by Rich Robinson | Mar 18, 2019 | Blog |
A quick observation from what I’m seeing in some of the people I’m coaching right now and experiencing in my own life.
For many Christian leaders, a sad reality is that there aren’t the scriptural rhythms of Rest and Work that define their reality. Rather than working from a place of rest, they push and push on work until they are forced (or crash!) into rest.
What I notice is that as people begin to develop daily, weekly and seasonal rhythms, often time for the first time in a way that is sustainable, they do it during what I call “peace time.” In other words, things in their life are often quite stable, repetitive and “normal.” They are able to wake up at the same time, have the same travel rhythms, put aside the same sabbath day; basically, able to manage their energy and schedule in a sustainable, peaceable way.
Which is fantastic.
However, I’m noticing that this is really stage one.
Because things don’t stay “peace time” all the time. Babies happen. Work can pick up. Travel can increase. Parents move in with you. People pass away. We experience sickness. Spiritual warfare. Sleepless nights. Things happen out of the blue that are completely unexpected and these unavoidable realities keep us from living out the rhythms we have painstakingly set up.
Perhaps a practical example: In “peace time,” I like to get up quite early in the morning, do something physical, then spend about 90 minutes by myself reading scripture, praying, journaling, listening to music, etc. That’s the best case scenario for me. And there was a time where this was possible.
But I noticed a big shift happen a while ago when Judah, my second kid, was born. And then my daughter Avery started to get up much earlier as she got older.
Big cannonball explosion into my rhythm. Suddenly, really through no fault of my own, my rhythm became unsustainable. For me, I’ve seen the same thing happen in heavy travel seasons.
What I noticed was that I almost needed a second set of rhythms that proved to be the drumbeat of my life during these times. What were things that I could do that kept me connected to the Father, continued to nourish me while I was in a more trying season without as much time and energy? This time isn’t negotiable, but the way in which I take these times can be. I don’t have as much time which means the time I do have needs to count just as much if not more.
What can I do with 5 minutes if 5 minutes is all I have?
It won’t be like this forever, but it’s reality right now. And what we’re so often prone to do is if we can’t get the idealized version, we do nothing at all.
I’ve seen in myself and the people I’m investing in that this war time rhythm is something that probably needs to be attended to, particularly in the day to day. My observation is that when this happens, we will actually need to re-double our efforts on our weekly sabbath, but really give ourselves to seasonal times of retreat and nourishment with the people (spouse?) who we do life with and draw life from.
by Rich Robinson | Mar 18, 2019 | Blog |
A few years ago I wrote an aricle that kind of “popped” called “The Alexander Syndrome”, and lately, it’s been coming back to my mind.
This was the basic premise: At the age of 30, Alexander looked upon his Kingdom and wept for there were no more worlds to conquer. In evangelical folklore, we are constantly inundated with stories of wildly successful churches (read: BIG) with pastors who are almost surprisingly young (late 20’s to early 30’s). These stories have slowly seeped there way into the subconscious of many young pastors and there is an unspoken pressure that says, “by the time you’re 30, you need to have done something ridiculously significant and made your mark on the world.” This leads to a frenetic, stressed way of living for many of these pastors who find themselves not measuring up and constantly “behind” the curve (at least in their minds).
But here’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. What if the most fruitful ministry years are really supposed to be when you’re between the ages of 50-70?
For quite some time there has been a paradigm that has said a senior leader’s most significant time of ministry would be between the ages of 35-45. Why? Because in a traditional church setting, the senior leader’s most important contribution is the teaching they give on Sunday. Furthermore, within this model, a speaker can usually attract people who are 10 years older and years younger. The ages of 35-45 would mean you’re attracting people who are newly married (pre-kids) all the way to empty nesters whose kids have just gone to college. That means you get couples from their 20’s to their late 50’s AND all of their kids.
At least that’s the thought.
But clearly the contents of my blog have always been far more concerned with movements. I don’t have anything against traditional church models, per se, but simply to say that I see the call of the Kingdom to be far more movemental in its’ properties than institutional in nature.
Now I’ve had the opportunity to study sustainable, meaningful movements. I’ve also had the opportunity to work alongside someone who is leading one, as well as help catalyze a few with teams of people.
And here is my contention: You simply couldn’t lead a meaningful Kingdom movement before the age of 50. You could maybe start one and plant seeds for it. But in terms of leading one, growing one, sustaining one…I wonder if you have to be 50 and older.
Why?
Because the accrued wisdom needed to lead a Kingdom movement is simply not possible for someone who is younger. For instance, the early church didn’t really begin to take on movemental properties, at least in my opinion, until Paul is training and sending out team beginning in Acts 19 in Ephesus. At that point in his life, Paul is probably well over 50.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t necessarily have to do with IQ and smarts and charismatic gifting. It comes with the wisdom of trying at something for more than 30 years and all the failure that this entails. We may love the stories of wild success that seemingly find overnight at a young age, but these things aren’t reproducible.
I’m starting to find certain things incredibly reproducible and every day my ability to do them grows…even in the midst of failure. I expect that will lead to a lot of gained wisdom in the next 20 years, right?
For me, I find this liberating. No longer is the pressure there to perform, achieve and prove by the eve of my 31st birthday (which is now long gone). What it does is allow me to simply listen to what God is asking me to do and to constantly reflect on what I’m learning as I respond to what he’s saying…in both success and failure. Knowing that the more experience and reflection I have, the more capacity I have to lead something truly movemental (if God so chooses) in the future.
