See You in September

By now most of you know that I will be on sabbatical during the months of July and August. That means that I won’t be preaching at Calvary and for a good part of the time, I will be out of town. It also means I wont be in the office except to check my mail from time to time. Last November the elders decided to give me a three-month sabbatical in to mark my 10th anniversary as pastor. To say it came as a surprise would be an understatement. In fact, I was completely unprepared for such a generous gift. The purpose of a sabbatical is to give someone time to travel, study, reflect, recharge the batteries, and hopefully to return to work with a renewed vision for the future. I trust that all those things will be true for me. (By the way, were taking two months now and plan to take the third month sometime in 2000).

For the many people who have asked about our plans, here is our itinerary for the next two months: July 1-3 Oak Park; July 4-9, I am speaking at Moody Week at Maranatha Bible Conference in Muskegon, MI; July 10 Oak Park; July 11-14, Christian Booksellers Convention, Orlando, FL; July 15-16 Oak Park; July 17-24 I am speaking at Word of Life, Schroon Lake, NY. (While I am in New York, Marlene will be taking a course in Christian school administration at Columbia International University in Columbia, SC.)

July 25-29 Oak Park; July 30-August 5, vacation in North Carolina; August 6-8, I speak at a family conference in Canaan Valley, WV; August 9-12 Oak Park; August 13-15 Summer Breakaway; August 16-20 Oak Park; August 21-22, I speak at Bethany Beach, MI; August 23-31 Oak Park.

Before you say anything, let me say it for you. That doesn’t look like a very relaxing schedule. In my defense, I should say that most of those speaking dates were set before I was granted a sabbatical. Second, I love traveling and find it invigorating to be on the road going from place to place. Sitting in a rocking chair is fun, but I can’t do it for more than 30 minutes at a time.

God willing, I will be back in the pulpit September 4. Until then I hope you have a wonderful summer. Go fishing. Catch a Cubs game. Take a walk with your sweetheart. Visit a museum. Get a suntan. Learn to water-ski. Read a new book. Spend time with your friends. Make some memories.

Thanks for a great ten years. See you in September.