15 things I learned in 2014 (or at least tried too)

  1. Taking risks is worth the unknowns that follow.
  2. Progress can be made. Keep working to engineer a new kind of engine.
  3. You can expect to find either a door (or a window) in an unlit room, you just have to keeping search for it.
  4. Conflict is not as scary as it seems prior to the confrontation. There are some really helpful ways to work through conflict (audio).
  5. Hard work pays off. Hard work doesn’t pay off.
  6. Sometimes action is discernment.
  7. If you swing at a bee’s nest expect to get stung.
  8. Pastoral ministry is a lonely position to hold in the world. Friendships are hard won and easy lost.
  9. In a heated situation, take a deep breath and breathe. be slow to speak. results will be far better when you stay as calm as you can in the moment.
  10. Slactivism is bull@#$^.
  11. Let’s be independent together.
  12. The theological and political are not synonymous with the pastoral. In most cases, I find the pastoral more challenging and far more interesting.
  13. If all of your attention is up on the system you will have blindspots down below.
  14. A frozen bell pepper makes for a great mug.
  15. Do more of these things: write more. draw more. play more. read more fiction. play more with my kids. listen and make more music. walk more.
  16. I feel better when I pay attention to what I eat and exercise (I’ve found this app really useful lately).

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