Week 36 - and a fatwa issued on dogs!

Week 36 and I'm back.
Excuse the 10 week break.

......but for all those deeply committed pastors who have worked through the entire summer with maybe a weekend off as a sign of your devotion to Christ and His church - I'll remind you of that come December and you're out of steam!

Funny how we either deny the Sabbath principle or feel guilty for enjoying it.

So what's happened since my last blog?

• Spain won the World Cup ......and most of America missed that.
• President Obama cut US contributions to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ....and most of America missed that.
• The Afghanistan war budget has increased to where we could start 20 schools for the cost of 1 solider per year there .....we all missed that one.
• The YMCA has finally owned up and announced they will be known for the "Y" - the "C" isn't that important.
• John Stott wrote his final book ....nearly missed that one but for the recommendation by a friend. The Radical Disciple - a LAX to FAT read.
• The Global Leadership Summit had their best first day teaching in their history - if you missed that one, you missed a good one.
• The Oakland Raiders have changed their names to the Oakland Tulips and promise to be kind to everyone. They will now wear pink instead of pirate black.........did you miss that one??
• Nothing much has changed in earthquake devastated Haiti.
• Relatively speaking - has much changed in Hurricane Katrina hit Gulf Coast after 5 years?
• The US Supreme Court ruled that a Christian student group must accept non-Christians as members if they were to be officially recognised - I think that could help most Christian groups!
• China officially became the second largest global economy.
• An Iranian cleric issued a fatwa against keeping dogs as pets ......why could he not have issued it against cats.

The point?

10 weeks and some big things as well as some pretty trivial things have happened.
Nothing stands still.
Certainly Redeemer's Church didn't stand still.

So did my sabbath break help?

I'm chasing my tail ....and its the first day in September.
But I've got energy to chase it.
I've had the time to sit above the urgent and figure out the bigger picture for the next period of leadership.
I didn't stand still.
Yes I wasn't doing my normal. but I was doing something, and something that helped me as a leader:
reading I would never get to; soul nourishing that I've dieted on for the last 11 months; good, healthy perspective that I was losing.

The University of Denver reported that 47% of the books acquired between 2000 and 2009 were never checked out. The University of Arizona reported that they spent $19 million on books over the past decade that were never used.

A waste.

A leader who doesn't refresh or refuel - a waste or a disobedience.

Live the sabbath - find the right rhythm for you.

Check this out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11139960