Category: Personal

So what did I do on my sabbatical? Good question. The truth is that I determined not to focus on doing too much of anything during this season but rather more on simply being. The last thing I needed was another list of tasks or projects to accomplish. 

Nevertheless, here are some things that I did do:

1. I focused a large portion of my time on personal recovery. I desperately needed some spiritual refuelling, some emotional replenishment, some physical energy renewal, and some personal refreshing. Over 27 continuous years of church ministry life take its toll. Ministry is highly rewarding but it can be stressful too. I was feeling a "tiredness that normal holidays weren't fixing" (to borrow a phrase from Eugene Peterson). To be honest, investing this much time in my own well-being wasn't easy to do. At times, especially in the beginning, I felt guilty for even having the time off, especially when everyone else was still working so hard. But I needed it and ultimately I believe that the best gift I can give God and our church is for me to be in as healthy a place as possible. After all, self-care is important. 

2. I invested a lot of time in personal reflection. I took time to read all of my old journals, to read all of the prophetic words I have received over the years, and to think about the seasons and stages of my life so far. Often it is easier to discern God's finger prints in our life when we take time to look back – sometimes even more than in the present time. 

3. I had extended devotional time most days – praying, reading my Bible and journaling. It’s nice to simply pray and read the Bible with a total focus on knowing God more … without any need to prepare a message or get anything productive out of the time.

4. I spent a lot of time with my family, including 10 days holidays over the Easter period. The free time on weekends and evenings was bliss. At our church, we have been doing Saturday night meetings for over 10 years now (actually, 2 Saturday church meetings for many of those years). I had under-estimated the cumulative effect of weekends being mostly full of ministry activity – with me often involved with 4-5 church meetings. Needless to say, this sabbatical was a huge blessing to my family. 

5. I spent time with friends and some mentors. I even had a hit of golf a few times – something I haven't done for a long time.

6. I did some training: attending a Bill Hybels mentoring event in Sydney for church leaders and a Halftime Experience with Bob Buford (50+ is my ‘second half’ of life). 

7. I even saw a counsellor. We talked about my emotional world, learning to live more fully in the present moment, and some of my task-driven tendencies.

8. Near the end, I spent some time refocusing. This was a kind of life and ministry review. It involved thinking about God's calling on my life, our church, my role, and the best contribution I can make to our future. 

Well, hopefully that gives you a bit of an idea as to what I have been up to.

Click here for Part 3.

Let's face it, most people don't look forward to their holidays finishing and I must admit I wasn't looking forward to my sabbatical finishing either. I had such an enjoyable time. But it is nice to be back … and to see everyone again.

I realise that there are a variety of expectations that people may have as I return from my sabbatical: that I will bring revival with me, that I will have a new vision for the future of the church, and some may have thought that I wouldn't come back at all! The reality is that I had a very good rest, which is what 'sabbath' is all about. It was a rest that was much more than merely a holiday. It was a time of not doing a whole heap of ministry tasks for an extended period of time. As a result, I truly do feel well, refreshed, refuelled and looking forward to getting back into church and ministry life.

While I was away, everything has gone exceptionally well. In fact, so well that I honestly thought of taking more time off … or that maybe I had become redundant 🙂 All credit to our church and its leadership team. Well done! [I know that this time has been a learning and growth opportunity for others too] There is obviously some excellent spiritual momentum in our church right now, which is great. God is always at work and he's never dependent on any one person – including me. So, as I return, I look forward to seeing all that God is currently doing continue … and accelerate as we move through the rest of this year. 

One of the best things I did during my time off was to disengage from pretty much all technology. I de-activated my Facebook, avoided Twitter, didn't do any church or work related Email, engaged in very limited Internet surfing, and stayed off my BLOG for the entire 12 weeks. It is amazing when you STOP all of that inflow how much your head clears and how much you realise that your life can easily be filled with the clutter of a lot of trivial things, to the point where it becomes all-consuming and even addictive. 

As I now re-engage, I have decided to stay off Facebook. Keeping up with 3,500+ 'friends' is an impossible task and many of them were only acquaintances or people I had never even met. A recent article in the Melbourne Age only confirmed my decision. I'll continue to use Twitter and to write a few BLOG posts each week, but I have turned off the comments section on the BLOG, as it takes a lot of time to read and respond to them all. Finally, after clearing over 2,900 emails yesterday, I 'unsubscribed' from a heap of newsletters … most of which I never get around to reading, but simply clutter up my Inbox. Hopefully, all of this will help keep my head a little clearer and enable me to be more fully 'present' … to God and the people I interact with.

Click here for Part 2.

It is hard to believe that my 12-week sabbatical is now history (click here to read some background to my sabbatical). I had a very enjoyable and refreshing time. I am truly grateful to God and our church for this season. I am feeling so much better and look forward to re-engaging with our church community and leadership team this week, as we continue to move forward into all that God has in store for us.

In the Old Testament period, God's purpose for the Sabbath was to help his people avoid making 'productivity' into an idol. It's a reminder, that while we rest, the universe still runs – and without our contribution! That's something I sure learned. Our church community continued to experience God and see the kingdom advance – without me. That's good news.

Right now it is autumn here in Melbourne and I love this season. Sure, it's a bit colder but the colour of the leaves on all of the trees is amazing. [You'll notice that my BLOG design has been changed to reflect this] In many cultures, autumn is also typically a time of harvest, fruitfulness and thanksgiving. May it be all of that for you.

In the next few days, I'll share more about my sabbatical – what I got up to, what God did, and what I learned. It's amazing what you see – about God, about yourself and about our world - when you slow down for an extended period of time. 

I pray that you enjoy your week and that sometime today you are able to take a few minutes to heed the words of the Psalmist: "Be still and know that I am God (Ps.46:10)."

    Be still and know that I am God.

    Be still and know that I am.

    Be still and know.

    Be still.

    Be. 

[Click here for Part 1 of my Sabbatical Reflections]

[Photo by Nicole Conner]

Okay, so since this is my BLOG, there are a few things you might be interested to learn about me. 

Click here to begin reading. Posts cover topics such as my favourite food, the music I love, my studies, my favourite technology, and my experience with journalling. You can also read about my sabbatical, which finishes soon. Once I'm back, there will be some new BLOG posts coming your way.

Enjoy your day!

Mark Conner

By the time you read this, I will have started my 12 week sabbatical.

During this time, I will be doing a bit of a technology detox – so no work email, Facebook, Twitter or BLOG activity. Yes, I'm expecting severe withdrawal pains!

During this time my BLOG will have a variety of posts which I have written ahead of time that will post every few days. However, the Comments section will be closed, as I won't be checking my BLOG. There will be plenty of content to enjoy.

Happy reading!

Mark Conner

Well, it's hard to believe – the first month of 2010 is almost history. It just seems like yesterday that we were about to head into the new millennium and everyone was talking about Y2K. Maybe I'm getting older but time does seem to be moving faster. Here we are another decade on. What a decade the last one has been. TIME magazine called it 'The Decade from Hell' – one of the worst ever … and when you reflect on it – a lot of bad stuff happened. But we're still here and God is at work continuing to extend his kingdom in obvious and also subversive ways … all over our world.

On a personal note, I trust that you had an enjoyable Christmas and that the holiday season included a good dose of rest and relaxation. Our family has had an eventful few weeks with a house move (actually we moved, not the house) and the marriage of our oldest son. That makes us 'in-laws' for the first time – and we're loving it! I remember holding our firstborn son when he was just born and having many 'oldies' come up and say – "Enjoy them while they're young, they sure grow up fast." We just laughed. How right there were! Where did the years go?

A final few thoughts for today. Our church is reading through the New Testament together this year and I've been enjoying reading the Gospel of Matthew again from the Message Bible. Here is one of my favourite sayings of Jesus so far … read it nice and slowly ..

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy on or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn how to live freely and lightly.”

May you know and experience those 'unforced rhythms of grace' walking with Jesus this year.

Talk to you again soon …

Joy to the world, the Lord is come …

With Christmas only a few days away I'd like to take this time to wish each one of your a blessed Christmas. Thanks for your interest in this blog over the last year. I am taking a few weeks holidays now so there won't be any new posts until the end of January.

With over 500 posts so far on this blog, there is plenty of interesting and inspirational reading material. Click on the categories to the right and have a browse through … and of course, the comments section is always an interesting read.

Grace and peace!

The day before my graduation at Fuller Theological Seminary I attended a Hooding Ceremony. I wasn't sure what this was all about until I got there.

Here is a brief history of the tradition of the 'doctoral hood' …

According to Nancy Stiehler Thurston and Hendrika VanDeKemp, "In the Middle Ages, lecturers and students at European universities were so impoverished that they wore gowns to cover up their worn clothes. The lecturers also wore hoods that indicated which universities they had graduated from. In those days, lecturers were paid by their students. The students would toss coins into the pocket of the lecturer's hood. The hood would also be used to carry books to and from the university.

While doctoral hoods are no longer used to carry coins and books, they do continue to identify graduates of various degree programs at institutions of higher education. The various colours of the velvet and satin stripes of the doctoral hoods serve to distinguish the wearer of the hood. The color of the velvet identifies the academic discipline of the degree. The blue field with gold chevrons is representative of Fuller Theological Seminary. The scarlet trim indicates the School of Theology."

So on Friday afternoon I attended a hooding ceremony in a small chapel with all of the Doctor of Ministry graduates, along with family and friends. Songs were sung, an address was given by the Fuller president, Richard Mouw, we all were 'hooded' one by one, after which Dr. Arch Hart prayed for us. It was a meaningful time to celebrate the completion of my Doctor of Ministry degree, which I have worked on over the last five years (2003 – 2008). 

Well, I did it. I finished my Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Yesterday, I attended the graduation ceremony which was held at the Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, where over 400 people graduated with various degrees (80 from the Doctor of Ministry program), cheered on by friends and family members. It was a really enjoyable occasion. It's great to stop and celebrate the milestones in our lives. For me there was a sense of joy, fulfillment, closure, and a bit of relief for finally being finished.

I'd really like to thank my wife Nicole for supporting me during my years of study, my kids for putting up with dad frequently having his nose in the books and head in the clouds, City Life Church for sponsoring my study and encouraging me in my personal and ministry development, my lecturers for teaching me so much, and God for saving and calling me to serve his purpose on planet earth.

My goal has always been the education rather than the title, so please still call me 'Mark' not 'Doctor Mark.'

What next? I don't plan on doing any further formal study such as a PhD, which is a highly academic degree. However, I'll continue to be committed to continual learning and I'll consider doing some teaching at the Doctorate level some time in the future.  

P.S. For some more details about my course of study, click here to read an earlier post.

Our family has been on holidays for the last few weeks, which was really nice. A good holiday for me is one where I don't wear my watch and I've forgotten what day it is!

We had a really relaxing time – eating, playing, laughing, swimming,  reading, and sleeping. I even did some water-skiing, something I haven't done for a long time. I still managed to get up – the photo is proof 🙂

No holidays are never long enough (another week or even another month would have been great!) but even good things eventually come to an end. So we're back at it this week – looking forward to another year of walking with God and his people, and participating in what God is doing in the earth.

I hope that you are well and that this is a terrific year for you … talk to you soon.

Hi everyone …

My family and I will be taking some holidays during January. I have scheduled regular posts for the blog so there'll be lots of good content coming your way, at least every few days. This includes ten great questions to ask yourself as you start another year.

Because I'll be taking some time off, I won't be able to answer comments on the blog so I have turned this function off just for this month.

Take care and God bless you!

Mark Conner

P.S. Some blog trivia … since starting the blog just over a year ago there have been …

417 posts

1664 comments

over 225,000 page views

an average of almost 460 page views per day

Thanks for your encouragement and support with the blog 🙂

Nicole’s mother, Renate Meyer (affectionately known as ‘Oma’, which is German for grandmother), passed away earlier this week, after an intense battle with cancer. Yesterday we held a thanksgiving service for her life.

We sang a few of her favorite songs – What a Friend We Have in Jesus, Praise the Name of Jesus, and Amazing Grace. Nicole gave the eulogy (click here to read a copy of it). We watched a DVD photo montage of her life. We listened to tributes from Rene Conner, Lisa Wotton, Samia Sedhom, Lynn Moresi, and the grandkids – Ashley, Josiah, and Natasha.

Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints (his faithful and loved ones).” The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die. Death is not precious. No, not at all. In fact, it is an enemy. However, God’s loved ones are very precious to him. The word ‘precious’ means valuable and of great worth.

Oma was truly a ‘saint’ – a person who loved God and lived a good life, always looking out for others. Today is a joyful day for her as she is free from all suffering and pain. We, however, feel the loss as we grieve the passing of a loved one. We thank God for his comfort (Matthew 5:4. 2 Corinthians 1:1-7) and we thank our church family and friends for their support and prayers during this difficult time.

Our hope is in the resurrection and the future when we will see Oma again (John 11:25-26. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58. Revelation 21:1-4. Romans 8:35-39). May we continue to live our lives in the light of eternity.

Oma, we love you and we will miss you very much. Thanks for touching our lives so deeply.

Renate Meyer

Born – August 12^th, 1938

With the Lord – December 17^th, 2007

• Beloved wife of Len
• Adored mother of Nicole
• Amazing Oma to Josiah, Ashley, and Natasha
• The mother-in-law from heaven to Mark
• Deeply missed by her family and friends
• In the arms of her Saviour whom she loved and was totally devoted to.
• Until we meet again …

Seventeen years ago tomorrow (October 20th, 1990), I had my first real encounter with intense grief. Yes, I had seen other people grieve. Yes, I had played the piano and sung at funerals … but nothing this close to home …

It was the day my mother passed away – Joyce Conner. My parents had flown to the USA and my dad had left my mother in the LA airport where she was waiting to catch a flight up to Portland, Oregon to spend time with my sister, Sharon. My dad flew on to Chicago for some meetings. While alone in the LA airport, my mother had a massive heart attack. She was rushed to intensive care. My dad had to come back to LA and Nicole and I flew over to be there too, along with my sister and her family. My mum went into a coma and after 10 days we agreed to switch off the life support. She kept breathing on her own for a few days, while still in a coma, before breathing her last. We didn’t get to have a conversation with her – she had gone.

It all happened so quickly – the phone call from my dad, the sudden trip to the USA, the days spent praying and waiting and hoping that she would wake up from her coma, and then coming back home … without her.

We were in shock for many weeks – it seemed like a bad dream that we were all going to wake up from any moment. It couldn’t be happening. She was just here. Surely, she’s coming back. This can’t be happening. She as only 65 years of age. We weren’t prepared for this. We didn’t have time to say ‘goodbye’.

Over time the stark reality that my mother was gone … and that she wasn’t coming back … began to settle in. We had to let her go. Her time on earth was finished. She had run her race. As much as it hurt, we wouldn’t see her again … in this life.

Eventually, we had to reach out to the future … a future without her here with us. We had lives yet to live. We couldn’t live in the past. The memories lived on, as did her impact. But we had to move forward.

This whole process (shock, accepting reality, letting go, and reaching forward) took many months … even years. Emotions were unpredictable. At times the loss would hit me like a tidal wave and I would cry uncontrollably. At other times, I couldn’t cry, even if I wanted to. Just when you think you’re through the grief … something would trigger a memory and the tears would be there again.

Any time you lose something or someone you love, you experience grief. It’s a normal emotion – it’s the way we respond to ‘loss’ … of any kind. Understand that it takes time to work through the process of healing and grieving. Be patient with yourself. Lean in to your emotions. Feel them deeply. Don’t be ashamed to weep. Pour out your heart to God. Don’t rush the process. In time, you will be able to move forward … to see the light of a new day … maybe even to understand a little of the ‘why’ … and hopefully, to find joy and laughter again.

Mum, thanks for everything … you live on in our hearts and lives … we miss you!

Isaiah 53:3. "He (Jesus) was … a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief." NLT
Psalm 30:5. "… weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." NIV