The short version of my calling to pastoral ministry…
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… Isaiah 61:1-2
It’s difficult for me to decide how far back in history to go here, but I’ve decided to skip a lot to keep it concise. I gave my life to Jesus Christ over 25 years ago and He continues to change me on a heart level, sometimes in dramatic ways. From the time I was in my teens I felt a passion for telling people what the Bible says about who God is. In 2005, my wife and I got married and sought a church that we felt we could raise a family in, and we settled at Sovereign Grace Community Church in Roanoke, VA. This church has become our second family and a place where we see God’s hand at work. Meanwhile, there was a growing sense in my heart that God had given me a pastoral gifting to help lead His people. Over the past 6-7 years, it has become increasingly clearer to me and others that God intends me to become a pastor. The biggest question for those years has been “but when?”
In 2012, my wife and I prayerfully considered if that was the year for me to leave my job and head to seminary (a college for pastoral training). It seemed like everything was lined up and would have been great, but God spoke a consistent “no” to our hearts (even though we were excited about the idea). In 2013, we again prayed for guidance and God gave confirmation in many incremental ways that this year was different, and He said “yes”. Suffice it to say, we had faith to fill out the paperwork and see what happened. On May 24th, I received my acceptance letter. Stepping out in faith, I put in my resignation at work, giving them ~2-months notice so we could cross-train other people and plan my exit.
I am a Mechanical Engineer by training, and have thoroughly enjoyed almost 20 years of inventing and creating. In the 1981 movie, “Chariots of Fire“, Eric Liddell said, “I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.” I feel that way about engineering; I love inventing and creating and he made me good at it. But, I also believe the time has come to move that energy into another context. I’m not sure what that looks like yet but I am sure He will show me in time.
So now the plan is to move to Louisville, Kentucky for 10 months to attend the Sovereign Grace Pastor’s College. It is an intensive study program designed to give students critical pastoral training while still allowing them to begin serving in their churches as quickly as possible. The courses go from Sept 16th, 2013 – June 10th, 2014. I will be taking one course per week for subjects like Old Testament and New Testament Surveys, Systematic and Biblical Theology, Church History, biblical Marriage Counseling, and Sermon Preparation. There is much to learn. God willing, we will be able to come back to Roanoke and serve in our home church until He gives us our next assignment. There’s no guarantee that all this will play out as we expect, but we are resting well knowing that we are doing what He wants us to do right now.