Wise Words on Ministry...in Enemy Territory

"We realized the church must do better at equipping and enlarging this conversation of what a faithful presence looks like. How not everyone is called to “Christian Ministry.” But MANY are called to enemy territory, where allies are required to survive. How a grain of salt needs other grains to actually season the meat. And an ember needs other flames to lighten the dark."

Rebecca Lyons...excerpted from this blog post.

Five More Days

What a crazy season this is. I have been reading many of my favorite bloggers and gleaning great encouragement (and a few laughs). While I blog really just for me...a place to express and emote, I hope that something in my journey is an encouragement to others and not just self absorption.

So we are down to five more days of ministry at Open Door Fellowship. Todd packed his Jeep with a bunch of empty boxes. His desk has been sold on Craig's List; his "counseling couch" donated to the ODF youth group. All that remains are files and books - lots of books!

They will sit in our garage along with the bookcases awaiting a new home at a new job. The unknown.

He has a handful of final meetings and then one last Sunday. And then seven years at ODF will be complete. When we said yes to serving in the inner city, dependent on support (no salary or benefits), Todd and I agreed to five years. We wanted to make a serious commitment.

Well, at five years I lost my job and it would have been convenient for Todd to move on to a salary, but we served on. We completed closer to seven years. At various moments this past month, I've cried. The memories sweet for the most part.

But it was over six months ago when Todd and I both knew that God was pressing us on. Our passion and concern is for those in the marketplace. Both Todd and I come from the market and our hearts are attuned to those who are called to walk faithfully in corporations and offices and manufacturing floors and in the field.

We are listening right now. July brings its own challenges, but opportunities as well.

We live expectantly.

Books, Books, and More Books!

Time to do a bit of book review catch up. I've decided in 2013 to do less book reviewing for publishers, and more book reviewing from my own library. (Although I just received an advance copy of Dan and Chip Heath's new book - without requesting it -- Decisive: How to Make Better choices in Life and Work. Not complaining!)

I logged only 17 books read last year, well short of my goal of 24.  But in January and February 2013 I already finished five books! January business travel was very good for book reading as was my two-to-three-hours-a-day compute to my client's offices.

The Weight of Mercy, Deb Richardson-Moore

This book is a must read for all who serve at Open Door fellowship/Ministries or those simply passionate for the poor. I laughed throughout this wonderful memoir of a journalist turned pastor of an inner city ministry. Her journey paralleled our own that I savored her words. She like us went to seminary at mid-life -- simply following God's call. And like us she landed in an unexpected place. The inner city of West Greenville, North Carolina. Her stories of the addicted, homeless poor, emotionally and spiritually impoverished could easily have been written about those in the Open Door Fellowship congregation. She learned so many of the lessons we did, the hard way. There is no manual for such ministry. This is a wonderful and entertaining read.

Leadership 101, John Maxwell
This great book was "read" on my drive to work - a minimum one hour each way weather depending. Yep, it was an audio book. But I enjoyed it so much that I now have The Complete 101 Collection. Leadership 101 is one of eight books in the collection, and has great counsel on the development of a leader, the traits of a leader adn the impact of a leader. A great audiobook for my commute.

The Hidden Life of Prayer, David McIntrye

This was one of those Kindle finds that I couldn't resist at $.99 - thank you Tim Challies for the recommendation. Well, this little book is more than worth the change. It's quite a treasure. I read it on an airplace ride to Florida (business!) and I kept highlighting passage after passage. It is written by David McIntyre (1859 – 1938), a Scottish preacher and Principal of the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow from 1913 to 1938. I do love Scottish preacher: "The soil in which the prayer of faith takes root is a life of unbroken communion with God, a life in which the windows of the soul are always open towards the City of Rest."



Living in the Land of Enough, Courtney Carver
And this was the ebook I read on the flight home. Another quick read and inexpensive Kindle acquisition - $.99! This is a book about choice. Choosing to choose less. The chapters span the topics of Money, Time, Diconnect, Food, Space, Entertainment, Gratitude and the simple fact that You are Enough. I love that last one. I think it's the reason I stuggle with Much. Great ideas, great encouragement.

The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business, Patrick Lencioni
This is my new favorite business book -- and a great "read" on my commute to client's offcies. I was introduced to the content at this past year's Global Leadership Summit. I'm a big fan of Patrick Lencioni and I believe this is his best book yet. This is one of those rare business books that is about the hard and soft sides of a successful business. I was chewing on a variety of topics as I went through it -- sharing with my husband and how it applied to the Church and with clients about how the information could challenge their organization. Excellent. We picked up the hard copy on this one for future reading.