thing that I continue to see as my eyes are open is that this world is messed up and no matter how hard I try to be a "good person" I am a contributer to the exorbitant levels of crap. The flip side to that same realization is that I see those same situations being redeemed in ways that I could not orchestrate and which seems to cry out of a design and purpose that transcends all of the confusion that we place ourselves in with each decision that we make.

My quest is not to fix myself or every screwed up situation I find myself facing in life. My hope is to learn the surrender necessary to let myself and others be healed and the catastrophic circumstances that often seem to define life be made new. Redemption is what creates the space necessary for one of my favorite book titles, "This Beautiful Mess".

Play Time!

It's official!

Some of you may have received a letter, but we figure that if you are following posts on this blog you should also know what is going on in our lives. As of May 18th Bobby will be stepping down from his role as Director of Middle School Ministries at Calvary to create space in life in order to prepare for a move to Ireland. This seems to be an appropriate next step as we seek to intentionally follow God's call to our family.

We ask that you pray for us as we surrender income and in some sense security to move towards what we believe to be the next step.

Our roomie, Di

Many of you know that we live with our best friend, Diana Spencer.  She is the coolest, and we are so thankful to live with her.  There are some potential tensions in living with friends, but she makes it easy.

She is compassionate, funny, selfless and beautiful.  Anyone who has the opportunity to meet her is lucky, and as her roommates, we are the luckiest of all!

Di has been around since day one of our little boy, Padraig.  She loves him very much, and he is crazy about her.  As soon as she walks into the room, he breaks into a smile.  He just can't get enough of his Aunt Di.

There are some friends that are more like family, and Di is one of those friends.

When Hearts Break Open

My heart is sad...my mind is stilled...my soul is weeping.

My mom's cousin and his wife are in a state of shock and grieving as she lost her youngest daughter, her husband and their unborn grandchild as victims in an accident with a drunk driver. Even in this short moment to write a request for prayer that their family would know the peace and grace of our Lord during one of the most devastating moments of life my brow furrows and my eyes tear.

In honor of our dear family members please hold your children a little tighter and a moment longer.  Life is fleeting whether it is a day or eighty years...but the present is the only time we have to express how much we love those that are near to us.

The Tale of Two Cathedrals

We headed south today and stopped by the city of Armagh.

It is a small and beautiful town.  Di wanted to stop due to the remarkable people and events that have occurred in this town throughout Irish history.  

St. Patrick named this town the ecclesiastical city in the mid-400's.  This reality seems to have taken over the people of the town as it has two different yet equally magnificent cathedrals bearing his name.  The catholic version is ornate and around 160 years old.  The anglican version is less magnificent in physicality, but carries nearly 1600 years of history.

I was blown away by the distance between the two.  The proximity, as you will see is nearly nothing.  Relationally it seems to be as if the city is a great chasm and once you climb a hill you have chosen a team for life.  David, the caretaker at one of the sites shared that he had never been to the other. "Not for any other reason than, I haven't found the time."

The disparity between Catholic and Protestant seems to be less one based on hatred and more on an apathy or neglect to actively engage and pursue relationship with the other.  I did not leave judging the people of Armagh, but feeling convicted of the chasms in my own life and the apathy that I show towards crossing over them.

I appreciate that when we come to Ireland we do not feel as if we have arrived.  Both times we have returned home with a greater desire to live well in the present rather than quit life and hold out for the hope of a perfect future.