Summer Reflections

School is about to start again this week here in Williamson County. I am gearing up for the fall, but I am also trying to make sense of my summer.

-In June, I traveled to Sierra Leone, Africa. I spent 10 days with folks from Harpeth Community Church and the The Raining Season, at an orphanage and trying to discern the need to plant churches in that country.

-In July, I traveled back home to Canada for two weeks and spent quality time with family and friends.

-In late July, I spent a week at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho with friends Jim Putman, Luke Yetter, and Jerry Harris planning for the new Relational Discipleship Network. I also spent quality time with Jim Harris - future Harpeth Community Church staff member and Relational Discipleship trainer at Harpeth Community Church.

-I then went back to Calgary, Canada and spent an intense 3 days with the leaders of three churches in Calgary, 2 of which will likely close their doors by the end of the year.

So, what are my reflections on all these things moving forward?

1. Relational Discipleship is the most important Christian direction to follow. I see nothing that is as Biblical and needed as this direction. "Love" ("Relational") is the quintessential hallmark of a true Christian (John 13:34-35) and "Discipleship" is the fundamental mandate of the church (Matthew 28:19-20).

2. Poverty of money (Africa) and Poverty of Spirit (Canada/USA) both leave people without a clear sense of what life is all about. I baptized two prostitutes in Africa because they had no other way to make a living. Within weeks, I met with two of my high school buddies from Caglary, who sat down with me, as they were drinking beer, and telling me about how they are becoming millionaires, but they have no clue about meaning in life. There are two kinds of poverty - material and spiritual - and they both devastate human beings.

3. Something is going on in the world, and I cannot put my finger on it. It just feels like there is no center, that old ways of making sense for people are no longer working. Maybe it is my age; maybe it is my level of exposure to diverse people in diverse places ... I am not sure. Maybe it is something else ...

4. I just know one thing: I am sure glad that I hold on to Jesus Christ as my center point and that my center is the same, whether in Sierra Leone, Africa; Calgary, Canada; Post Fall, Idaho; or Nashville, Tennessee.