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Letters to my Future Self

Journal

Dear Aaron,

At the time this letter was written to you, a lot was going
on in your life. You were in your first year of seminary, weeks away from
finally finishing up that pesky undergrad work, wrapping up your first year interning
with Mosaic in L.A., trying for child number two, excited for your brother
Jake’s little one due in a few months, and just coming off an incredible
experience in CO with your newfound brothers of RhythmInTwenty.

Undoubtedly much has happened since. It is likely that you are
now a father of at least two, perhaps more. You have probably been back in
Lincoln, NE for some time now, started a new work there, moved back into your
little house on Everett Street and enjoyed a few thunderstorms on your back
deck. Who knows, maybe you even finally got that rusty orange Jeep Wrangler
you’ve wanted for so long.

Aaron, I need you to hear me. A time will come, perhaps it
already has, when you are going to get to a point where you begin to look for
greener grass again. It is in your nature. Perhaps the slow pace of Lincoln
life has you once more itching for the opportunities and excitement of a big
city. Perhaps the grind of ministry has you longing to escape to the mountains
of Colorado so you can finally work on the river. Or perhaps you are slowly
realizing that your life will never quite be able to keep up with your dreams.
Whatever the case, you need to stop whatever you are doing right now, shut off
the music, power down your smart phone, put the laptop away and remember for a few moments.

You need to remember
that God has called you in no uncertain terms to pursue the young adults of
Lincoln, NE with the reckless grace of Jesus Christ. You need to remember the calling given you in the
green hills of Scotland to speak; no matter how inept or insecure you might
feel. You need to remember that which
led you to plant Kineo – a work intercepted, but a calling that never changed. You
need to remember that night in
February of 2009 when you came to understand what that ancient passage in Joel was referring to. You need to remember
the visions you saw of the "contagious" movement that would saturate the dark spaces and
holes of Lincoln, NE. You need to remember
what it was like to fight tears through nearly every session at Catalyst West
Coast as God affirmed your call to Lincoln over and over again and
as He urged you to finally own that calling and begin praying for the city.

Aaron, you must REMEMBER! You have been called, not
requested. Your ambitions are not your own. Your dreams are not your own. Your
vision is not your own. Your LIFE is not your own. Your days were ordained for
you before one of them came to be. Do not question your call. Do not question
your commitment. Own it. Embrace it. Live it.  

Letters to my Future Self

Journal
 

Dear Aaron,

You have innate longing to run. It is important that you
recognize this. Whenever you sense things slowing down, you immediately look to
pass – on the shoulder, if necessary. When that’s not possible, you look to
head off in an altogether new direction. Anything to keep you moving.

Your soul craves movement. Your spirit needs action. And not
just any action, but meaningful action. This will always serve you well as you
seek to create, lead, activate and mobilize. But you must be careful. You grow
bored far too quickly. You often are already looking to the next hill before
you have finished traversing the present one. You have a history of running
from one thing to the next. Sometimes, however, God calls us to stay put for a
while. Remember, transformation happens in the context of relationships, and
relationships take time.

You are an activator and a builder. You are not a manager.
Management will always leave you feeling stuck and unsatisfied. Know this. But
don’t run. Empower those who are gifted in management to do what they love and
then get out of the way. But don’t run. Be diligent. Be attentive. And be
patient. There is value in longevity. Consider the possibility that a day may
come when God calls you to stay put.

Are you going to be ok with that that?

Sincerely,

Aaron