The Way of the Cross

I watched the movie 'Amazing Grace' recently, and it brought up a lot of things in my mind. The movie, for those of you who don't know, is about the campaign in England to abolish the slave trade, a movement which inspired the famous hymn the movie is named after.

The principle thing that it brought to mind was how the main character worked his whole life towards his goal of abolishing slavery in England, a pursuit that cost him greatly, in terms of his physical and emotional health. He suffered from colitis (I believe that's what it was), a condition most likely caused by being worn so emotionally thin from the campaign that his body suffered as well. But, ultimately, he saw his victory.

I desperately want to live that life.

I want to pour myself out as a sacrifice for Christ, working and striving always to further His Kingdom, both through my living and potentially through my dying. I want to be able to look back at the end of my life, and have given my all, successful or not. I want to spread the love of God everywhere I go, regardless of opposition.

And that brings me to the church in Maitland. I was recently disheartened when I was thinking of the way to go forward with the church here, and what factors would have to be overcome. The church is fragmented, not in terms of internal church politics, but in terms of myriad groups coming together. This has the potential to be an amazing part of the Body of Christ, a real celebration of diversity...but, that will be a long time in coming, methinks.

So, here I am, realizing this ministry is much bigger than I am, and that there is no sign on the horizon of success, either immediate or long-term. Its all well and good to talk about the theoretical aspects of picking up your cross daily, but its a different matter when the discussions end and its time to sign on the proverbial dotted line.

I have the pen, but I'm realizing what it means if I sign. This kind of thing goes against all that our culture teaches us, in that I will not be simply showing up to consume, and going where its easy. This will involve me getting stubborn and stuck in, refusing to surrender when times are difficult. That means when the horizon shows no signs of light, I push on for dawn.

It means, fully dying to self, and becoming alive to God.

Again, a concept that is easier said than done. So, in order to keep this marathon post from becoming too epic, I'll end it here. I'll need your prayers, and, if you're ever in the area, a visit would not go amiss either. I will need your encouragement, and your Reese's peanut butter cups (that's not a metaphor...they don't sell them down here). So, keep me in mind when next you pray...I'll be most appreciative.

The Weirding Way

Well, here I am.
Australia.
Maitland.
Church.
My job.

Home.

After cramming a four year degree into five years, here I am. I spent three of those years being fairly rigidly devoted to learning what it means, academically, to do ministry. And, I even knew that I'd have to more or less re-learn everything once I actually got into ministry.

But, none of my classes prepared me for the sheer 'weirdness' of it all. After devoting my life (for the most part) to preparing me for this, its hard to fully grasp the fact that its here. No longer, when I have a suggestion for a ministry, do I go hint at it to the pastor. Nope. Now, I am the pastor. And, if I could find the darn formatting for this, 'am' would've been in italics.

Its also a bit hard to settle in, because right now I'm just staying with the vice chairman and his wife. They are wonderful people without a doubt (and I'm absolutely looking forward to working with them), but I think just the mere fact that there's not a place I can "call my own", so to speak, makes things a bit more difficult. It would be easier to help me get acclimated, if I could start setting a place up with my stuff and everything, start getting accustomed to my own way (which is half the reason I moved halfway around the world...to really strike out on my own).

I'm not sure if there is a way to prepare someone for all this, or even if its mostly compounded by the fact that I'm also in another country, but it is what it is. Weird.

Speaking of another country, I definitely like being here. I'm glad I signed up. I very much enjoy all the people I have to work with, and even though the youth group might be...exuberant, for the most part they're good kids. This is definitely a good starting church, if not one to continue at in the long term.

Well, I should be posting more, but its already 11:30 and I'm still in my pajamas, and there are a few things I need to do yet (like, eat...), so I'm off. I welcome any and all correspondence, especially in the way of goodies sent to me via snail mail (this will be easier once I get an apartment, and an address).