One of the unforgettable moments for me was when Gareth and Elysia dashed to me when I opened the door upon arrival last Saturday.
It was one of the those "it’s great to be a father" moments, especially when both of them didn’t want to let me go and hugged themselves around my legs! Ewan was just woke up and was whining a bit when I stepped into the room, but then he immediately changed into a smile and gave me a long hug.
It’s wonderful to know you are loved and missed!
I think my body clock and overall rhythm is returning back to normal even if it’s not optimum. I’m not a frequent traveller so I wonder how do my friends and church members do it. Jumping on and off a plane, rushing to and fro their hotels. engaging in meetings and so forth, does require a decent amount of adaptive energy.
* * *
A little burden was lifted from me on Monday night. I could relinquish my post as the Dean of the Kuala Lumpur district and we had a smooth reelection of a new dean, new secretary and one more committee member. My term will official end on the 31 December 2010. It’s been a good learning experience and I’m glad to at least been able to finish almost 70-75% of my original 2 year term.
What I appreciate most is always the relationships and the opportunities to partner with fellow pastors and congregations. There were times when I had to do the "hard jobs" of confronting, realigning, and whatever a dean is called to do in a given circumstance. And I must confess there were also things which didn’t come naturally to a creative and pioneering type like me. But if there’s anything I want to do as a dean, and I think I tried to do that as much as I could is to be an encourager, a connector, and catalyst.
During my term, I had quite a few dramatic situations which was unavoidable, and it opened my eyes to see the "dark" or "grey" side of ministry even clearer. I’m am not suprised by those situations, but it doesn’t me I am not disappointed that we could have done better as individuals as well as a team. Some lessons will stick with me for a long time. And there’s still plenty of raw material to reflect on. For example, the complexities of pastor-council-members relationships, then of course, there’s the reality of how a denomination works with congregations under her care, and for me the most insighful moments is to try to understand the dynamics of human interaction and internal reasoning.
* * *
I hope to get back to some reading later, and more blogging and writing in the coming days. The last couple of weeks had been crowded by a lot of new relationships, new contacts and new experiences. Friends who know me well will understand how I feel energized by all this. But it’s been good also to begin the process of catching up with people beginning of this week, and more will come. An important dimension of personal journaling is one which I will return too. Somehow, when the words get keyed in (like now), or scribbled on a paper, the heart is expanded, the mind slows down a little, and my whole being gets a much needed recharge.
* * *
