This week some of us will sit down and plot out much of the rest of the summer preaching schedule, and start making plans into the fall of 2008.

I’ve always considered it a privilege and deep responsibility to preach the Word of God.  But as we start to hit some great grooves in ministry at Connexus (it just gets more exciting to be this kind of church every week), I really want to make sure we’re trying to answer questions people are asking when we take on a series.  (Sex and family issues are in the hopper for May and June 08).  God’s Word just has so much to say on issues that people struggle with every day. I just love that through preaching, we get to bridge that gap.

So…if you could design a series or pick a subject to cover, what would you do?  Me and our little team are all ears.   Blog away.

My wife and I both spent some time at the University of Toronto. I was reading the alum mag they publish and there was a fascinating article on Dr. James Orbinski, who has devoted his life to serving the poor and victims of war through Doctors without Borders.  His story is incredible. I encourage you to read it.

He traces his path to a life question he asked when he was younger.  The question that drove him is this: How am I to be, how are we to be in relation to the suffering of others? His life is the answer to that question.  He calls it living the question.

That challenges me deeply.  I so don’t want my life to be about self-indulgence or self-gratification.  I want it to be about others and God.

As I drilled down into my own life, I thought back to when I was twelve years old reading a King James Version bible.  I remember praying something like "God, if it doesn’t offend you, I would love to translate this bible into a language that my friends can understand. Otherwise they will never come to know you. I think many of them would believe if they could only understand."   I had no idea as a 12 year old that there were bible translators and that dozens of great versions had been written.  But the question of "How do we make Jesus accessible so all can understand Him?" has driven much of my life for the 30 years since.  But as Orbinski says, living our question is a choice we have to choose daily.

What about you — do you have a question that drives your life?

If not, if you had to formulate a question you’d love to live, what would it be?

I think I am classic ADD, although no one has ventured to ever diagnose me.  I am distracted in even the most basic conversations.  As I write this my knee is bouncing up and down.  I can’t sit still.  Ever.

It’s also the end of my first day at our new Connexus offices.  I’m on the upper floor (I know that sounds big office, but trust me, it’s not), away from the noise and so on.  Two big windows overlooking south Barrie.  I can see the Galaxy theater where one of our campuses worships on Sundays. Nice.

Some of the team is in "cubicle world" down below. When we were moving in a couple of us said we needed peace and quiet and couldn’t live in a cubicle — not because we were stuck up but because my sad productivity would drop to "you should be fired" levels. 

So I got the upper office.

Man is it quiet. I am amazed by how quiet it is here (and hot – heat rises apparently).  For sure this is the quietest work space I have ever been in – ever.  Plus there is nothing to do.  When I’m at home it’s easy to goof off and wander around and eat something.  Now I’m just in my office with no one around.

I always wondered what would happen if I could focus. 

Guess I’ll find out. 

Been off line for a day now (not by choice!!!), but I have to relay this neat juxtaposition.

Director Jules Dassin who died this past week.  He made some very influential films many years ago like "Never on Sunday" and worked with top actors like Joan Crawford, Burt Lancaster and Richard Burton.  He made his last film in 1980, and was disappointed with the box office results that he made a decision: he’d never make another film again.

When I heard the story I thought how sad. Who knows what else he could have produced?  Who knows what else he could have done?  28 more years of life, and he chose not to use his primary gifting because of his disappointment with the results of his last film. His demons caught up with him, and it kind of sounds like he stopped living long before he died.  He spent the last 14 years returning a statue to Greece.

I heard this on Monday, the same day I spent the morning with Chris Vacher, who works on staff at Orangeville Baptist Church.  Chris is probably one of the brightest church leaders in Canada I’ve met in a while.  Optimistic, plenty of vision, gifted, intelligent, strategic, connected and full of passion for what God has called him to do, he completely energized me.  I love leaders who dig into vision and run with it.

We all have God given talent.  It runs in different directions, but we all have it.  Life can suck the passion out of our talent, and a small defeat can turn into a huge obstacle in our minds.  Sad about the director. Pumped about Chris.  We can’t let life grind our gifts into the ground.  Leaders like Chris remind me to keep living every second for what imagines it to be.