hey, so do i!

the church that gentry and i go to is very mission oriented. and i don't mean they send people on 20 different mission trips each year (3 of those to the carribean for the youth) or watch slideshows from missionaries. no, everything they do is mission-focused. this is even the main idea of the vision statement: Uplift, Prepare, Send. a couple sundays a month there is a 'ministry spotlight' during the service, where a video is shown or someone from a ministry gets up to share what they're doing and how it is used to reach the community or the world. heck, the youth pastor was even a missionary in kenya for 3 years. yes, they do a whole bunch of mission trips every year, but only to specific places where they have built relationships (no, none in the carribean).

i say all this, not to brag on my church, but because i'm going somewhere with this and the weekly focus on missions (near and far) has a part to play. when you hear someone talk about missions every week, it makes you start to think about where God might take you. and since my ministry will most likely be within the local church, i have to be willing to go to any church God might send me. but am i? i can say that i would go live in kenya if God wanted me too, but it's another thing to actually do it. heck, going to california is too far for me. i want to be close to my friends and family. east of the mississippi and south of the mason-dixon.

so what does this mean? does it mean that i'm not ready to go into the ministry? maybe. but i'm in seminary for a reason. so i have the next 3 years to prepare my heart. but what if God tells me tomorrow to move to ukraine? well, if God literally tells me, i think that'll be life-changing enough to make me go. but i know that i have prayer, the word of God, and wiser, older, Godly people who can help me. i also have a wife who has better discernment than i do, and will help me in knowing my call. i'm pretty sure, though, that i'm supposed to graduate from seminary.

i don't know where i'll be in (roughly) 3 years, and that's scary and exciting at the same time. but i know i must hold on loosely to everything i have and know. i must be ready at all times to abandon my life here for God's glory somewhere else. suitcase packed, passport in hand....