Encouragement to Keep Going

I've been wrestling for the past month or 2 about my future in blogging (I had very few posts last month).  There are a number of you that I keep encouraging to blog (*cough Jason Lee cough*) while at the same time I've been pondering scaling way way ... way back.  I just wasn't feeling very inspired to continue blogging.  Was it actually bringing real value to anyone anymore?  Or was I just adding to the noise?

The funny thing is that as I've been pondering a major shift I've started getting emails from church IT people finding this blog for the first time and mentioning how it's positively impacting their ministry.  Isn't God's timing funny sometimes.  This is the one of the emails I received ...

Incredible! I have been searching for a community just like this for a while. I came across the podcast a few months ago and I must say this is truly a blessing! I am all for a NACIT. My thoughts exactly on why shouldn’t the church IT have it’s own group? On a side note thank you Jason for starting one of the most exciting communities that I have come across in a long time! Your thoughts and vision re-ignite me now on a regular basis in which I can get excited in going back to the office and serving our ministries on any level I can. Stephen Smith Sheffield Family Life Center KC MO

Wow!  Stephen your message was a HUGE encouragement to me ... thank you!  I so needed that.  No, I didn't need my ego stroked, just needed a spark of encouragement.  And then a number of other unique opportunities began falling in my lap all of which were great encouragements as well.  OK God, message received :-)

So all that to say, I'm humbled and amazed to be in the position I am.

And I want to do a shout out of encouragement to all of you as well.  To you the lone IT guy/gal, to you with so much stress and to-dos that it keeps you awake at night, to you trying to take your team to the next level ... be encouraged!  IT is often a tough thankless job filled with high stress, a never ending list of things to fix/do and new stuff to learn.  But!  What we do has a profound ripple effect that impacts all ministry areas ... and ultimately the lives of scores of people that have yet to know that they matter to God.  This is ministry!  Sometimes it's hard to see through all the bits and bytes, but we are doing Kingdom work.  What we do matters more than we (and others) probably realize. 

So my comrades in IT, as you start your work week be mindful of what's at stake and I pray a flood of encouragement knocks you off your feet. 

Comments

[Ian Beyer]

I think we have the groundwork for the next Bud Light "Real American Heroes" commercial...

"Here's to you, Mister Lone Church IT Guy..."

[Jimmy Williams]

Thanks for the encouragement Jason!

[Jim Walton]

Thanks Jason! Your words are very encouraging. I am working right now to take tech to the next level, in every possible way at my church. There is a ton of work to do because tech has never been taken seriously here. as you say, it is tough and thankless and I am working hard to bridge some gaps and build relationships between the newly formed tech ministry and other ministries. Things were neglected and not always handled in the way they should have been before I got here, which has only been a few months.

[Anthony Coppedge]

Jason,

You have a tremendous blog and a lot of insight to share. Keep posting, but take breaks as you go. Coming from someone who didn't take breaks and then ended up being burned out and walked away from blogging for a year, I can tell you that you need rest stops along the way.

Glad to know you're gonna keep on bloggin'!

[Greg Nilsen]

Hey, I know how you feel. Sometimes it just seems like too much to keep up with and you're not really making an impact. However, it's nice to know that people are there, taking something away from what you do. Like you said, it's not ego stroking, just nice to know that your efforts aren't all for nothing.

[David Szpunar]

Thanks Jason...very encouraging; it's great that you being encouraged has turned into you encouraging others! That is the great thing about blogging (well, aside from learning cool tech stuff you never knew and having it go both ways :-)

I would say, don't be afraid to scale back without quitting. I've had so much going on (and still do) that I can't post like I did when I started out. I'm sure I'll have more fruitful times as well, but I hope I don't stop completely. I've done it before with a non-niche blog I started, but it was too random (it's still out there though if anyone looks around not-very-hard!). With Church IT as the topic, it's much easier to come up with stuff and continue to be inspired with things to share because it's stuff I live and breathe every day.

Anyway, you know that you were the one that got me started blogging and were the gateway to the Church IT online community in the first place. It's great to continue to find encouragement in the same place I first found it.

As a side note, it's probably a sign that I'm up to late that on first read, where you said, "we are doing Kingdom work" (AMEN!), I thought initially it said, "we are doing Klingon work." Fortunately, I was awake enough to realize that didn't make sense and re-read it! Ka'Plah! :-D

[Mike Gold]

Hey Man...
Keep going my friend...You are making a difference...The mess and noise that is the internet needs your voice...

[Jeff]

I'm reminded of a recent thing that God showed me regarding the verse about us being the salt of the earth... I always took it to mean that we added flavor... but the real meaning has to do with the salt being a preservative... it changed my whole way of thinking when I get burned out and feel like dropping out of things. Jason, your an encouragement to all of us! Even your simple posts help preserve our sanity and a sense that we are making a difference. Hats off to you and may God richly bless your effort!!!

[Don G]

Jason, I have been on your blog and emails for about three months. It is a great resource and encouragement. I can really appreciate your state of mind regarding continued blogging. I often wonder where you get the time to keep up so much communications when I have a hard time just keeping up with emails. I am one of those lone IT guys trying to make it through the day. I am the IT, HR, Facilities management, Strategic Planning, Finance, and Office management departments all rolled into one. I spent 38 years in Information technology at a US bank and gave it up to help the local church. Some days I wonder why, and wonder how eternity is being impacted by what I do. I love technology and supporting it but some times it gets difficult to keep going. So I encourage you to persevere although I am jealous of all the things your church and others are doing. Hang in there and thanks for all you do. But if you decide to cut back I think we can all appreciate why.

[Julie Smies]

So glad you got the message loud and clear, Jason, that you're in the center of God's will for you. I can say, to all your readers, that we at Granger Community Church are utterly spoiled by Jason, Ed and Kyle. They are a most responsive team and have created a great system for support issues. Thank you! I know, I don't say that often enough!

[Mike Mayfield]

Jason,

Your insights are very helpful and I never miss reading your blog entries. I don't blog as frequently as I should but you are the one who encouraged me to at least get out there and into the blogging world. Keep it going man...you are encouragement to us all!

[Brian Marquis]

One thing I'd like to see in your blog is more on the lines of sanity savers. Those things you've found over the years that help you maintain a sense of sanity when everything is hitting the fan.

For me, this was a simple automated email that sent me a scripture verse each morning. I can't begin to count the number of times the random verse was precisely what I needed that morning.

Keep up the good work and remember that your blog is your ministry. The Roundtable is awesome and started from a simple blog post.