12/03/2009
Author: John Powell
The rumor is true. Pastor John is back from Sabbatical. Trying to put two months into two columns is a formidable task but a few pictures sprinkled in bring things into focus rather rapidly.
Given that my executing strength is “responsibility”, I responsibly set aside my responsibilities. This was a big surprise for even Mary Lou, who has seen me occupied with the life of the congregation day and night for nearly thirty years. But yes, I was able to turn things over to others and relax. It was good to see, too, that others picked up the opportunities and burdens and shared the load.
A week in San Diego was particularly good for Mary Lou, since sea air at sea level and a desert climate are the best conditions for her lungs. That will be high on our list when we consider vacation times in the future.
A week riding to the Gila Cliff Dwellings and back gave me an opportunity to build “climbing legs” and stretch my endurance in cycling. It also gave opportunity to witness to other travelers at the bed and breakfast locations along the way. This endurance exercise helped me continue the process of relinquishing responsibility and resting and being refreshed, as odd as it may seem.
Seeing Forrest in his context at Oklahoma Baptist University and helping him weatherize his shared house helped deepen our ties as well as confirm him in his leaving home process.
Part of refocusing for the future is getting a clear picture of the past and being able to process events that have made us who we are today. The trip to Peru and Argentina from Nov. 4-26 was part of that and in fact much more. Pastors are certainly not “sheltered” in the common sense of that word. We help families deal with the realities of life in a fallen world, including the fallen parts of all our lives. But living day in and day out in a secular environment helps me live closer to where most people live daily in work, school and military contexts.
Meeting Romulo Saune Jr. just before the trip helped to prepare for visiting Peru again as well as give opportunity to support him as he carries on his father’s legacy of building up the church in Peru. His father’s death at the hands of Shining Path terrorists was something I shared with Christians in Peru who had not yet heard of those important events regarding my friend Romulo in the 1990’s.
Always ready for processing theology in the context of real life, I enjoyed studying to fill out my understanding of Pachacutec, the Inca ruler I’d heard about when I was in Peru in 1972-73. What a joy to hear Angel (one of our guides) talking about how Pachacutec reasoned that Viracocha, the creator of the sun, was God above the sun since it was limited to a set path and obscured by clouds. This showed me that Christians have taken an active part in describing Peru’s past and that they will have a strong part in directing Peru’s future. Check the story out in Eternity in their Hearts by Don Richardson.
Mary Lou and I were set to go to Argentina in 1978 when she came down with pneumonia even after her recent lung surgery. That changed our plans and we moved to Arizona and then in 1980 to Las Cruces. My trip to Argentina Nov. 17-26 helped me get perspective on what had been going on since I had been there in 1966. God has blessed Dave and Nancy Greenman (my cousin and wife who were to be our co-workers) and as I look back it seems clear to me that they were the ones for that task and it was clearly His direction for us to be here in Las Cruces. Seeing the camp Dave has built over these years and a sampling of the seminary students God has given him to teach helped me put all this into perspective.
I am still processing all these aspects of this Sabbatical time as I reenter my regular role at First Ev. Free and believe God will guide me as I consider how to best focus my attention in ministry as I look toward the next and probably last decade of our active ministry. Here's the full audio and powerpoint version of this reflection.
