check perfection at the door

Been away this past week attending the annual team meeting for work. Good times overall, visiting with co-workers/friends and hearing some non-technical material. But as always, it's good to be home.

So as is my usual mode of operation, I've been reading a good book. I'm not done with it yet, so far I think I am about halfway through. I usually don't like to write about a book until I've finished it, but this is one of those few exceptions. I went to the store originally intending to pick up Leonard Sweet's Out of the Question, Into the Mystery, but alas the shelf was barren of the title despite the computer insisting it was there. However, not to be defeated, I continued scouring the shelves thinking someone had simply misplaced the book as is typically the case. In my search I came across No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke, the title caught my attention and I would swear that I had seen that someone else who's blog I frequent had been reading it (of course I cannot find that now either). The subtitle of the book is just as intriguing - Creating a Come-as-You-Are Culture in the Church. So I flipped the book open to read the synopsis/description that the book jacket offered, and then decided that this book sounded more interesting in the moment than the other elusive book (though I'll still probably try to find it some other time).

To make a long story short - halfway through the book, I am constantly teetering between forging ahead and quitting. The content is excellent, the personal stories are riveting, and the concepts are spot on with the kind of community I've been feeling is needed both in my life and in our current culture. The problem is, while reading the book, I feel like through it God is shining a really bright spotlight on some personal/spiritual weaknesses I am always had but never acknowledged. I recognize my own need for much of what is presented (small groups, spiritual "running" partner, etc.) and yet at the same time I don't want it - because I know it will force me to face things which I have until now felt much more comfortable sweeping under the rug till later. No it's not that I have any major skeletons in the closet, but there are things I have real trouble sharing. Whether it be because of the control factor or exposure factor, I just don't like the idea of facing what I know I need. Regardless, I will finish the book, it is very good and I highly recommend it. More later...