5 weeks...

Five weeks from now, I'll be heading into my final weekend on staff at The Wesleyan Church of Hamburg. No doubt this time will afford me the opportunity for many reflections on my time here and the relationships I have.

Last night, I gave my last talk at Catalyst, the worship gathering for young adults. It as a special moment as they all gathered around me to pray for God's hand in my next ministry context. I will miss being a part of God's work in their lives.

I will miss being in ministry partnership with Laura. She's the real driver behind Catalyst. Her passion is for young adults to know and follow Jesus. She's got so many great thoughts about ministry, community, and integrating faith into life. She has also been a great friend to my family...continually there to help with the kids, hang out on a quiet evening, or just stopping by to see if Heidi needs anything from the store. You're going to be missed huge, my friend.

It's important to me to finish well. I'm in the process of sorting out what that means from my perspective and trying to get Greg's perspective, as well. Here are some bullet-point thoughts about what finishing well means...

- honoring those who have invested in me for the past 6 years. Greg and others have offered me great opportunities to grow and learn. Honoring that/them means expressing the power of their investment.
- valuing relationships. I have had the opportunity to love and be loved by many. Though I will not be able to spend solid time with everyone, that value needs to be communicated.
- wrapping up minsitry responsibilities means putting things into the hands of good leaders and then supporting them as the move forward. This is easy in that I've been nurturing relationship with these leaders already, so they are all ready to step up in big ways. It's a challenge for me in that I am no longer driving these things, but essentially sitting back and coaching. This is an important step in the process, but I'm not used to not being a driver. I guess there are still good lessons to learn...
- preparation for the next venture. My mind is already going to Northwest naturally. I discipline myself to stay in Hamburg, but it is going to get more and more challenging, I'm sure. But that's what's supposed to happen. I have vision to develop and begin to articulate. I have message series that need to be in place upon arrival...and I'd like to have a few of the message actually written and ready to go.
- receive the blessing of others. So many people have already written to tell me the impact that I have had on their lives. What a gift to hear that from people...and they are being specific, more than the general "it's been good to know you." It's humbling to look back and know that people are on a different trajectory for eternity because of the influence that God had through Heidi and me. Not only are they ready to meet Jesus someday, they are experiencing life and peace and joy in this life already. That's what I was made for!

Peace,

M@