Did you ever just feel like you were out of creative juice? I didn't have much to start with, and now I'm feeling like I'm dangerously approaching empty. I couldn't even come up with a title for this post.

Had a tremendous lunch with John Ballenger on Thursday (and I don't just mean the food). As I've said many times when commenting on his blog, John has a way to put things into words which I've been trying to articulate for a while. He did it again Thursday. We talked a lot about small group/community life and the role those things play in the Church. We talked about my need to examine whether my philosophy of ministry meshes with the church's need for small groups. We talked about the Kingdom. All in all, I left encouraged and feeling inspired to make meaningful strides in my ministry, which is a nice thing to feel when leaving the company of a brother. By the way, one of the most memorable things he said: "We talk about how blessed America is, but when you look at what Jesus has to say about wealth, perhaps we're really cursed." Frighteningly true, John.

Kari, Braden, and I headed to Kentucky this weekend to see my parents. Braden had the time of his life in the swimming pool (especially spraying himself with the hose). It was really nice to be with Mom and Dad for a couple days. Then we returned home Saturday night and were treated to an amazing service at church yesterday. The focus was the prodigal son, and I was rocked by a quote from Henri Nouwen used during the service. As I sat stewing about the way I felt I was treated by a certain person, I found myself almost depressed because of that perceived injustice. "Why doesn't he like me? Am I that annoying? I probably should just leave him alone. He's tired of hearing from me. Of course I'm that annoying. I would annoy myself." The cycle went on and on, even as we were corporately singing some amazing music. Then, during the teaching, Jason throws this quote on the screen, from Nouwen's Return of the Prodigal Son:
"At issue here is the question: ‘To whom do I belong? To God or to the world?’ Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves…" God help me.

Kari and I are really enjoying Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. His story is remarkable. Sitting on my desk is a box of books which were recommended by Bell (as well as by a number of friends of mine). I'm excited to dive in.