03-15-2018, 06:57 AM
When I first graduated college, I had a burning sense of calling about the traditional American evangelical gospel ministry. I went at it, but was mostly frustrated. I know why now, but didn't understand then why I wasn't accepted into the secret brotherhood. So I went after a different dream and enlisted in the military. That didn't turn out too well, but there were bright spots in it. It was a grand test of my faith. I eventually understood that I had been granted a fine adventure. A few years after that, I was ordained by some folks who believed in me just that much, but not quite enough to actually put me to work.
Then I learned some new stuff about faith. I had been casting about for something invisible to me missing from the picture. Still not quite taken seriously as a gospel minister, I went back into the military and did a whale of a lot better than before... until it was discovered I had a birth defect that made it awfully difficult to stay in uniform (knees issue). The military was willing, but I knew it was pointless. What mattered most was the amazing new adventure it was, particularly in terms of religion. It was my volunteer work in chapel that made all the difference, another grand test of my faith. It was a spiritual high point hard to describe. But I felt compelled to leave the military.
Then I tested the waters as a school teacher, and failed in professional terms. I was too much a maverick at that point, but I did learn a lot of new tools. This was when my personal religion changed more radically. For the next twenty years I hunkered down and studied the roots of Christian faith, reviewing and deepening all I had learned back in Baptist college.
Fast forward to where things are right now. I've reached a stability point in my personal faith; I'm ready to test it again. This time military service is highly improbable. It was a wonderful context in which to test my faith, a context I fully understood, and where my influence was frankly powerful in spiritual terms. I have no idea what environment God has in mind, but I have this overwhelming sense of adventure in faith burning like a bonfire inside of me.
I wanna be ready for the next adventure; I'm seeking a clear sense of vision about it. That's my prayer request.
Then I learned some new stuff about faith. I had been casting about for something invisible to me missing from the picture. Still not quite taken seriously as a gospel minister, I went back into the military and did a whale of a lot better than before... until it was discovered I had a birth defect that made it awfully difficult to stay in uniform (knees issue). The military was willing, but I knew it was pointless. What mattered most was the amazing new adventure it was, particularly in terms of religion. It was my volunteer work in chapel that made all the difference, another grand test of my faith. It was a spiritual high point hard to describe. But I felt compelled to leave the military.
Then I tested the waters as a school teacher, and failed in professional terms. I was too much a maverick at that point, but I did learn a lot of new tools. This was when my personal religion changed more radically. For the next twenty years I hunkered down and studied the roots of Christian faith, reviewing and deepening all I had learned back in Baptist college.
Fast forward to where things are right now. I've reached a stability point in my personal faith; I'm ready to test it again. This time military service is highly improbable. It was a wonderful context in which to test my faith, a context I fully understood, and where my influence was frankly powerful in spiritual terms. I have no idea what environment God has in mind, but I have this overwhelming sense of adventure in faith burning like a bonfire inside of me.
I wanna be ready for the next adventure; I'm seeking a clear sense of vision about it. That's my prayer request.