this is something that i have been wondering about for quite a while. and i hope to get some feedback from you the reader. i am wondering if it is possible if God might call someone to the ministry for a season? i have talked to a few people with mixed views on the idea.
andy stanley wrote in his last book "communicating for a change" that he was not to sure if he was ever called to the ministry. but one day in his youth went to his father charles and asked if someone could just volunteer for a life in the ministry. so from that day forward andy volunteered to the ministry.
i have been in full time pastoral ministry for three years now in the form of a youth pastor. i love my job. i like doing God's work but am not quite positive that i will be a pastor the rest of my life. but if i felt the call back in the summer of 2000 after my freshman year of college, would i be doing a disservice to God and his call. that is why i am wondering if the call is possible for a season in life.
i do know that i will never walk away from church or my relationship with Christ. but if one day i decide not to be a pastor then am i walking away from Christ by leaving the ministry. would love to hear your thoughts.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
how much further
many times during my childhood we would go on road trips in either the family station wagon or minivan. we would go drive hours to go see my grandparents, aunts, uncles or just to get away from the routine. when i was young or did not exactly know the route very well i would ask "how much longer." of course the answer from my parents would come with a measure of time (an hour) or length (a mile). that would shut me up until i was impatient again and asked the same question.
so many times now i ask the same question. i wonder how much further i need to go in the journey. only now i am talking about my relationship with Christ. but i am still asking the same impatient question that i did as a child?
i have been a christian for a number of years and grew up in a christian home, so i knew Christ expected me to live out my faith through works. i knew he wanted me to help the homeless and be concerned with his children dying in africa because of aids, starvation and genocide. i have observed many of my friends give of their lives to different ministries all around the world. i guess this is one reason i became a youth pastor, to live out what God was calling me to do.
but i guess i am wondering how much further still can i go? what have i not done that Christ could want from me. maybe it is because i grew up in a holiness denomination (wesleyan) that i feel this way. it is always more focused on what there is left for me to do in my life and affecting the lives around me. i have always tried to live as authentic as possible and at times that shows my failures and how much further i have left to go.
i try not put myself higher then any other christian, because we are all in different places in our journey. i just want to ask will we even know if we do arrive. i guess people in my denomination would call "arriving, " entire sanctification. but it seems like the deeper i go with Christ there is always some more that i need to give, and i just do not know how or when or if i will ever get there.
more then six years ago, the summer after my freshmen year of college i abandoned what i wanted in life (business management degree) to tell God that i was serious about giving to him what he wanted from me. i continue my life as someone trying to live out God's will rather then my own. but i still have not arrived to conclusion of my journey. is there something i am missing. i know i am headed in the right direction but it seems like i keep passing by the same place.
so many times now i ask the same question. i wonder how much further i need to go in the journey. only now i am talking about my relationship with Christ. but i am still asking the same impatient question that i did as a child?
i have been a christian for a number of years and grew up in a christian home, so i knew Christ expected me to live out my faith through works. i knew he wanted me to help the homeless and be concerned with his children dying in africa because of aids, starvation and genocide. i have observed many of my friends give of their lives to different ministries all around the world. i guess this is one reason i became a youth pastor, to live out what God was calling me to do.
but i guess i am wondering how much further still can i go? what have i not done that Christ could want from me. maybe it is because i grew up in a holiness denomination (wesleyan) that i feel this way. it is always more focused on what there is left for me to do in my life and affecting the lives around me. i have always tried to live as authentic as possible and at times that shows my failures and how much further i have left to go.
i try not put myself higher then any other christian, because we are all in different places in our journey. i just want to ask will we even know if we do arrive. i guess people in my denomination would call "arriving, " entire sanctification. but it seems like the deeper i go with Christ there is always some more that i need to give, and i just do not know how or when or if i will ever get there.
more then six years ago, the summer after my freshmen year of college i abandoned what i wanted in life (business management degree) to tell God that i was serious about giving to him what he wanted from me. i continue my life as someone trying to live out God's will rather then my own. but i still have not arrived to conclusion of my journey. is there something i am missing. i know i am headed in the right direction but it seems like i keep passing by the same place.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
communicating for a change
the new book by andy stanley and lane jones is a must read for any pastor or public speaker. it is brought together by a narrative and then how to put everything that you learned from the story in a simple way. i am one who has a short attention span and almost always found it hard to follow some sermons because of all the points. the purpose of this book is for encouraging pastors to go with one point sermons. they are easier to follow and see the the connecting points of the sermon.
our staff just went through this book together. my senior pastor who has been in the ministry 35 years finds it difficult but really wanted to go with this system of preaching. i am not advocating that this will work for everybody. but his sermons are more focused and we are seeing peoples lives changed because of some of the advice that was taken from this book. so go and check it out.
our staff just went through this book together. my senior pastor who has been in the ministry 35 years finds it difficult but really wanted to go with this system of preaching. i am not advocating that this will work for everybody. but his sermons are more focused and we are seeing peoples lives changed because of some of the advice that was taken from this book. so go and check it out.
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