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Last night we hosted our church’s Trunk or Treat. We had a great turnout from the neighborhood and guests. People always seem to enjoy our Trunk or Treat. We do a good job of it. All of our people put a lot of effort into decorating their cars. Each of us try to come up with a game to play or something that to do at each car.
We were a little worried. We had several families cancel at the last minute. There was also the threat of severe weather. I had read a 40% chance of thundershowers. Another family had heard up to 70%. The read held off. We had a nice circle of cars. We had a lot of guests to interact with. It was a good night all around.
I started teaching my new section of Introduction to the New Testament at PCC this weekend. Almost half of the students who were registered didn’t show up. For some reason when the class is a delayed start class, the students forget when it starts. I sent an email on Monday to remind students, but I only have their school accounts. I’m not sure how often they check those. It’s evidently not their everyday account.
Still, I have more students this semester than I’ve had in a while. It’s a more enjoyable experience when you have a larger number of students with which to interact. We’ll just have to see how many are willing to put in the work to do well.
I really enjoy teaching. I’ve been teaching in the Weekend College at PCC this semester. We just wrapped up the Introduction to the Old Testament Class. One of the students, having finished the final, confessed, “I’m ashamed to admit it, but I never really thought the Old Testament was very important. I had a class on the Old Testament in the past, but all it was was a bunch of strange names that sounded alike. This class really helped me to understand the Old Testament and see its importance.”
Another student wrote on the back of his final exam, “Thanks, this class has been a huge insight on my faith.”
This is a college class at a community college. We approach the text from an academic perspective. This is not a Sunday school class. We don’t really address “church” issues. However, the text has power. I don’t need to point out all the issues of faith for the text to have an impact. That is the power of the Word of God.
I don’t normally work on Mondays. I try to reserve these as my day off, a sort of sabbath. I’ve not been as intentional with it as I have been in the past. I scheduled a meeting with the locksmith this morning. We had a door lock replaced last week. It wasn’t working quite right. Monday morning was the earliest we could get it repaired.
I met the locksmith. He repaired the lock in about five minutes. I was still in the middle of a chapter of a book I was reading. I stayed to finish the chapter. A young man stopped in for prayer. He had visited us about a year ago. I remembered his name and his previous visit. He asked for prayer then as well. We also offered some financial assistance.
This time he wasn’t looking for financial help. He is struggling in life. I seemed to gather that he is working hard. Yet, there are others who are not employed who are around while his wife and home alone. He is wanting to keep his marriage and family in tact. It’s not easy when he seems to be the one doing the right things, while others who are not are benefiting.
We spent time in prayer. He went back to work. I’m glad when opportunities like this present themselves. I’m reminded of what is really important.
I am an introvert. That means I get energy from being by myself. I need time alone to recharge my emotional batteries.
Being an introvert does not seem to match up with our cultural expectations of being a minister. A minister is supposed to be out front; greeting and visiting. I was even told at one point that I couldn’t be a minister. I needed to find another career path.
I never set out to be a minister. I wanted to be a college teacher. It seems that God had other plans for me. There have been several instances where God seems to have turned me to ministry. It wasn’t a path I would have chosen, so it seems all the more likely that God was directing the choices.
I’ve had opportunities to teach and I’ve received positive feedback in each of these instances, but when a full-time position has come open someone else is chosen.
I’m very blessed to be where I am. The congregation and its leadership have been very understanding of my introverted nature. They’ve allowed me to rework my schedule and choose the best way for me to serve.
We’ll just have to see where God leads next.
Steady on . . . 