"A Personal Pilgrim's Progress"

Oh the consequence of choice, the taste of regret, the deafening laugh of the aggressor, the heat of the ultraviolent taunt of an adversary, the chains forged by the dreams of another, the mind devining the fate of my future, the scream of the soul, the damning dying gargles of nonachievers, the advice of the accuser.

Oh the body that succumbs to fatigue that comes from the mind, the heart broken like an engine over driven and ill maintained, the once beautiful feet that now carry nothing, the furrowed brow of a man with more questions than answers, the wince of the expectation of discomfort, a free spirit free no longer,

Is creating a state of discomfort the only way to avoid it? On this road am I only to drag my face along the ground? I wait to feel a hand beneath my chin Almighty Lifter of my head? Can my vision be restored? Is it possible? That God can is of no discussion. That He will, no discussion can answer. Who can know His mind? Is He good? Have we any other choice but to believe it is so?

"That's just life. This is the way it is."

No, I can't accept that. That's not my life. I will never accept that life is pointless drudgery moving from one day to the next. I will never allow myself to become that. Life is to be lived! It's to be abundant. There is a way of escape and a way of finding once and for all, the life I am called to, and to find once and for all, that He is good. The living is to be chosen and if I choose to adopt the hopeless banal monotony of those around me, it will be to my shame. If I, however, choose to join those who have fought adversity to create the handholds by which I now pull myself up the face of this wall, I will find triumph. A reason to lift my voice and shout toward the future that it may be warned that I shall there be victorious, and my family with me.

I've gone to find myself. If I return before I get back, please keep me here. Thank you.

"How can I (average Joe regular type guy) attain to the position of Pastoring a church?" This is a question I've gotten asked alot lately. I thought for awhile about the sovereign call of God, or writing about divine direction, or stepping out in faith. I finally settled on sticking with the bubble bursting bare bones of the business. In ministry, as in everything, it’s not what you know. It's who you know. Churches commonly don’t extend beyond two degrees of separation. They don’t typically hire senior pastors who have no connection to them other than a resume. A church comes open and gets flooded with resumes from any number of qualified people so a church feels the right to be picky. Make a list of pastors you know and contact fellow minsters who would be good references. Your letter won’t cut it. Why? Because nobody in the church wants to take the responsibility for deciding to bring you on if you screw it up. So a trusted outsider who refers you is the most open door to this opportunity. It’s a carnal system and has less to do with spirituality and more to do with protecting the investment of the established congregation. If you can assure the interviewing entities that the extent of your vision is to maintain the building, add some non threatening programs, and let them go by noon, you’re at least going to be a finalist in the church version of American Idol. In doing this you can help them maintain the illusion that they’re making a difference in their community by simply showing up on Sunday morning and paying their tithes.

Forgive my sarcastic tone and please don’t discount the truth contained therin. Do you have a living room? Then you have a facility. Do you know people who would come if you invited them to a time of Bible Study, worship, and prayer? Then you have a congregation. Would those people work with you to reach out to minister to the families, the sick, and the poor of your community? Then you have a church.