Events that changed me

I loved the dumping bucket at kids area at Knotts Water Park.

Having begun my 46th year of faith I am reminded that while I am still loving the head of the Church, there are many events and experiences in life that change us for good or ill. Here are a few.

Encountering Churchianity- a ho hum culturally bound religion which is just going through the motions of church life for social and cultural reasons.

Rediscovering Vocation- I tried to run from Churchianity and discovered struggle that convinced me that I had to keep working within the existing structure to help things change.

Ministry outside the walls of the church- in which I learn to love people in my community and church as they are.

Courage to try to escape the Bible Belt- following a call to the desert west.

Discovering the great difficulty of change within church leadership- great time of dissapointment.

Discovering God was with me- rescues from dissapointments.

Helping a church grow- a time when things were working.

Watching a church implode- a time when disunity destroyed something that was working.

Realizing its all bigger than me- when health challenges change us and we change with them.

All the above are statements that represent parts of my experience in vocational ministry, they are part of my story and I am comfortable in revisiting them, in learning from them, in not being totally defined by them, and in learning in the messiness of history, we still have great pleasure in following Christ.