you never know who's listening...

That's me in the corner reading, a million years ago.

That's the first annual 'retreat' we did for our brand new Church Plant--probably back in late 2001.

I was preparing a morning devotion and reading some 'love letters' from our people.  The letters weren't for me, they were from them to the Church as a whole.  We'd ask them to write one when they felt ready to make our Church 'their' Church.  The letters would say why they're 'in' and what that was going to 'mean' for them.

We got them to do it to help them make a tangible decision and so that we could take their decision seriously and so that--if it ever came to it--I could sit across the table from them, slide them their letter and tell 'em to either abide in what they'd said and with us or take it and leave.

Anyway, like I said, a million years ago.

As I think back over the things we did in planting that Church I can't help but fixate on all the things we did wrong, the many details we left undone and the many things we sweated over that we should have let slide.

So many mistakes.

Part of it had to do with being young.  I think I was 26 when we planted the Church.  What do you know when you're twenty six?  I mean, you know some things, but not enough things.  You have a 'sense' of what's right but you probably haven't suffered anywhere near enough to be wise.

I met with one of my mentors last week--in fact I met with two of 'em--and they both said basically the same thing, regarding their 'take' on who I am today vs who I was nigh on ten years ago.

"Beware of the man who doesn't limp..."

That's what they said.

Then...

"Now, you limp..."

I limp.

Damn right I limp.

Lemme' count the ways.

(or let's not count 'em but you think about yours and I'll think about mine)

What's really funny about life is that as you live and do what you've been called to do--with all your weaknesses and shortcomings--you find that, over time, you end up making an impact on the people around you.

See, you didn't really know it all, even though you thought you did, but neither did they.

And that's got me thinking about the work I'm doing today as a producer and preacher.  I'm going back to that first Church of ours this Sunday.  I'll be preaching.  It'll be quite the trip to step back in time to some degree and what's really interesting about it is the fact that I'm a totally different guy in some ways then I was the last time I spoke there but in other ways I'm totally the same guy.

Some things change and some things don't.

I still read, a lot.  I still own that same sweatshirt you see in the shot.  I still own the Bible that's sitting on my lap although I've switched to a new one for this next stage as a preacher.  I still know many of the people in that shot, I'm still friends with the guy who took it.  I still have that box you see on the ground and the love letters are still in it.

The lives that were changed are still changing.

So here's the point.

No matter how listless and irregular you feel, no matter how down, no matter how lost or overwhelmed you feel you need to keep doing what you do.

Because no matter how good or great or bad or lousy or insignificant it feels at the time, so long as your work comes from the heart in authenticity and your concern is the life and welfare of others, you will be making impact.

And, like that picture, the impact lasts.

And lasts.

And lasts.

T