“Hello, Blogspot, my
old friend…
I’ve come to write a
post again.”
I considered continuing to
rewrite the remainder of the first verse, but quickly decided against
committing any further heresy. I simply don’t possess the audacity to mess with
The Sound of Silence any further. Simon
and Garfunkel, please forgive me for even going this far.
Still, I have been away for a
while. Too long, if you ask me, but this season I have been in has not allowed
me to pause long enough to write. Here is a brief synopsis of what has happened
in my life since my last blog post:
- After nearly seven years of life together, my
family and I said goodbye to the good people of Spring of Life UMC. It was so
bittersweet. I heard my call to ministry there and they walked with me through
my days in seminary and candidacy. They loved me in spite of my flaws and gave
me the space to make mistakes. I will forever treasure the gift it was for me to
serve God and Spring of Life and I feel blessed beyond measure to have been
prepared and sent by them into the vocation of pastoral ministry.
- During the Licensing, Commissioning, and
Ordination Service of the Florida Annual Conference, I was licensed by the Bishop
to serve as a full-time local pastor.
- I completed my unit of Clinical Pastoral
Education with VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, where I served as a chaplain.
- My family and I moved from Saint Cloud to
Gainesville. We lived in the house in Saint Cloud for four years, the longest I
have lived in any one place in maybe the history of ever. Moving is hard…
- I began my appointment as Associate Pastor to
Trinity UMC in Gainesville. I am thrilled to be here but confess that there
have been days when I feel like I am drinking water from a fire hose. I mean
that in the best way possible, by the way. This appointment was one that I
dared to hope and pray for and I am deeply grateful for the chance I am being
given to live into what I have sensed God has been calling me to over the past
several years.
- Finally, I completed my 2013 Provisional Elder
application as part of my preparations to appear before the District Committee
on Ordained Ministry, round deux.
So, that is what I have been up
to for the past few months and these are my reasons
(not excuses) for my silence on this blog. I knew when I started the blog
that I would never have the time to be a daily blogger. I did, however, want
the blog to have a purpose. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how this blog’s
purpose might connect to my role as Associate Pastor.
One of the areas I have been
asked to pay particular interest to at Trinity is discipleship. As I’ve been contemplating
my role in this, I have been continually reminded of why I started this blog in
the first place (which can be read here and here). Living the life of a
disciple of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is an everyday,
ordinary sort of deal isn’t it? I mean, it’s a lot more than Sunday, right? I
guess what I’ve been wondering is how I might potentially use this blog as a
tool for discipleship. Actually, I’ve been dreaming about it.
I have a few ideas for regular
postings about living a life of discipleship but would welcome your ideas, too.
So, please join me in the conversation. And join me in prayer for guidance on
the path forward.
Until we meet here again…
