Slow It Down, Wonderful Things Take Time

Growing up, I had a nickname: Christmas.
This was usually flung at me by an adult over their shoulder as they walked somewhere ahead of me, frustrated they had to wait for me. 
I don’t know why I always walked so slowly, but I always did.
Now, sometimes, I want to move fast. I want what I want, and I want it right now. I want to accomplish things. 
But there is a movement on several fronts that appeals to me. It’s called Slow. 
When an Italian town got a McDonalds, someone invented the Slow Food movement. 
You can imagine what this means: an authentic dining experience that involves a slow process of shopping that day at the local market as you chat up the staff, cooking the food over several hours, and eating the food for several more hours with friends and wine. 
As a bonus, grow the food in your own gardenover the course of a season. 
Contrast that with McDonalds. 
Slow food is about the freshness, the health, the relationships, and the experience. 
Ahhhhhhh…. It sounds nice if you have the time, which we rarely do. 
What else can we do “slow?” 
I recently started taking Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The “professor” asked the class how long it takes the average person to get a black belt in BJJ. The answer? 
“The average person doesn’t get a black belt in BJJ.“ 
For those who do, it takes about 11 years. That’s pretty slow. The next belt after that (red) takes around 45 years. That’s very slow. 
But what I love more than all of that is Slow Church. 
I planted a church a long time ago, and it went pretty fast, growing to around 500 people. 
Then I replanted another church as fast as I could. 
Then, I took a church planting assessment to plant a third church, and I failed the assessment. They said I wasn’t wired to be a church planter. I said, ” But I planted churches already.” 
They said…nothing, really. They had their metrics, measurements, and personality tests, and their formula said “no.” 
But I know why I failed (at least part of the reason). I had fallen in love with Slow Church, and they weren’t into planting churches slowly. Their method was fast.
That’s fine. Someone needs to be in a hurry to save the lost. Jesus will return, and that’ll be it. (Although some might call 2000 years slow.)
But I’ve learned something in 22 years of ministry. God takes His sweet time working in hearts and communities. Having walked with a few people over two decades, I have seen how I’m hardly necessary in the process. 
God uses their real life to grow, teach, and change them. He uses their trials, circumstances, ups, and downs to teach them about Himself, themselves, and eternal truths. 
Where do I come in? Every so often…
He has me there to hear their confessions, pray for them, mostly listen to them, and occasionally speak the Truth to them.
Man, this takes a while. 
Contrast it with what I used to do. Go after them and develop programs so I could change them. 
As if…
As if I ever changed anyone. That was hothouse flowers rather than slow working of the soil. That was McDonalds discipleship, rather than a process of Life Together. 
The best things take a long, long, long time. 
I like Eugene Peterson’s phrase, borrowed from Gerard Manley Hopkins, “a long obedience in the same direction.” 
Slow writing.
Slow marriage.
Slow parenting.
Slow business development. 
Slow exercise program. 
Slow community building.
Patience.
Trust. 
Walking, walking, walking with God. 
Slow healing.
Slow reading. 
Slow friendship.
What else can you think of that could or should be slow? 
It seems that, at least with slow church, we have the opportunity for something real. Slow doesn’t mean stagnant. I want to always be growing and developing, but it seems that the best things in life usually take a while. 
Be slow today, but be focused! (It’s actually easier if you’re slow).