Day 100

Yay! The 100th day/100th post of the deconstruction/rebuilding time (not including weekends :)! So many thoughts of things to think about or share, but none of them cooked thoroughly enough to serve yet.

I've looked forward to this week and this day for the last month or so, kind of as a wrap up to a first formal stage since quitting work as a full-time minister back on the last day of January.  A six month reprieve in which to catch my breath and get reoriented to a new path.  Grateful for it.

And grateful for my wife who made it possible on that last Tuesday in January when she said, "Why don't you just quit?  Just go ahead and quit immediately, right now.".  If it were not for her courage and support, none of this would have been possible.  Still scary starting over, but such a huge relief.

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I occasionally get people who ask family members, "How is Wade doing, really?" in such a way that they think and/or have heard from someone I'm not doing well.  I have no idea what has been floated out there, but from those kinds of questions, I have a sense as to who.  

But really, we're good.  I'm good.  I really was simply and completely done working at a church.  I know every group is imperfect, blah, blah, blah.  Heard it and said it many times over the years.  I just am not bought into that version of it anymore.  

I still believe in God, believers, getting together, truth, etc - just not the "go along, get along" version where no one wants to hear anything negative about how it's being done; just keep smiling and agreeing with the leadership, traditions, etc and keep the volume down with your questions and such.

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I do believe that there is good news for all people and that believers, unshackled from some of the constraints churches unintentionally put on them, are or would be enabled to share that good news with more of the world and not simply a certain slice of people.

I would love to see a movement of believers, led by the Spirit, who share what God has done for the world through Jesus and who don't spend an inordinate amount of time building their own silos of civility, often welcoming only to those who already meet certain social criteria.

No, I don't have a plan for that. I'm not sure there is supposed to be "a plan" - a 3-year plan, a 5-year plan or any kind of process where we place metrics on it that God never intended.  Those are usually business plans designed to pay a staff and mortgage, not necessarily to help people or share Jesus.

Can there be overlap between a business plan like that and God's design for us to be his people?  Probably so.  I'm looking for people who do that without the leaning into the most receptive crowds who might have deep pockets and/or good connections for the future.

I've watched people try to do that - where they try to have a special area of focus and reach out to "the poor" or some speciality group - watched it happen a long time.  Usually people are "reached" and brought to church, but rarely or never integrated into the lives of the reachers.  It's a little bogus to me.

So, yeah, still looking for that amongst people "out here" and even in there, where there are pockets of people inside of churches who are trying to do that.

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I'm really grateful for people who've reached out to me and mine over the past few months.  Thanks for sharing encouragement, podcasts, and such.  Thank you to fellow former church members who've come alongside and said, "Yeah, me too."  That has meant a lot in affirming I wasn't crazy in what I saw.

Huge thanks to new people in our lives who've come along - some just through Facebook!  Some from the past.  Some who've just stepped into our occasional spiritual discussions at our house to see what's going on.  It's good to know there are people who just want to talk about God, life, questions, etc.

If you're a person who talks to God, I would appreciate your asking him to continue what he's doing and showing us - all that guidance, vague, specific, or otherwise.  We know 100% that we'd not be where we are today without him and what he's shown us.

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As mentioned in recent posts, I don't know what future sharing will be like, but there will be some.  Some things I've promised to follow up on are still cooking and will be put on the table when I feel they're ready.  Feel free to keep shooting me questions and such.

Have an excellent weekend and a good life.

You'll be fine.

Grace and peace.

100/100