The last time I blogged, I had just gone through my first pastoral interview. Now today, I find myself reminiscing over my first day preaching as a pastor-to-be. I feel almost like I am running for a political office sometimes, instead of seeking a place to serve. The plan is, I preach before the congregation for three weeks, then they will come together the following weekend and vote on whether or not they feel as a congregation, that I am the person for the job. I am told that this is the way my denomination does business, and although I am not quite sure of all the workings, so far it seems o.k.
For Allyssa and I, this has been an interesting journey and it keeps getting more and more interesting. I had asked one of the deacons I had been communicating back and forth with if we could have lunch with the whole church on the first Sunday we came out, and he said we could. So yesterday we did this, and it was a great time. You can learn a lot about people while sharing a meal with them, plus I really enjoy eating.
For the morning service, I got the opportunity to share with them about my life journey thus far. I know that some would say that that would be a risky thing to do, but I just wanted them to know that I am the real deal, meaning that I try to always be myself and not change depending on who I am around. They were very receptive of it, and seemed to really enjoy it. I told them that I think being a Christ follower is about having fun and not taking ourselves so serious. I think Jesus had to have had a wonderful sense of humor to have all of those people hanging around, and he seemed to really enjoy life before he died. I think we must follow his lead, and enjoy the life we have been given, and not just look to the life we will have one day after death. What a waste it would be to live your life dreaming of only heaven, then waking up there and God saying, "I never knew you while you were on earth."
All in all it was a great time. I asked my wife what she thought, and she said that she felt very welcomed and at home. I can say that I concur, and I am curious where the next couple of weeks will lead. I am excited about the possibility of getting a chance to invite a group of people into my life and taking part of this journey with us. I am prayerful and hopeful that everyone involved will follow God's lead, and that He would be glorified in everything that takes place. Please remember us in your thoughts and prayers, as we step out into this endeavor, and pray that we will stay true to who God created us to be and not conform to norm that is expected in most cases.
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