Contagion

I know 3 youth pastor's that are taking Sabbaticals this summer. Two of them are already gone, one is getting ready. Must be nice. Too bad I'm not a youth pastor anymore. Actually, I wouldn't go back to being a youth pastor even if I got paid double I make now. It's not because I hate youth (we have youth in our church so that wouldn't be cool) but because I love being a church planter. I absolutely love the rush of not knowing what's going to happen and that the whole thing will fall apart if God doesn't come through in some miraculous way. Don't get me wrong, this almost puts me in my grave sometimes as well, but a majority of the time I love it. I love the fact that we get to try new new things and go in new directions without having to tip over years' worth of sacred cows, ticking hundreds of people off (Maybe we'll be there one day...but right now I'm loving it!). I love the diversity I see in our congregation already. I'm not sure how it happened but we've got quite a few people coming that would stereotypically hate our style and how "unprofessional" we are.

So I'm not even close to wanting to take a Sabbatical. This week we're watching a movie and next week Donovan is making his debut on the teaching team so I'll have two weeks without the constant nagging feeling in my head that I've gotta preach in a few days. That'll be enough to give me some wind back in my sails for the summer. I'll enjoy the time off (I'll still be there on Sunday) but I really do feel in my element when I preach so I'm sure there will be some craziness going on when I'm back in the saddle.

I can totally understand why my friends need a Sabbatical. Maybe they should plant a church!