Vita 8: Vocation

A few posts ago, I wrote about some of the impact of the Heath High School shooting in 1997 on my life. I am unsure the degree to which that tragedy impacted some of the other events that happened in my life around that time, but I find it significant that the months surrounding it were formative for the path my life would take me. Soon after, the FCA started promoting a morning prayer group headed by myself and a few others and plans also were being drawn up for doing a 'Revival' in the gymnasium sponsored by the FCA. We had a variety of speakers, some better than others, and one whose message I would describe more as an emotionally charged presentation of Dante's Inferno than a Christian evangelical message supported by Scripture and the character of Jesus. But I wrote enough about that sort of stuff in another post.

Here I want to focus on another journey that began that winter after the shooting...it is the journey that began my vocational pursuit. In the weeks following that horrible day, I began to 'feel tugs' at my heart as though I thought God was trying to communicate something to me about my life's work. This culminated on one Sunday evening in a UMYF (United Methodist Youth Fellowship) gathering and an encounter at home with my parents. At the UMYF meeting during prayer time, I asked for prayer from the group because I thought God was communicating to me asking for my service to him in full-time ministry. Of course, all Christians are called to be 'full-time ministers' but I had the sense that it was to be more of a career (pastoral, missional, or otherwise) for me. What follows is kind of weird, so bear with me...and if you disbelieve what happened, that's fine (I'm not sure my memory serves me correctly here)...I'm not sure exactly what happened, but whether my perception of the event was accurate or not, too many other factors led me to this conclusion too, aside from what followed...

I went home and shared with my parents that I felt that God was calling me to 'the ministry.' They were shocked, didn't have much to say, but what was said was positive and encouraging. I proceeded to my bedroom and turned on the television. I remember the station being the CBS affiliate of Paducah and some show with Andy Griffith (Matlock, I think it was) was on...I heard footsteps coming down the hall toward my bedroom. Figuring it was my dad (which it was), I turned off the TV. He shared some very encouraging and affirming words in those moments, pledging their support in the journey that lay ahead as God leaded in whatever direction I would be guided. After sharing that moment, I decided to get a shower before getting ready for bed. After stepping out, I returned to my room and turned on the television...not the CBS affiliate...TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network). (Now let me interject here that much of what airs on TBN is borderline, if not all-out troubling. At the time, however, I valued the thoughts of some of the less-troubled speakers and messages on the channel...I won't go into more detail than that for this is all that is necessary to know for this part of the story.)

At the moment I turned the TV back on, the evangelist was sharing about the time he was called to the ministry and his surrendering to that call. I got on my knees and offered God my life, saying I'd do whatever and go wherever he wished. I announced this (not in so much detail) at the lunch table at Papaw and Granny's the next Sunday, which was greeted with much encouragement from the family. My Papaw wrote me a letter soon thereafter and though I won't cash in all that he said here, I'll say that some of his words have proved prophetic in that the journey was not as clear cut as I thought it would be. He said, 'We do not think it necessary that you decide immediately the area of ministry to pursue. God will lead.' I had thought that it would likely be pastoral ministry in the Church but the journey has taken me down a different route.

I began to pursue ordained ministry in the UM Church my senior year of High School. The process for UM's to become ordained is fairly more involved than most denominations. You can read about it here. This decision was welcomed warmly by my home church and the district superintendent. A few months later I began to get invitations to speak at events and fill-in the pulpit for local pastors who would be out of town or wanted to give me such opportunities. Congregants at the churches were encouraging, too, and when there was a cluster 'revival' of all the UM Churches in the county, a British Methodist pastor, Dr. Reginald Mallett, came and shared. He had dinner with my family one evening and upon hearing my pursuit of 'the ministry,' encouraged me to strongly consider Asbury as my choice for theological education (to be written about later). So I mapped out my plan...since I had chosen to pursue State Office in the FFA (as I wrote about in this post) and ordained ministry in the UM Church, I decided to get my bachelor's degree at Murray State and my Master of Divinity (required of UM Ordination) from Asbury Seminary. (That plan was audibled somewhat, which will also be written about more in detail soon enough.)

Toward the end of my college career, I began to see a strand that drew a lot of my attention and motivated me to action...education (specifically, theological education). I began to see the classroom rather than the pulpit as the domain for which God seemed to be shaping me. I put this on the 'back burner' until halfway through my seminary degree, when it came to the forefront. I saw things more clearly that teaching was where I belonged and I swiftly, though prayerfully, changed programs to a more concentrated focus on theological studies, which would prepare the way for doctoral work (pretty much necessary for landing a job as a professor) more quickly. This move was not easy and I must say means that I don't have the 'job security' that the UM ordination typically affords. The move also was not received well by the district superintendent, who insisted my call was 'to pastor and preach' though he'd never heard me once. Those who had been nearer to me, especially in my educational journey, knew my gifts and passions more intimately and saw that education was a better fit. So that is where I am...recently accepted into a Ph.D. program in theological studies (specifically, Wesley Studies) with an eye toward teaching theology at the college and/or seminary levels.