when life and job intersect...

I was thinking.

I was thinking about the fact ministry is a strange animal. There are vocations in the world that you go and do and then when you're done, you flip the switch off and you go home. Some jobs aren't like that. Ministry is not one of those jobs.

A former colleague said once that they loved ministry because you enter into the lives of people, sometimes at extreme ends of the spectrum, and they let you. God allows us all to be parts in each other's story. My lot in life is no different...and then some. I've performed a wedding, been part of funerals and committals, walked with kids through crud when their parents divorce...walked with kids when a parent dies suddenly.

I live my life along side the very people I serve, and when things get sticky or daunting, the line gets blurry.

For some reason, it feels like pockets of my life are heading on some collision course. Not necessarily a bad thing. Just different. I think that we all have different circles where we see people. For instance, I've got church people. Then there's family. Then there's my jOURney life. College friends/life. In fact, there's even a certain set of people that I only see at the chiropractor.

They all seem to be converging. It's strange. It's kinda like if a college friend married a family member. One side of the room people know you one way, and the other side have seen your bare butt from when you were a baby.

The more I think about it, the more I'm gaining confidence that we weren't meant to live compartmental lives. It's all converging at a time where God is teaching me that being the body is not about learning with your head about something, it's about conforming to someone. Perhaps I, we, whomever need to quit relying on our mouths so much and conform our lives to that of Jesus. (see jOURney january newsletter)

And I don't know where the line is between Ryan and Pastor Ryan...

I think God's erasing it...

...hmpf...cool...