On the road...

This is an appropriate location to post my first blog for this summer: I am in the middle of a 19 hour journey from Durham, NC to The Woodlands, TX, sitting in a hotel room near Biloxi, Mississippi. So what are my thoughts? What do I feel about embarking upon this experience? To say the least, I am excited. I get to stop studying about the church and start being the church. However, there is a slight bit of apprehension. It does not stem from being nervous about my ability to preach, or my knowledge of the church. Rather, my apprehension stems from the responsibility that comes from being someone’s “pastor”. I have never had that level of authority and a full year of Church History has made me respect such authority. Each person we studied this year attempted to relate God to a certain age. While studying such history is important, the unrelenting challenge that confronts me is that it is my job to relate God to this age and to the people. While I realize that the task might be too daunting for a student who has just finished his first year of divinity school, I feel a sense of grace in the process. God has sent the Holy Spirit to be with the church, helping it grow and learn; that same spirit will be with me this summer. And when the task is too great (as it inevitably will be) I will have people to help guide me, making sure that I neither think too little nor too much of myself or of my abilities. The truth of the matter is that God is the one who reveals himself to the church, my goal for this summer is to learn how to become a fitting conduit.