...But Without The Jet Plane

On February 1st as things stand now I will be unemployed.

On Monday October 24th 2011 I tendered my resignation at West End Baptist Church. On Sunday October 30th the congregation was made aware of this. Today my role has shifted from Associate Pastor to Exiting Associate Pastor.

As Meghan and I begin the journey from West End to whatever God has in store for us I want to take a moment to put on 'paper' what I said from the pulpit at West End yesterday.

Halloween, Yea Or Nay?

In Christian circles Halloween seems to drudge up some pretty heated and rather divided discussions. I think a convincing case for participating in Halloween and a convincing case for not participating in Halloween can both be made equally well.

There is a good reason for that.

Halloween is two distinct holidays that have been meshed together. Now I don't mean that literally, as in there were two holidays that have combined, but in practice that is what we have.

Allow me to elaborate.

No Pleasure

A few moments ago I heard a great deal of celebratory car honking outside my office. You know the kind I mean right? That special excited honk that people have for sports team wins and weddings. I was surprised to hear such sounds on a rainy Thursday afternoon so I looked out my window. As I looked I didn't see a car with 'Just Married' or a team flag on it. Instead I saw a car displaying several Libyan flags.

Then I understood.

Moammar Gadhafi is dead. And many are calling for a celebration of that fact. I can't bring myself to join in.

Hunters & Handlers

If you are in leadership you know that conflict is inevitable. This really is no secret. I knew when I took on leadership roles conflict would find me. A few years ago I thought I understood conflict because I had been in such close proximity to intense conflict.

But I did not. Not like I know it now anyway.

Just Starting

Like many 20 something semi-nerdy guys I have a sense of justice that has developed out of my love of cartoons, and superheroes. The idea of good guys stopping bad guys has been salient in my mind for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact that desire helped me understand my call to ministry.

Since I was in Jr. High I had wrestled with the idea of going in to vocational ministry. But as I aged that idea had somewhat fallen out of my mind. At 20 I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life, and I was working at a call center. Then the local Catholic Church began a priest recruitment campaign. Every day on my drive to work I saw a billboard that was all black, except for the white square of a priest's collar. Below the collar were the words, 'Yes you get to fight evil. No you cannot wear a cape'.

The message rang loud and clear to me. If you want to be a force for all that is good, just and true don't don tights, but join the ministry. And so I did.