The E-word
The College Church will announce three new elders on Sunday. I will not be one of them.Those who already know this have expressed their genuine concern for me. I have assured them all that I am perfectly fine with this outcome. From the outset, I've said that this was in God's hands. He has selected three excellent Christian men to help lead this church. The time may or may not come that I will perform that service as well. But for now, it is not to be.
There were a number of reasons that people did not want me to be a Shepherd at College. Probably the most common one is that I am the father of a 6-year-old boy and folks are concerned that I would be away from him too much with all of the responsibilities that eldership brings. Happily, my divorce was not a problem for many. The church is growing up, at least in that respect.
I found the whole process enlightening. You learn a lot about people in any kind of stressful situation. I found that we have some very good men who are willing to sacrifice a great deal to serve others. There were negatives, sure, but as a sometime preacher I'm quite used to those. It was nice to see how many positives we have.
Perhaps I will go through this again sometime. For now I'll continue to do what I've been doing for so long already.
On that note, I visited the local seminary last week, hoping to sign up for some classes. Since my 40 days of prayer, I've felt a yearning to preach the Word, perhaps even to make that my full-time gig at some point in the future. I was discouraged to find out what the tuition fees were...well beyond what we can afford as a family at this point. While I am content to begin an education that could take many years to complete, I'm not okay with putting my family in debt to do so. So again, for now, I find myself staying put in the teaching profession and blessed to be able to preach at College from time to time.
But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm finding it hard to get excited about my job these days. It's one thing to reach a point of exhaustion with one's profession. It's another thing to combine that exhaustion with a sincere desire for something else. I'm praying that God either invigorates the ministries I currently have or shows me a way to do something new.
posted by Thurman8er @ 1:45 PM
8 Comments:
I will be praying along with you. God bless............
Steve, I appreciate your honesty and how you are handling this. Maybe you will be an "e-word" at a later time or maybe God will have you serve Him in another way. While you may not have the money for the seminary, you still got His word to read, us praying for you, and the big man Himself who is always listening. What more do you need? :o) Will be praying for you too.
It is amazing how much some of that training costs. It would be nice if you could find another alternative.
You are deeply loved and appreciated by many at College Church. You know that, and I hope you keep on knowing that.
Now, here's to helping that 6 year old grow up to be whoever God wants him to be.
God has GREAT plans for you, my brother...and HIS timing is perfect.
I was looking forward to hanging the "E" letter and word on your my math brother. I can only imagine how the process went for there isn't a perfect way to select such men, especially when humans are involved in the process. It can sometimes seem to be a cross between a "Presidential Debate" and a "Beauty Pagent."
For now, continue to be the Dad and Husband you are to your family and the man of God you are to them, your church, and your students. Trust me Bro, God has plans for you and I can't wait for you to blog about them.
I hope you know you are loved and appreciated and valued. You have a good heart and a genuine longing to live a life of purpose and meaning. (Do I have to pay royalties to a certain mega preacher to use that word?)
Ironic that the professional frustrations you express, your thoughts and summary sound like me on a Monday!
I wonder the ratio of those trying to get into full-time ministry and those trying to get out of full-time ministry?
Steve- You are a good man. Your wife is a good woman. Your son is a good boy...most of the time!
Seriously, you are loved and appreciated by both myself and my wife. We love your family and the roles you play in our church. Keep it up.
Shane
Brother, now that it's said and done, I am glad you have been spared the eldership at this time in your life, and only for the reason you gave ... you need to shepherd James far more than you need to shepherd the College Church. God's blessings on you and your family.
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