I turn 41 this weekend and in typical fashion when birthdays come around, I ponder things a bit more than usual. And for me that means, more often than not, ministry things.
I become a Christian in October of 1997 and within six months I felt the “call” to pastoral ministry. Since then I’ve been committed to pursuing it. read more…
When I first entered into vocational ministry as a youth pastor I was blessed to serve in a racially diverse local church, both in terms of pastoral staff and congregants. It was there in that small town North Carolina church that I truly began to grasp the beauty of all God’s people. Many of my students were African American. Fast forward to today and my best friend and quite a few other close friends are African American.
Over the last 5+ years the truth of the racial issues and injustices have been exposed to an ever increasingly intense light that can no longer be ignored or brushed aside. I mourn the injustices done and happening to my brothers and sisters of color.
It is incredibly easy for our identity to get so wrapped up in something we are DOING that we inadvertently lose our BEING.
The result is we reduce our BEING to such an extent that we feel lost, or in free fall, once we’re no longer DOING. read more…
Here we are at Easter Sunday.
A day that started in continued mourning, but ended in joy unspeakable.
For on that day the unimaginable occurred. read more…
Here we are at Holy Saturday.
A day of silence.
A day of anguish, despair, and uncertainty. read more…
Good Friday is not simply a moment in time. It’s an event of cosmic proportions that rippled and reverberated in all directions. read more…
Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. Quite moving, then and now, on so many levels. read more…
A few weeks back I dropped a post on my Facebook account. In the post I shared a glimpse of my struggle since entering into pastoral ministry. While it has been a struggle and do not get me wrong, it has been both incredibly exhausting and frustration, it has been an incredible journey for this small town West Virginia boy as well. In mentioning the struggles I have endured, I also mentioned how clergy are just regular people with struggles, with injuries, but are hopefully pressing on.
Here is what I wrote:
