Shepherd's Heart 1/16/26
Around this time of year, I often find myself inundated with work.
Preparations for our winter retreat for middle and high school dominate the workday: between trying to get logistics sorted out with camps and bus charters and hunting down paperwork for 95 students, deadlines loom large, and stress can rise quickly. Beyond that, we’re moving ever closer towards February’s Dodgin’ 4 Dough tournament, trying to involve the congregation and broader community in a fundraising effort for our high school Workcamp. All the while, outside of work, a new term of seminary classes is kicking off; and as interesting as it is, there’s plenty of new reading and writing that gets added onto the docket.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences the days where it feels like your work brain is clocked in from sun-up to sundown. Sometimes it’s a necessity! But there are other moments where we find ourselves in such a robotic flow-state that we end up forgetting the purpose behind the things we’re doing. Whether our “work” is a day job, school, parenting, or anything in between, we can get lost in the exhaustion, frustration, and mundanity of the tasks at hand.
Feeling convicted of this myself, I’ve needed to make a conscious effort this week to keep God in the center of the frame - and I’ve done so by asking myself a series of reflective questions.
“Why does all of this paperwork matter? What’s the endgame?”
While it may feel like mindless work, I’ve had to reframe it as necessary. The office hours merely clear the way for our students to experience Christ at camp, and for their parents to rest easier knowing that their kids are being well taken care of while they’re away. God is honored in the intentionality behind every decision and every plan.
“Why am I spending so much time outside of work reading theology books and writing papers?”
While academia is not my greatest passion, I’ve had to do some reframing here, too. To learn is to steward the gifts God has given me, so that I can teach with wisdom and clarity. And to spend time in the depths of God’s word, even if it’s just for an assignment, is to grow an even deeper reverence for the God who created and called me.
God is present in the work we do. That’s the conclusion I always seem to arrive at after I zoom out and reflect on my own. Time and time again, I’m reminded that He’s not only there at the finish line, but in the in-between. Even when the outcome is unclear, God is still working great things through those whom He has called.
So, if work has you feeling like your rope’s wearing thin, my challenge to you this week is to walk through a similar type of reflection. Remember God’s goodness, remember His Spirit that sustains us, and remember the purpose He has given us to love the Lord and to love our neighbors. And please pray over our students and leaders heading up to Lake Geneva this weekend, that these same ideas would dwell richly in their hearts.
I can’t wait to share with you all the stories of transformation that God’s been writing, and how all of the work our team put in was worth it and more!
Max Schiewe - Middle School Minister
Preparations for our winter retreat for middle and high school dominate the workday: between trying to get logistics sorted out with camps and bus charters and hunting down paperwork for 95 students, deadlines loom large, and stress can rise quickly. Beyond that, we’re moving ever closer towards February’s Dodgin’ 4 Dough tournament, trying to involve the congregation and broader community in a fundraising effort for our high school Workcamp. All the while, outside of work, a new term of seminary classes is kicking off; and as interesting as it is, there’s plenty of new reading and writing that gets added onto the docket.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences the days where it feels like your work brain is clocked in from sun-up to sundown. Sometimes it’s a necessity! But there are other moments where we find ourselves in such a robotic flow-state that we end up forgetting the purpose behind the things we’re doing. Whether our “work” is a day job, school, parenting, or anything in between, we can get lost in the exhaustion, frustration, and mundanity of the tasks at hand.
Feeling convicted of this myself, I’ve needed to make a conscious effort this week to keep God in the center of the frame - and I’ve done so by asking myself a series of reflective questions.
“Why does all of this paperwork matter? What’s the endgame?”
While it may feel like mindless work, I’ve had to reframe it as necessary. The office hours merely clear the way for our students to experience Christ at camp, and for their parents to rest easier knowing that their kids are being well taken care of while they’re away. God is honored in the intentionality behind every decision and every plan.
“Why am I spending so much time outside of work reading theology books and writing papers?”
While academia is not my greatest passion, I’ve had to do some reframing here, too. To learn is to steward the gifts God has given me, so that I can teach with wisdom and clarity. And to spend time in the depths of God’s word, even if it’s just for an assignment, is to grow an even deeper reverence for the God who created and called me.
God is present in the work we do. That’s the conclusion I always seem to arrive at after I zoom out and reflect on my own. Time and time again, I’m reminded that He’s not only there at the finish line, but in the in-between. Even when the outcome is unclear, God is still working great things through those whom He has called.
So, if work has you feeling like your rope’s wearing thin, my challenge to you this week is to walk through a similar type of reflection. Remember God’s goodness, remember His Spirit that sustains us, and remember the purpose He has given us to love the Lord and to love our neighbors. And please pray over our students and leaders heading up to Lake Geneva this weekend, that these same ideas would dwell richly in their hearts.
I can’t wait to share with you all the stories of transformation that God’s been writing, and how all of the work our team put in was worth it and more!
Max Schiewe - Middle School Minister