I hate getting lost.
I was thinking again about that little church on the edge of the North Carolina campus that I wrote about last week. The church had lost sight of its mission, had lost its way, and had seemed to settle into the comfortable because it forgot the “why.”
Strangely enough, I was reminded again of that church, as I moved my son into the college dorms this past weekend. On the moving checklist for him?
- Xbox
- Multiple Xbox games
- Retro Nintendo and techno bowl
- 15-ish t-shirts
- 10 pairs of shorts
- Basketball
- DVDs
- Flat screen
- Tennis racket
- Bike
- Golf clubs.
Oh and a plastic bag of books. At least I think they were books. I might have had a little dad talk on not forgetting why he was there, and I am sure he soaked in every word! Truth is, I was a little jealous because those college years were some good times, but it can get real easy to lose sight of the why in that setting as well.
Given what he has been through the last year, I have no doubt he gets it. He is well invested in the bigger story God has for him. For any of us, there are just so many distractions that can get us off course. So many things can cause us to compromise, settle, or get thrown off. It happened to me in college, and a few other times along the way. Don’t get me wrong; I think having fun, enjoying this journey we are on, and doing things that fill our tanks, are not only important, but absolutely critical. But along the road we have to ask ourselves why we are doing what we are doing, and remind ourselves of that often.
In the next six weeks we have three RHYTHMinTWENTY and one Rogue Journey events, all in Colorado. It is an exciting but overwhelming time. In the details, in the planning, in the inertia, and the business, it is easy to forget and get stressed out. So today I am remembering why we are doing this: Coming along strategic leaders, encouraging, and inspiring them to keep chasing God, to not lose their families along the way, and to lay a foundation that will leave a true legacy for others. That is the why.
I think I am ready for Colorado, and maybe in the meantime some biking, hoops, and maybe even a little Xbox for fun.
