{"id":12150,"date":"2017-03-02T21:13:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T05:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=12150"},"modified":"2017-03-02T21:13:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T05:13:34","slug":"what-if-you-are-the-one-percent-the-answer-is-a-pre-choice-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/what-if-you-are-the-one-percent-the-answer-is-a-pre-choice-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"What if you are the one percent? The answer is a pre-choice choice!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Isolation, as described by Shelley Trebesch in her book Isolation: A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader<\/em>, is a desert or wilderness time, where one is removed from his\/her normal daily routine or home and isolated from friends and family.\u00a0 A person is a desert time may not feel the presence of God, and it may seem that he\/she is alone in a dark and foreign land. One cannot rely on what used to be familiar.\u00a0 The person consequently walks through a breaking or stripping process after which his\/her character becomes transformed.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 This is where many leaders have gone and where many leaders will go.\u00a0 Working with people and leading people has many different issues and this in one of those.\u00a0 So many Old Testament and New Testament illustrations of people who were led by God into isolation and those who made choices that led them to be alone.\u00a0 Shelley does a great job of streamlining her thoughts and exploring all the possibilities of isolation.<\/p>\n

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The two reasons for isolation being voluntary and involuntary is an interesting concept[2]<\/a>.\u00a0 The first is that of a sabbatical or one that is planned three times in a person of ministries life.\u00a0 This sounds like a great thing as more and more churches are understanding the need for this practice.<\/p>\n

The four reasons for the involuntary isolation were very insightful.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0Sickness<\/li>\n
  2. Imprisonment<\/li>\n
  3. Organizational\u00a0Discipline<\/li>\n
  4. War or Natural Disasters.[3]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The one that I am most familiar with is the one for organization discipline.\u00a0 This very straightforward look at this process with very calculated language was insightful.<\/p>\n

    Isolation is not usually something that people choose.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 Being alone is not something that is desirable, but there are people who live most of their life in this exact location.\u00a0 The ninety-nine percent of those who go into isolation and then come out of isolation do it with purpose and come out closer to God.\u00a0\u00a0 But what about the one percent? \u00a0\u00a0What about those who have others lead them into isolation and they don\u2019t come out the other side okay?\u00a0 What about those who have life hand them isolation whether it is voluntary or involuntary?\u00a0 Sometimes life hands people isolation where there is not a quick fix.\u00a0 Sometimes life ends with those who were assigned to isolation without a happy ever after.\u00a0 Those are the thoughts that I kept gravitating to as I was reading this book.\u00a0\u00a0 What about the one percent?<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Sometimes isolation takes you to despair and the author referenced the children of Israel remaining in the desert because of disobedience.\u00a0\u00a0 But sometimes there is no disobedience and life just hands you isolation because of an event that was out of your control.\u00a0\u00a0 John the Baptist comes to mind.\u00a0 Samson is another example that jumps out.\u00a0 Both examples ended in death.\u00a0 Ceremonial beheading and a suicidal mission seem to be what I remember.\u00a0 But what about those who never make it out of the isolation?\u00a0 Forty years is a long time to endure anything, Moses made it but what about those who don\u2019t?<\/p>\n

    This book was very complete in looking at the Old Testament and the New Testament case studies and even the personal examples and ministry examples were insightful.\u00a0\u00a0 The idea that isolation can happen voluntary and involuntary and then the clarity to list how those things happen was terrific.\u00a0 The process of what isolation can do for anyone who is willing to submit and go through was thorough.\u00a0 Isolation as a ministry concept is one that is hard to understand because most ministry is with, for and about people.\u00a0 The struggle that happens within this situation is real and most often painful.\u00a0 The author really brought this to the reader.<\/p>\n

    Self-choice is well worded concept.\u00a0\u00a0 Voluntary isolation is not an easy choice. Sometimes ministers need to be proactive and do things that will further their ministry.\u00a0 No one else is going to do this for you.<\/p>\n

    The author identified three areas of self-choice:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Renewal<\/li>\n
    2. Education or Training.<\/li>\n
    3. Social based.[4]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Choosing to get \u201chealthy\u201d is never an easy one but it can be essential.\u00a0 This educational process is a self-choice.\u00a0 The amount of time and effort that it takes to accomplish this degree is not an easy one.\u00a0 There are sacrifices that must be made but choosing what is hard over what is easy is a considerable task.\u00a0\u00a0 The explanation of this concept was very bright. \u00a0\u00a0It felt very familiar to how life is right now.<\/p>\n

      Involuntary isolation is incredibly hard.\u00a0 Our church is one of the churches that help with this process for our denomination. The process of helping ministers to have the access to go back into their profession is not any easy one.\u00a0\u00a0 The amount of work and the amount of patience that it takes to finally be resolved or absolved of the issue is monumental.\u00a0 It wears on the family and on the individual like sandpaper on wood.\u00a0 Watching this first hand brings this subject and this book even closer to home. One of the areas that the author just skimmed was the subject of fairness.\u00a0 Sometimes life is not fair and sometimes people are hateful and revengeful.\u00a0 How to navigate the wide range of emotions is engulfing.\u00a0 The words of wisdom concerning attitude toward this process were insightful.<\/p>\n

      The one percent comes into play in this area.\u00a0 Some never recover from isolation.\u00a0 Sometimes there is something that is completely out of the parties involved control. They didn\u2019t ask for it, they can\u2019t get out of it.\u00a0 It is simply what it is.\u00a0\u00a0 When this form of isolation comes, God is still there!<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t change but there is that small percentage that never see the relief that is spoken of in this book.\u00a0 \u00a0I know the illustrations that show the great victories after the monumental struggles are some of our most favorite to preach about and to talk about with our community but sometimes that struggle goes to the grave.<\/p>\n

      What is encouraging though is that scripture even addresses this moment.\u00a0 Hebrews eleven points out to us that some of those who had faith for the promise to happen didn\u2019t see it happen.\u00a0 \u00a0So, what if life takes you to isolation and death takes you at that point?\u00a0\u00a0 The authors conclusion is still applicable<\/em>.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cYou can be prepared for a season of isolation by making a decision beforehand (pre-choice choice is what I call this decision) to embrace the process of isolation.\u00a0 Make a decision to stay in isolation until the Lord calls you out of it.\u00a0 Make a decision to embrace all that God has for you during isolation.\u00a0 God will do wondrous and amazing things in your life.\u00a0 Expect it and embrace his transformation.[5]<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

      So even if?\u00a0\u00a0 What if?\u00a0 The one percent can still make a pre-choice choice to trust God.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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      [1]<\/a> Shelley Trebesch, Isolation: A place of transformation in the life of a leader,
      \n<\/em>\u00a0 (Altadena, CA: Barnabas Publishers, 1997) 9.<\/p>\n

      [2]<\/a> Ibid.,29.<\/p>\n

      [3]<\/a> Ibid., 31.<\/p>\n

      [4]<\/a> Ibid., 33.<\/p>\n

      [5]<\/a> Ibid., 76.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Isolation, as described by Shelley Trebesch in her book Isolation: A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader, is a desert or wilderness time, where one is removed from his\/her normal daily routine or home and isolated from friends and family.\u00a0 A person is a desert time may not feel the presence of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[676,663,116],"class_list":["post-12150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp6","tag-lgp6","tag-trebesch","cohort-lgp6"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}