:: M squared T ::

:: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 ::

Endgame: Champaign

Am really excited about the new pastoral work I will be doing (i.e., The New Job) at First Baptist Warren (Ohio). I am excited for the opportunity to join the people of Warren in ministry.

But I'm also starting to feel the fear and anxiety join in on the fun. I'm having to leave my hometown - not just the place I've grown up but my family's home town for the last 153 years. even in our transient community of 110 000, I still run in to people I know all the time - people I've known for years, family friends, college friends, neighbors. I know the managers at the grocery store I go to. I knew the waiter at lunch today at the Courier Café. There are streets in this town named after relatives of mine - ancestors, even.

My parents keep telling me that moving away from home (no, I haven't been living with them - they mean away from town) is part of the growing-up process. It's unavoidable, up there with death and taxes. But part of me wants to scream NO NO NO! It doesn't have to be like this!

And then I think, "now what exactly would I do here if I stayed?" I mean, I'm not really entertaining that idea anymore. But really, my training and education means either a) more education (necessarily elsewhere for the caliber of program I want), or b) working as a staff professional in a church. If I want to stay otherwise I have to do something completely different.

But it's also clear that the Call of God has gone out: the invitation that God gives to participate with him in the work of the Kingdom. And for now, this call has brought me into an amazing relationship with people in Warren, Ohio, which I never could have imagined. And they've invited me to lead them in ministry. That's nuts. Good nuts, but nuts. And I want to go. I'm eager to start.

But saying goodbye is so hard!

:: Matt 2/22/2005 08:13:00 PM :: permalink :: ::
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