My boys have gone through a number of phases as they are growing up. There was the Bob the Builder phase, the Buzz Lightyear phase, the Lego phase, the superhero phase, the Lego Star Wars phase, and now they are in a video game phase that is all wrapped up in a game called Minecraft. Of course they are not the only ones. A number of their friends play this game too, and when they are near each other, they can sync the games and play in each others’ worlds that they have created.

Andrew states that the purpose of the game (simplified VERY much) is to kill the enderdragon. The way you do this is to mine special materials that you use to build civilizations which then acquire certain resources in order to finish the half-made end portal. When you do this, then you can teleport to a special dimension where you can kill the enderdragon. Hmmm, sounds very confusing to me, but the boys are quite taken with the game.

As I was thinking about this, I realized that I (and probably all of us) go through phases too. I will focus my thoughts and energies one direction, and then something causes me to shift at a certain point to focus elsewhere. While in the pastorate, I would pour into a certain vision, or program, or direction for the church, and then later I would shift to something else. There is nothing wrong with this, for as Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a season and time for everything.

In parenting we do this too. When kids are young we may focus on survival and protection (especially for boys). As they get older, we pour ourselves into helping then develop life skills and a bit of maturity. As the years roll on, we increasingly release them and help them figure out life on their own, encouraging them gently and lovingly but from a distance.

I think I’m transitioning into a new phase right now. I have been a pastor, then a missionary, and now I’m moving into a new phase of being a missionary who trains pastors globally. I don’t know exactly what this new phase but a few things occur to me that I must keep in mind through the transition:

1. Grasp tightly to the essentials. Don’t transition out of those things that are core. For me, those are things like: Spending time daily with the Lord (Joshua 1:8; Ps.119:9-11), investing my life in people – starting with my family (Matt.22:39), and seeking to leave an aroma of Christ wherever I go (2 Cor.2:14-16).

2. Hold loosely to the non-essentials. Much of life just doesn’t matter as much as we think it does at any given time. Let’s not elevate to conviction those areas that are really more preferences. Let’s not force on others those things that we will be phasing out of before long. Appreciate the diversity and embrace the manifold variety in God’s kingdom… it is truly amazing!

I don’t know what phase my boys will move into next, or what the next phase is in my future or when it will happen, but I will strive through it all to stay in line with the two points above and pray God grants me the grace to honor Him through it all. Pressing on, Eric