David Ralph

The Devil on a Diet

It has been a couple weeks since my last entry.  No I wasn’t on a holiday 0r retreated back to sabbitical mode – although there were a couple of times that I thought that might be a good idea.  The last couple of weeks have been incredibly busy as I returned to my regular routine at Lakeside.  With the “catching up” pretty much done, I am ready to return to posting my blog on a regular basis.   I want to share about things that I am reading, things that I am pondering and thinking about and passages from the Bible that are on my mind.

If there have been a couple verses that has been on my mind the last few days they would be 1 Peter 5:8-9 which says, “Be alert and self controlled.  Your enemy the devil prowl around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sister throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”    This comes on the heals of one of those huge verses of comfort which says, “Casting all your cares on him, because he cares for you.”    I look around and watch and witness the many ways that the evil one is devouring people in our culture.  Influencing the choices they make.  Influencing what their priorities are.  Influencing how they live their lives.    That influence is not a positive one.  I wish this was only true for those who have no relationship with Jesus but that is just not the case.  Many followers of Jesus these days seem to be caught up by the same influences.

But the specific context of this passage is that the evil one wants to devour those who are in the middle of their suffering.  He wants to convince them to blame God for their suffering and to bail on Him.   Like Job’s wife he wants them to “curse God and die”.  I continue to watch followers of Jesus walk away from faith because of the extreme suffering they are neck deep in.  

The advice from Peter would be pretty simple – be alert and self controlled – know that this is the scheme of the enemy and be on guard against it.   He would then encourage those in the middle of difficult and dark days to stand firm in their and stand together with others.  Easier said than done.

It seems these days that the evil one has become a glutton when it comes to the number of people he is bent on devouring.  It is time for followers of Jesus to put him on a diet.  It happens when we become aware of his influences on our lives – both the blatant and the subtle ones.  But we have to been on the outlook for them.  It happens when we are willing to follow Jesus and trust him no matter what.  It happens when we stand together and walk with each other through our troubling days.  Yesterday we witnessed a testimony at Lakeside of a young couple who are putting him on a diet.  No matter what is happening in their life – they are choosing to stand firm in their faith.

Re-Entry

Over the last couple of days I have been trying to take all that I have written in four journals, all that I have read in over a couple of dozens of books, all the whispers and promptings I have sensed from God during my three months sabbatical and compact it down into just a few pages.  I am trying to make a list of the highlights and the learnings and the leadings from this past summer.  It isn’t an easy task.  But I want to be able to share these with the Lakeside community next weekend as part of Welcome Back Sunday.  I made a first attempt at this a week or so ago and I shared those findings with some of the staff at Lakeside over the past week and there seemed to be a sense of anticipation and enthusiasm about what I shared.  At least that is what I want to believe I sensed.  But that took over an hour or so and it would be too much for a Sunday morning. 

I sat down yesterday morning and tried to put together a framework for what I wanted to share next weekend.  For about three ours I tried to bring a summary of the summer into a message like format.  When I was done I had the “skeleton” of what I want to share and I will attempt to put the “flesh” on that skeleton next week.  I will simply share some personal moments – some key verses – some promptings and whispers and then close by answering two key questions I asked myself earlier this summer and have been answering all summer long.  I felt very comfortable when I was done.  It was like I had finished the sabbatical.  It was complete.  Although I have a few days left (3) and I will be visiting one more church tomorrow (that will make 14 I visited this summer), I feel like it is a done deal and I am preparing myself to re-enter back into a ministry and people that I love and care for deeply.

This has been a summer where I have had a chance to discover more about myself and to detail some changes that I want to make to my character and to the way I relate and interact with people.  It has been a summer where I have been able to step out of the day to day challenges of ministry and to stand back and have an overall look at who we are, who God is calling us to be, what He wants us to do and where He wants us to go.  As I have said a few times lately, I believe the best days of ministry and impact for Lakeside are ahead of us and God is going to use all of us partnering together to make a huge difference in our community and around the world. 

So I am ready to go – ready to re-enter – ready for the next leg of the journey.  This is going to be my last “sabbatical entry” but I am going to diligently blog as much or more than I did this summer.  I am going to share things that I am reading and studying from the Bible. trends that I see in our culture. things that I am reading on a daily basis,  many personal thoughts and feelings and any definitive whispers and promptings that I an sensing God is giving me.  I hope that you will continue to read my blog.  In fact, I think the best entries are yet to come.  Stay tuned.  The next entry will be Tuesday.  Thanks for sharing the journey with me this summer.  God bless.

A Living Eulogy

I have just finished watching the videocast of yesterday’s message at Lakeside and I am still trying to process what the speaker had to say about me as he opened the service.  They were words of affirmation and personal praise and they were so encouraging.   I am not sure that anyone of my peers in ministry has ever said anything nicer.  These words  brought tears to my eyes.  It was like listening to my eulogy from a peer in ministry but I was still alive to hear it.  I found it troubling at first.  It often seems difficult to hear people praise us or to speak well of us.  I am not sure why that is but it seems to be the case for most of us.  I found listening to these words very humbling.  I wondered if he was really speaking about me.  Yet, these were words spoken by someone who I have shared ministry doubts and fears and challenges and joys and successes.  They were shared with someone who I have experienced genuine community with and would consider a brother in Christ.  All the criticisms (and there have been many – it goes with being in ministry unfortunately) that I have heard over the last few years seem to be balanced with the few phrases that he spoke.  In fact, I was actually feeling a little down before I listened to that videocast.  Over the last few weeks I have listened to some of the best leaders I know in the church world.  Yesterday I heard one of the best communicators I know when it comes to Sunday morning messages.  My insecurities kicked in and I wondered to myself if I really did cut it when it comes to leading and teaching in a way that  is required in a growing, prevailing church like Lakeside.

But then I heard these words and in someway those feelings lifted and I felt a renewed and revived spirit.  I thought about the words in Ephesians 4:29 where Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.”  How true those words are.  When we build up others according to their needs it really is beneficial.  Then I wondered how often I have missed an opportunity to build up someone else up by not saying the words that needed to be said.  I want to make that one of the changes in the way I lead and teach and serve the community at Lakeside.  I want to praise people more with genuine heartfelt praise, through cards and emails and public affirmation.  I know I can do so much better than I have done in the past in this area.

As I listened to those words spoken of me, I wondered if they are really true.  I believe they are.  I do love God with all my heart and want to grow deeper and deeper in a relationship with Him.  I do work hard at being a better leader and teacher and servant of Jesus – not for my sake or reputation but more for those I lead – those who listen – those I serve.  I do love the people of Lakeside.  Because I am not an outwardly emotional person I don’t always show it or say it enough.  But, I do love the Lakeside community and the people that make it up. 

It was nice to hear “my eulogy” today while I was still alive.  I think we need to share these kind of thoughts with others more often.  It makes a difference.  I builds you up.  It puts a spring in your step.  At least it did that for me.

A Technological Sabbatical

I have been very faithful writing my blog this summer as I have been on sabbatical.  But this is the first post in over a week.  I am sure that some of you have been wondering what has happened.  Have I been too busy golfing?  I have played a fair bit over the past few weeks although my game hasn’t improved – if I ever had game at all.  Have I been away on vacation?  While I did enjoy a good day on a great boat owned by a friend of mine and didn’t even get sea sick, that is not the reason.  Have I run out of things to say and to right?  You know me better than that. 

The reason for no blog entries for the last week is that my laptop decided to take a sabbatical.   Although it has been working poorly for a few weeks, last weekend it decided enough was enough and it simply shut down.  I couldn’t recieve and respond to emails sent unless I used my Blackberry.  Sue reminds me I am not supposed to be checking emails but I am in re-entry mode and I have convinced myself it is okay.  I thought about trying to do my blog on my Blackberry but I have fat thumbs and it would have had more spelling mistakes that usual and it would have made less sense than it normally does. 

It has been an interesting summer when it comes to technology.  I lost my Blackberry in the train station in Paris and was without it for more than a week.  Now my laptop took a week long sabbatical as well.  My iPod isn’t working right – the battery won’t seem to hold a charge.  I listen to many podcasts in any given week which I haven’t been able to do for weeks.  These are podcasts that feed my soul and fuel me for ministry so I have really missed it.  Even the calculater that I use in my home office has stopped working.  I paid about five bucks for it ten years ago so I feel I’ve got my money out of it.  As I pondered these technology sabbaticals that my Blackberry and laptop and iPod have been on I realized how dependent we have become on technology and how much we miss it when it is gone.  Do you ever wonder how we did life without all this technology?  Do you ever wonder how we handled life when we couldn’t send and recieve emails or text messages?  Do you ever wonder how we stayed in touch before Facebook and Twitter? 

Then I got thinking (which is a dangerous thing), what if we decided each week to take a sabbath.  A sabbath being a single day every seven, where we rest, reflect, refocus and refuel.   But not simply a sabbath from work or a sabbath from the crazy pace of life that some of us experience but also a sabbath from technology.  A sabbath where we shut down and shut off.    A sabbath where we turn off and tune out.   Technology once promised to make our lives simpler which is a promise that never was kept.  Maybe the simplicity comes not from technology but from taking a sabbath from it.  I’m not sure that anything would be tougher to do than this.  But maybe it is worth a try.

The Importance of Introspection

With just over two weeks left of my sabbatical (has it ever gone by quickly) I am sitting in Williams today and I am reflecting on many of the things that God has nudged me about over the last two plus months.  I have been reading through the four journals that I have written in this summer and I am amazed how God has spoken to me about the ministry at Lakeside but more importantly about what He has communicated to me personally about the stuff inside of me.   Because I have had lots of time for introspection this summer (spending many days in solitude) I have been able to dig deeper into my heart and soul than I have probably done in the last 11 years.   It has been an incredible journey.  Sometimes it has been a bit painful.  I have experienced the double edged sword of God’s active and alive word and it has cut deep at times.  Some real surgery has been done.  It has revealed to me some of the things that I need to change about me.  Things that I need to do differently.

But it hasn’t all been negative.  It has revealed to me that I am to continue to lead the ministry of Lakeside and to lead with a greater zeal and passion and energy and focus.    God re-affirmed my call to ministry and to the ministry of Lakeside.  Not only have I reflected on what needs to change but I have had the chance to revisit and review all that God has done at Lakeside over the last 11 years.  It has made me realize what an awesome church community Lakeside is and how privileged I am to be part of it.  I have been reminded that God has given us an awesome mission of helping people experience authentic life in Jesus.  We have not been called to help people find religion but we have been called to help them find LIFE.  We have been called to help those who are broken to find healing.  We have been called to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, provide shelter to the homeless, minister to the widows and orphans (single moms and their kids), deal with injustice issue,  not only in our local community but around the world.  We have been called to be a biblically functioning community as described in Acts 2:42-47.

Through this time of rest and reflection and solitude, where I have been able to sense the promptings and nudging of the Holy Spirit, where I have been able to look at the ministry of Lakeside with fresh eyes, where I have been able to let God dig deep into my soul and reveal the changes that need to be made, where I have been able to read more than a dozens books, God has refreshed me and energized me.  He has given me a renewed zeal and passion and excitement for the ministry at Lakeside.  A zeal and passion that I felt when I first came to Lakeside more than 11 years ago.  I am so excited to return in September.  I can hardly wait. In many ways I wish it was tomorrow but I know there are a few lessons more to learn in the following weeks.

I am beginning to start my re-entry process as I start to think about the messages I will teach this fall.  I am studying through scripture and reading a few more books that will help shape the messages I will teach.   I am starting to make lists about the things that we need to “tweak” at Lakeside as we continue to work towards our mission.  I have made a list of the changes that I want to make in me and I have put it in the back of my current journal so I will look at it everyday to continually remind me and to keep me focused on them.  I still  have a few rounds of golf to get in before I get back and I will have a short get away next week.  I want to still visit three churches and I have a couple more books I would love to get through.  I have a sense that this will be like adding gasoline to the fire that is already burning inside of me.

My hope is that a large part of the Lakeside community will share the same passion and energy and zeal that I have for the next leg of the journey at Lakeside.  Although I have had the chance to reflect and review the past, I think our greatest days as a church community are ahead of us.  I can hardly wait.