Taking Time To Debrief

Wednesday I was in Chicago with other church leaders to debrief the Global Leadership Summit. Our expeerience with the Leadership Summit as rookie satellite site was extremely positive and I found that most others had similar experiences. It was good to take time to debrief and to give input on next year's event. Orchard will again host the Global Summit on August 11 and 12, 2011.

The 4.5 hour drive back from Chicago gave me additional time to debrief my summer and this past week. It got me thinking about debriefing itself and how important it is to debrief each day and each week.

Many mornings I journal as I begin my day. Each journal entry includes two key beginning phrases that help me to focus my thoughts. I've journaled this way for maybe ten years. The two phrases are:

Yesterday....and then I reflect upon what God did and what I did yesterday.....the facts of what happened and where I could see God at work and where I was in touch with him.

On the inside, I'm....gives me the opportunity to debrief what's going on inside me. These are things that I often ignore unless I give them specific focus and take time to think about.

In August, my wife, Linda, and I had our 40th wedding anniversary. As a celebration gift our children gave us a book with pictures, highlights and notes from them about our 40 years together. During our recent vacation, I read that "anniversary" book four times. In effect, I was again taking time to debrief (and remember) our 40 years together. It was very helpful and faith-building to review all that God has done in our lives during that time.

Most of my debriefing, whether it's about the Global Summit, or yesterday, or even my past 40 years with my wife, leads me to the deep conviction that God is faithful. He is faithful. One verse I'm thinking about this weekend is 2 Timothy 2:3, "If we are faithfless, God will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

So, I simply ask you the question: Have you taken time lately to debrief? Maybe it would be helpful to you as it has been for me?