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Telling Secrets

faith, fatherhood, and culture

DECONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
















First off, thanks to all who expressed concern for our water problem. Our friend who finished our basement is going to help us figure out what to do next, my sister Brigitte came over to help Angela, and my mom also showed up for dinner.

I had burned myself out that day of flooding and conference. The next day I felt drained and didn't have the energy for hardcore networking or listening to speakers that I needed. I drifted in and out of the talks but found myself hanging around the "Green Room" just being. I decided to flow with whatever/whoever God brought to me - I didn't have the energy to make things happen myself.

The first person I talked with the vice-president of the National Evangelical Association, Richard Cizik, and we agreed to stay in touch. Kevin Kelly, the founder of Wired, abandoned me for lunch so I turned to the guy standing next to me and invited him out. Turns out he organizes a huge event that attracts between 2500 to 3000 college students every year. I wasn't the best lunch buddy though, and wasn't all that excited about meeting him and his loud friends--i was feeling too tired and didn't want to eat the fast food they dragged me to. So we parted quickly.
I returned to the "Green Room" and sat with a group of guys who were laughing and telling some great stories. I was drawn into the conversation and began talking with the pastor of New Providence church in the Bahamas, the church that is hosting this year's Soularize which Angela and I are planning to attend. This guy's name is Clint and turns out he was also a speaker at the conference I was currently at. He told me the story of his doing the exact same thing as I was today and God was making him the motivational force behind a growing revitalizing effort in the Bahamas involving the Prime Minister and the CEO of the multi-billion dollar Atlantis resort. Then a friend of his, Chris, joined us and he and I also talked and found we had similar visions and interests. We parted with the agreement to keep talking and see what happens in the near future.

Long story short, I found myself with a new friend who introduced himself to me and who works with Makoto Fujimura in New York. He invited me to have dinner with him and a guy who had a Ph.D. in Physics, was an expert on the Shroud of Turin, and was bringing innovation to businesses, churches, and social support systems. Brilliant man.

Then I met the designer of Paste magazine who invited me to a whiskey tasting party at the Paste offices. When we got there, almost everyone I met that day was there - and only they were there. The guys I had lunch with, Chris, Rusty, and another guy who also works with Makoto, along with all the Paste staff I had also met.

Amazing day. The lesson is one that Clint told me he was also learning - that walking with God involves one foot taking a step that deconstructs something in your life and then the next step is one that builds something new, and then the next step deconstructs something else, and the next step builds something new. But you only take one step at a time and you have to be willing to stand there as everything crumbles around you, not knowing what will happen next, but trusting that God is about to build something else. "The only thing I know at any moment," he said, "is that I love Jesus and that he loves me. And that has to be enough, even if your life is crumbling around you."

  1. Blogger Brigitte said:

    I really like this idea that "one foot takes a step that deconstructs something in your life and then the next step is one that builds something new". It's nice to have some closure after your last post :) I'm so happy you've found your niche. I know you'll do something great.

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