Stress:

I have felt pretty stressed recently. Starting a business has been a tough road. I really dislike the administrative side of the business. Bills. Taxes. HR stuff. Health Insurance. No fun at all.

Stepping out to start this venture was the either the boldest act of faith or single greatest lack of discernment of my life. So here I sit.

In my head there are several stream running.

Stream #1:.
The clients I'm working with are amazing. I'm humbled to be working with them. The volunteers within these organizations are incredible. They love the church, live from a missional perspective and they seem tireless. They seem to love the way the process has focussed their energy and they can see that their churches are becoming better places. If I had not started this venture I would not be working with these folks. They would be stuck in the same patterns and looking for answers. Their faithfulness is an encouragement to me in this process.

Stream #2:.
What I'm discovering about church leadership is disappointing. I've worked in the church for quite a while, and worked with Senior Pastors and church leaders in a variety of settings. There are too many church leaders who simply do not care about youth or children. They care about their parents, but too often not about the youth. There are too many church leaders who give lipservice to caring for kids, but in reality they measure success by big numbers and zero complaints from the congregation. This isn't everyone. But for a church to help their congregation and youth they have to actually care about kids. I hope I'm wrong on this. But this is how it feels right now. Like I said, I've worked with these folks a lot in the past, but it feels more prevelant today. I'm hoping this is only assumptions I'm believing right now, and not reality. For the sake of the church.

Stream #3
There is such a huge need for what the Riddle Group is doing. HUGE. Most churches believe the formula for healthy youth ministry looks something like this:

The Right Youth Pastor + The Right Programs = a healthy youth ministry

When in reality the formula might look more like this:

The right expecations of the congregation, staff, kids + appropriate behavior patterns over the long term + a church who learns + a congregation who takes responsibility + the right programs + the right infra-structure + God + (maybe a youth pastor) = a healthy youth ministry


As a result, the Riddle group brings alignment to these issues and helps the church understand it's system. This creates sustainability for the health of the kids and of the youth.

Stream #4
As much as I'd like to give away my services I can rarely do it. I feel an inner tension for the need to make money and selling the Riddle Group to serve churches who need it. The fact is I need more business for this to be sustainable long term for me and my family.