Mike 
Credit: (NASA/Carla Thomas)[/caption]
I had the opportunity to experience the total solar eclipse last week. I happened to be helping my daughter move back to college in Nashville, which was in the “path of totality.” It was a wonderful, unique experience.
And yet, as much as I enjoyed seeing it first-hand, I wrestled with several aspects of the experience as I thought about ministry leadership:
- I read several articles before the eclipse. One person who was planning to travel several hundred miles to be in the path of totality said, “To never see a total eclipse would be like going through life without ever falling in love.” That made me sad. As ministry leaders, are we living with and presenting a transcendent view of God that far surpasses the way this person described an eclipse?
- Seeing pictures and reading stories was not the same as experiencing the eclipse. Many churches emphasize cognitive learning, which barely trickles down to the heart. We should be seeking to facilitate life-changing encounters with the Holy Spirit.
- Everyone in Nashville was talking about the eclipse, often having lengthy conversations with total strangers. Does the church or ministry that you lead create anything close to that kind of enthusiasm? What would need to change for that to happen?
- Those who watched the eclipse together had a sense of camaraderie, even when they didn’t know each other well. Shouldn’t we seek to create that same sense of connectedness, not the temporary community of the eclipse, but a lasting one built on a biblical foundation?
