This week I attended the Next Church conference in Charlotte, NC. We drove down Sunday (for 12 hours) and then began our journey last night, stopped off at my brothers house and continued this morning. Despite the crazy traveling and my now very overtired state, the past two days were exactly what I needed.
As I look to my future, after graduation I want to know what's next. What am I supposed to be doing? Where am I supposed to be doing it? There are a million questions that I have about what's next. What I realized, is that I already know what's next. I know what God is calling me to do. I know where God is leading me and I have finally found a way to make it happen.
I stumbled upon this future plan last week. I was asked to meet with a few professors to discuss the ThM program at McCormick. It's a program designed for graduates to develop a thesis and gain another Masters degree in Theology. I thought I was going for a free lunch and to talk with some of my favorite profs, but of course, theres no such thing as a free lunch. I have a passion for academia, despite how much I complain about it. I don't feel like I'm done learning yet and I don't think I'm ready to leave my academic studies. However, this revelation is in direct contrast to my call to plant a church.
At Next Church I met with many others who are looking outside the box for their ministry, rethinking church and community. It is there that I realized that I have to do things my own way. I will do both. I can write a these and plant a church. I will do both at the same time.
Is this a crazy idea? Undoubtably it may not be the most rational choice, but it is clearly the right one. Next inspired me to try, to release my fears and go out on a limb. God's call for me is not something that I can sit on, it is TOO important to wait for permission to move forward with. I am going to push people, upset them, back them into a corner until they can't tell me no. God's work is risky, challenging, and yes, there is a possibility to fail. After Next, I am not afraid to fail in ministry, I'm afraid of failing to live out God's call for my life.
