Tired of not working

Several years ago, I decided to try the whole Sabbath concept of working six days a week and resting from it on Sunday. Some weeks--like this one--that is harder than others, and I find myself writing, answering email, and working on projects much of Saturday so that Sunday can be work-free.

By and large, it's been a helpful antidote to the overscheduled, multitasking world I live in the rest of the week. Other than 90 minutes with the 4s class each Sunday morning (which isn't exactly restful, but it is fun), Sundays are mine to do whatever I please.

Which is exactly the problem--facing hours on end in which I'm supposed to be resting just stresses me out.

God designed work to give our days purpose. The most fun days for me are the ones where I accomplish something--or many things--not the days I spend lounging around. Although buying new patio furniture and replanting flowers, cleaning my pit of a kitchen, or organizing my over-stuffed file cabinet are not "restful" activities, if I had spent today doing one or two of those tasks I'd now be looking back on the day with a feeling of satisfaction, and enjoying the flowers or clean kitchen or organized start to a new week. If I'm honest with myself, that feeling of accomplishment is more rewarding, and more restful, than any amount of magazine-reading or napping.

Without "permission" to do these chores today, even in a voluntary, New Testament kind of Sabbath, I feel restless and set adrift, overwhelmed with options for "relaxing" activities. Do I start that book, call that friend, take a nap, catch up on Lost, cook from scratch? Whatever I choose, that means choosing not to do something else, and I have to cram all this relaxation into one day and it's already 8 p.m. and I'm WASTING IT.

Or so the pathology goes. But can you relate?

I understand the reasons God commanded the Sabbath for the Israelites, and I understand the physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits that have created a renewed interested in the idea. We all need quiet, we all need to turn the phones off, we all need to connect with other people, light a candle, make a meal. I'm just not sure how to reconcile those ideas with my own temperament. So I'm spending part of my Sabbath today working on it.

Birthday thoughts

I turn 30 today. Each decade change has its own connotations (20s: sports car; 30s: minivan) but the transition to 30 also seems to be the dividing line between people saying, “Wow, she’s accomplished so much for her age” to “What’s your point?” If someone leads a growing, healthy church, writes an acclaimed book, or begins a dynamic ministry in his 20s, we’re amazed at his insights and potential. A 35 year old is assumed to be doing those things.

Or take the “emerging leaders” thing. My friend Kyle is six years older than I am, and his pastor still refers to him as an “emerging” leader. Have you already-emerged leaders created a criteria list for exactly when someone transitions from one stage to another? Does one have to make a certain amount of money, have baptized a set number of people, be married, have kids? If you haven’t, perhaps you could all gather at this summer’s NACC and draft one just so those of us still emerging can get to work. And keep in mind that in many ways it has nothing to do with age—I know 30-somethings who can barely tie their shoes.

A breakout church

David Clark is the kind of guy who, when he read Thom Rainer’s book Breakout Churches, immediately wanted to learn how he could become more like the “Acts 6/7 leaders” the book describes. This, of course, is why the book already identifies him as one of these rare leaders, characterized by confident humility, acceptance of responsibility, and an outwardly-focused vision.

The Acts 6/7 leader is the church version of what Good to Great calls a Level 5 leader, and Rainer openly acknowledges that he and his team based their research and methodology on GTG. In addition to listing this high-level leader as a component of the breakout church, the book identifies several other criteria characterizing these congregations: a period of decline followed by years of sustained new growth, a clear impact on the community, and all of this happening (slump and turnaround) under the leadership of the same minister.

Central Christian Church in Beloit, WI, where Dave serves as Senior Pastor, is one of 13 churches identified as a breakout church. Interestingly, few of them are churches you’ve probably heard of—partly because the research criteria excluded great churches like Southeast or Saddleback, but also because the churches where a senior leader hangs in for 20+ years, that experience decline and then slow regeneration, and that find their unique mission in the community apart from the latest fads, are not always the ones receiving wide acclaim.

But if Central isn’t a church you know, make sure it’s one you get to know. I spent last week working with Central’s staff and leadership to improve their processes and procedures, and I was impressed with each member of their remarkably united staff. (Also impressive, and in no way related to their breakout status, is their willingness to have a 29-year-old “consultant” with no church experience come in and take their time for a week.)

In addition to a humble yet very competent leader, Central’s got a great vision to be a multi-cultural church meeting the needs of its racially diverse, economically struggling community. Each Wednesday morning a corps of volunteers provide free food, clothing, coffee, hugs, friendship, and prayer to over 2,000 needy people. And on Easter Sunday, Central’s African-American “satellite” church, New Life Ministry, opened its new 400-seat building to the community. Volunteers from the two churches worked side by side for months to prepare the building for its grand opening; a (Caucasian) elder from Central took a week of his vacation to drive nails, install sinks, and finish painting.

New Life welcomed almost 200 to services on Sunday, and looks ready for ministry to a tough neighborhood. (So tough, in fact, that during construction the local gang members made a point of letting New Life’s pastor know when a drive-by shooting was about to happen so he could keep volunteers inside.) Even without Rainer’s endorsement, this is definitely a breakout church.