The Summer Lull

Is there really such thing as a summer lull?  It seems to me like the moment things start to "slow down" you are already ramping back up for the start of the school year.  

I was looking through the newspaper the other day and noticed that the ads for dorm room decorations and school supplies and could hardly believe it.  Summer is half over but there is still a great half left and more than enough time to be enriched and inspired for the stressful months just around the corner.

Here are a few things that I do in order to take full advantage of the summer down time.

1.  Read

This is some of the best advice I have.  There is hardly time for me to read anything during the busy times.  I alway get pulled away from what I intend to do for something more pressing.  Reading articles about visual arts, music, worship and creativity are tons of fun and very inspiring.  They help with great ideas and I have time to sit and think about them.  maybe even hash out a few details.  While you are reading don't forget to...

2.  Take notes

Write down your thoughts.  Type them out.  Draw pictures.  Whatever works for you is what you need to do before you forget those amazing thoughts you just had.  Keeping track of the different things you discover is a vital part to reading.  I go through so many different articles that I can hardly remember where it came from let alone what the idea was if I don't find a way to document it.  I love Steno notebooks and good ol' Microsoft Word.

3.  Clean and Organize

The other hard thing for me in the midst of a year and stress is finding time to organize and clean up from the multitude of messes I created during the year.  Luckily I found some wonderful friends that also like to clean and so we made it a day and a half together.  The result was freeing.  Starting fresh with organization at the end of August is a great way to start the new school year off.  

4.  Pilot new programs or ideas.

For some strange reason people seem to be more open to the idea of new things during the summer.  There is a relaxed mood and willingness to spend time on something never tried before when the weather is warm and days are longer.  Try new music in worship, find some fun decorations to use during the 20+ Sundays of Pentecost.  Be sure to get solid feedback from people as well to see how they liked or disliked what was done.  This will be a huge boost to the ideas and programs you plan to do in the fall.

5.  Visit other churches for inspiration

In the end we are all in this together and each church is different.  There are different people, communities and building as well as ways to minister to members of the congregation.  What I need to remind myself is that no church is perfect and has it all right.  They may be doing some amazing things that could be adapted for your own congregation, but don't forget the ADAPT part.  Taking a program or ministry or even a simple decoration and recreating it and then expecting the exact same result is pretty crazy.  Look at the benefits and key point in what they are doing and then se how they fit into your church's vision and mission first.  

Summer is a wonderful time to relax and dream.  I encourage you to do just that.  Otherwise there might not be time during the school year.  And that leads to burnout.  

God Bless you in your summer and take advantage of it before it's too late.