We can't talk about ministry without talking about money
Or: how I'm wrestling with the question of sustainability in my own work
I’m fasting for Lent and training for a half marathon.
The Coast Guard Half Marathon is April 12th - just a week after Easter. So the most intense part of both the fasting and the training are happening simultaneously.
It remains to be seen if this is a wise plan.
I’ve had a couple of uncomfortable moments.
I get a little shaky sometimes when I first start my runs, or at about an hour into them.
Yes, I’m fueling. Taking gels and sports drink, along with water.
I’m also learning how my spiritual practice of fasting - taking in a little less at each meal, eating only simple, nutritious food, and lengthening my overnight ‘fasting window’ - has to be coordinated with my workouts.
I eat a banana in the early morning, for instance, even though it may not have been a full 14 hours since I last ate, because I need that extra fuel for the run.
I’ve also learned that even though I technically stop eating at 5pm, on the night before a long run, I’ll have half a bagel and some peanut butter close to bedtime, so my carb stores are full the next day.
I don’t think of this as 'cheating’ my Lenten discipline, I think of it as combining my physical and spiritual disciplines in the most productive - and most faithful - way possible.
This morning on my run, when I got a little shaky (before the next gel kicked in), it made me think about my relationship with God and abundance. Having enough of what I need.
And it didn’t take too long - since running has a way of opening me up to my soul - to start drifting into thinking about abundance in other areas of my life and ministry.
It made me start to think about money. And specifically: the financial sustainability of my ministry.
Hearts up!
During Lent, I’m inviting paid subscribers into my process (or in this case, into my creation of a process…) while I sort out how to:
Develop Christian Practices to share with individuals and communities
Build a network of innovative ministers
Walk with the small congregation I serve as they face the challenges of today’s church landscape and get ‘unstuck’
Create a series of ‘mini consultations’ I’m calling ‘re-imagination packages’
It’s sort of like inviting you to watch while I rehab a house - there’s things that are messy and hard, but underneath, there’s good bones.
I’ll also keep you updated on the training and the fasting, in case you’re interested.
I’m building all this into what I’m calling the Stained Glass Project - all four of my separate ministries (the Four ‘Panes’) and how they work together…
