No More Jonah

For the past few years, I have repeatedly felt like Jonah--hearing God's call to ministry and running away from it. I finally took the plunge into full-time ministry two weeks ago, when I accepted an invitation to work with the Tuscola Church of Christ.

I had been doing some interim ministry with the church during their minister search, and they finally decided to hire me. After nine years of part-time ministry while working other part-time jobs and being a college student, I can now focus more of my attention on God and the church.

The Tuscola Church of Christ is a small congregation of senior Christians in a little town about 20 miles south of Abilene. Their part-time preacher/teacher recently retired after 35 years. The church members have made a few exciting decisions in hopes of reaching out to their community in the name of Jesus, and I am thrilled to be part of this new era.

My responsibilities with the Tuscola church include preaching, teaching, praying, visiting, writing, planning, networking, and being active in the community. It's fulfilling to get back into some types of ministry that I haven't experienced for a few years, like hospital visitation. This week I wrote a short message to be published in the Tuscola area newspaper, and one of the editors came to the church building on Tuesday to take a picture for the paper.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!

Beginning the Journey

Here I begin my journey into the mysterious world of blogging. Who knew that journaling could ever become so popular? Because I am such a technological genius and social conformer (ha!), I decided to try my hand at this new (to me) medium. Feel free to read what you want and ignore anything else you might find on this site of chaotic ramblings.

Want some news? Here's a little teaser: The summer's been good. I taught a Maymester class, audited a short course in the first part of the summer, went to a gorgeous area of Colorado for my brother's wedding, visited friends and family in San Angelo and Austin, stayed a few days with my girlfriend's family in the mountains of northwest Arkansas, officiated my grandma's funeral in Pampa, moved from a duplex to an apartment, volunteered at FaithWorks and B.O.B.S., picked up the intensity of my job search, and spent tons of time with my belle, Tamara.

More to come. Stay tuned...