It’s Friday, Nov 6. This is Friday Good Stuff: Things that inspired, motivated, challenged, taught or amused me on Substack this week + what’s new at Free Range Priest.
☕️ Yesterday morning, I ran hills in the rain.
I run with a group called the Cornelius Crawlers, and in order to earn your tshirt you have to qualify! It’s not hard core - it’s more about bragging rights and group bonding. I qualified years ago - but yesterday I ran the route with the OG Crawlers for fun.
It’s 5 miles of brutal hills, and the goal is to sprint up them, then jog lightly to recover, then do it again. It’s terrible - and somehow really fun.
’Remind me why we’re friends again?’ I gasped at the top of the 5th hill (with the 5 steepest to go).
’Because we bring out the best in you.’
That got to me. And it’s true. I’m sore today - but I feel great! Mostly because I reminded myself of how strong I am. And how up for a challenge (also, that I have really good friends).
I always let the articles I share pick me. As I read during the week, I save the ones that jump out at me. I’m sure it’s a coincidence that two of them are about running, and most of them are about calling. Or is it?
Either way, it’s Good Stuff.
This week’s theme: Running the race set before us
Everything we do - even the least glamorous tasks - shows how we’re called to live our faith …
☕️ ‘20 Years Later and I’m Still Stacking Chairs’ by Eric Hoke.
‘Benedict told the person managing the monastery’s supplies to treat its goods “as if they were sacred vessels of the altar.” Yes, holiness extends to inventory checks. Imagine telling a room full of ambitious young Christians that God cares how they put away the mop. Attendance at next week’s leadership intensive might suffer.
But somebody has to put away the mop.’
Sometimes we’re called and don’t know how - or why ..
☕️ ‘I’ve run 14 ultras and I still don’t know why’ by Abby Heffern.
‘I never made it to the Olympics. But the feeling never left. It’s the sense that there’s more in me. More to live up to.
It was there 80 miles into my first 100-miler, when I was sitting in 4th, trying to chase down 3rd. It’s there during an ordinary Tuesday speed workout. It’s the most constant thing in my life, and I still can’t fully explain it.
So I don’t run because I know why. I run because I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out why that pull toward more has never gone away, and where it’s taking me.’
We are formed for our calling by the saints of our lives and of the world ..
☕️ ‘We Never Arrive Alone’ by Rich Swetman.
‘Most mornings of my childhood began with the smell of brewing coffee and cigarette smoke, and my mother’s voice carrying from the kitchen. Ida … would already be on the phone.
First one sister, then another. Family news needed reporting, opinions needed offering, and apparently none of it could wait until after breakfast. Her voice rose and fell, punctuated by laughter, until the conversation reached something we weren’t supposed to hear.
Then she switched to Italian. We couldn’t understand the words, but we knew enough to keep listening.‘
Where we are going is an adventure. Sometimes it is not easy. But there’s always more to discover…
☕️ ‘Running Through Doubt, Fueled by Faith’ by Julie B. Hughes.
‘No matter the race or how many I’d finished, the doubt creeps in. I had practiced for this in my training runs. When I hurt or question my ability, what will I say to shift my mindset? The biggest battle for me is between my ears. I’m sure I’m not alone. The brain loves to keep us safe and comfortable. I repeated, courage over comfort, and asked Jesus for help. Please, Lord, give me your mighty strength and endurance. I can’t do this without you.’
Our callings depend on each other….
‘I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard a congregation referred to as an audience.
But, pay attention, the problems with having no “liturgy”, no work for the people to participate in, affects more than just the service structure… The pattern should interest us though: a church service in which the presence of a congregation is not an essential eventual creates service leaders who cease to be pastors. When pastors cease to need a congregation for a service it eventually becomes easy to forget to be a pastor.’
Not quite on the theme. Though I might say part of our calling is to be prepared…
☕️ ‘7 Things You Should Never Do to Survive That Only Work in The Movies‘ by Jessica.
’A third of Americans honestly believe they’ll be the last one standing after an apocalyptic event. They also believe you can get water from a cactus. During heatwaves, Google registers an actual spike in queries.
Well, can you?’
This week at Free Range Priest:
☕️ ‘Not changing’ and ‘staying the same’ are no longer the same thing.
It takes work to change. And adventure. And faith. But answering this call is about moving closer to thriving, sustainable church. More Good Stuff for us all!
Substack Seminary is community for Cage Free Ministers
And this Quarter, we’re talking about Technology and Collaboration
This week we’re specifically discussing what a Cage Free Minister does all day!
Which, of course, prompted us to think about what any minister does all day. It’s a strange job! And hard to define. But Loren Richmond Jr. does a great job describing the freedom of creating and maintaining a ministry that is not full-time with a congregation, and also the challenges…
☕️ ‘Of course, there’s a downside to all this flexibility.
When you have the freedom to say yes to lots of things, you also have to learn when to say no.
I have to be constantly aware of what’s on my schedule and willing to remove commitments that aren’t worth the time involved or aren’t moving me toward my larger goals.
Otherwise, it’s easy to fill my calendar with interesting opportunities that leave little room for the work I actually want to accomplish’.
- ‘What Does a Cage Free Minister Do All Day?’
Your weekly Trexo ‘Hearts up!’ moment:
What have I missed?
I can’t always read 400+ newsletters.
And there’s lots of great Substackers I haven’t met yet - especially those who are just starting, and who may not have that many followers yet.
PLEASE share the Good Stuff you’ve read this week in the comments below.
And PLEASE restack this post so others can see - and subscribe to - this Good Stuff.
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Thanks for the shoutout