tools for you own path

...find courage to trust yourself. You have taken the risk to lose everything for the sake of something better. Everyone must do this, but few do. You are a rare breed, and a part of that breed’s constitution is that it is courageous, resilient and determined. You must listen to your inner wisdom and trust it. The same wisdom that motivated you to leave is the same wisdom that will guide you. Yes, listen to wise voices from the past and the present. Read good books. Take good advice. But filter it all through your own innate intelligence. You will be surprised how well equipped you are to walk your own unique path with nobility, finesse, dignity and finally joy.
—David Hayward, nakedpastor

When I first encountered the work of David Hayward, it was one of his cartoons displayed in bigger-than-life proportions on the movie theater screen behind our pastor, Sunday morning 10am.

Or maybe 10:20am, as most of us linger at the coffee pot on the way into worship, more focused on the fellowship.

For me, a great cartoon brings together wit and philosophy, shines a spotlight on our cultural hypocrisy, reveals duplicity within me.

My notes from Sunday's teaching:

I am
not Abel
but Cain,

not the
prodigal son
but the
jealous sibling,

the virus
not the
antidote.

And, I am a ministry leader, broken and limping. That's allowed here at Fellowship, here in Christ.

When Fellowship people were reading "The Starfish and The Spider" many of us questioned the word SHOULD, consciously removed it from our vocabularies. The word we are examining today is BUT – we are challenged to replace BUT with AND.

So, my self assessment reads, "I am Abel and Cain, the prodigal son and the jealous sibling, contain the virus and the antidote."

This tool puts a new spin on the whole Christ-following thing, invites a fresh perspective, a new light.

A new Light.

Rw
.
Teaching 2012.01.08
Abel and Cain
Prodigal Son