its been a quiet week in...

Quiet weeks in Lake Wobegon are the most wonderful times of life. This past week has been a quiet week for me, but it has been the most wonderful. I ran three miles in the "Let Go, Let God" relay team from our church in the Road Runner Akron Marathon last Saturday. I had the leg through Sand Run Metro Park. It was the most beautiful day of the year! It was like running with God.

As the week has gone on conflict around the present and future of the church have led to melt down for some folks. I found myself in one of the greater moments of trusting in God. Always in the past when such times arose, I paniced. My anxiousness took over. This time I felt a peace and a confidence...not in myself, but in God. Many folks have come to me concerned how I was doing, and I let them know my appreciation for their concern. I'm also aware of many folks around the church who have no idea that there are some people who are so anxious about the church and my leadership. For instance, today I attended a reception for a younger man from our church who served six months in Iraq in a very difficult role. It was clear that for that family there was nothing about the church that they were aware of or concerned about. The time all of us shared together was simply a time of great joy. This young man visited me the day he was shipped out. I gave him a small pocket Bible with a message from the church in it. I hugged him and cried at that time. It felt so strange to have someone young enough to be my son to be going off to war. This is where the peace and joy of Christ is real. Not in struggling over who has whose way within a church. It isn't really about us anyway. In Christ, as I experienced in this quiet week, we find the peace that is beyond understanding. That is the gift of God in serving through the church.