Tiger

As a fundraiser for our Youth Ministries, I volunteered yesterday over at the Deutsche Bank PGA Tour event at the TPC Boston (which is actually in Norton, MA). I spent a boring day selling food to just a few people, as it was simply a practice round day, and the crowds were really light. After my shift ended I wandered around the course for a while watching some of the pros practice. Ernie Els was most impressive.

But what struck me most was that the main topic of people's conversations was not who was playing, but who wasn't playing. Tiger Woods, out for a while following surgery, is not playing, and would not be in attendance, even though he is the official player-sponsor of the tournament. Had he been there practicing, the crowd would have been 10 times bigger.

Someone asked me once if there was something besides his golf ability that makes Tiger so appealing to golf fans, and non-golf fans. He seems to transcend the sport. My response was that he is one of those individuals who just seems to drip charisma, and displayes such a sheer joy for the game, that he commands your attention and your admiration. The video below, for me, shows that very attribute of Tiger to perfection. Watch his sheer joy at the end of the video. There is no way that he is "acting". Maybe it took him 200 shots to pull this off, but his reaction is priceless, and you can't help but smile.





Just imagine if we as Christians, could display half as much joy and enthusiasm for serving Christ...what a witness that would be!

Vacation

I've just returned from what was supposed to have been a three-week vacation. I've never taken a vacation that long before in ministry, and I admit that I had a little bit of apprehension as I approached it. I wasn't worried that the church couldn't survive without me, or that my new colleague wasn't up to the challenge of handling everything in my absence...I was more unsure about how I would feel letting go of everything for that long. In actuality, the vacation was pared down a bit (on the front end) due to some deaths and subsequent funerals here at church, but all in all, it was still a sizable chunk of time away. And it was a good reminder to me of the importance of time off, and time away from the everyday demands of ministry. Rest and renewal truly are integral parts of a healthy convergent lifestyle.

Now that I'm back, and trying to get my feet under me again, I've done some reflecting on vacations. A few things I've come to conclusions on:

-Vacations, especially with 4 young children, are work, and physically exhausting.

-Traveling 1000 miles each way in a minivan with 4 young children is exhausting, no matter how many toys, technological gadgets or snacks you have on hand.

-In spite of the above two items, I love spending time with my kids, and feel so blessed to be their father.

-It takes a good week or so before I mentally can separate myself from the things and people "on my plate" that are left behind.

-Every family vacation should immediately be followed up with another husband-and-wife-only vacation.

Next summer is my sabbatical summer, which if all goes according to plan, will be three months in length, and have a specific emphasis on "Convergence: The Intersection of Life, Faith & Ministry". As I spend the next few weeks finishing up grant proposals for the sabbatical, the freshness of this past vacation time is providing good insights on what will truly refresh, renew, and revision.