I’ve been quite busy the last couple of weeks, just trying to keep my head above water.  A week of snow days will do that on under “normal” circumstances but the rather large “to do” list, along with the range that list covered, has really kept me treading water.  It’s not been a bad journey, but it’s not been easy either.  In the last two weeks I’ve experienced a lot of ups and downs in life that I’m only just now beginning to process.

First, I’ve been privileged to be included among a group of people reviewing the ordination paper with a candidate in our association.  It’s been blast, and I’m really looking to participating in my first ordination council since my own just over 9 years ago.  It’s a lengthy process, but rewarding. This has been an “up.”

Second, I’ve been presenting for the last two weeks at COAL, our region’s annual training event for pastors and lay leaders.  I presented on the nature of the communications revolution, it’s importance to the Church, and the emergence of social networking as a tool that people are using to recapture an environment where the “silly little things” of life can be shared with other people in a multi-point conversation.  The very thing that the “efficiency” of the modern word tried to eradicate as “inefficient.”  People seemed to get it, and they appreciated I acknowledge that contextually appropriate communication is necessary in the Church (don’t send a 101 year old an e-mail, for example).  At the same time I was quite clear that the paradigm shift away from monthly board meetings being the entirely of the conversation among leaders towards a continuous socially connected structure is well underway and will eventually replace the older model.  This was another “up,” even though I did have to travel to “enemy” territory for the first COAL event.  The Yankees fans got a kick out of my Phillies prayer request though, so that was OK.

The youth at Central also participated in a shortened version of the 30 hour famine (they’re too young to participate fully), and my wife not only did an excellent job with the preparations, the children raised $2100 for World Hunger relief.  This was a big up for me.

Life, however, is a roller-coaster.

This week I’ll be with a family as they say goodbye to woman who was loved and respected by everyone who has ever met her.  Jesus and I have had words over this – this is definitely a “down” for me, personally – but I will be with this family and simply be there as a mark of the resurrection.  I have no idea why some are healed and some are taken – but each and every day of worship my voice will join this woman in the praise of Jesus.  I’ve really had enough of death.

While COAL was a personal “up” for me, I continue to be amazed by the sheer lack of insight into the communications revolution on the part of my national denomination.  During the keynote this past Saturday I was reminded of this yet again – at one point I almost stood up and shouted, “No!!!” (several attendees who had been in my session actually looked for me at the same moment and came up later, they said I had visibly winced).  This was a down for me as well, particularly when over the last two weeks I’d been using social networking to keep up with the family mentioned above.  I do not understand why our national leadership thinks that an appropriate response to the communications revolution is to stick their fingers in their ears and sing, “La la la la la” hoping it’ll go away. Ugh.