The Movers Cometh!

If yesterday was a mountain top experience then today I am definitely back down in the valley. The moving truck will be here in 33 more hours, Ohhh noooooo! I think that we are getting pretty close to being ready, but there are so many small details left that I am just not sure if I am going to remember to get them all done. I am a little bit like Santa Clause, I am making my list and checking it twice, but I am sure hoping that I don’t forget something important.

Tomorrow we are making a trip to Corydon to take the meat in our freezer and put it in the freezer down there. We are also taking the fish in the aquarium to Terri’s house until we can get our aquarium back up and going at the new house. Too many details and logistics to work out LOL

Tomorrow they are going to disconnect the cable TV and my Internet:( What am I going to do without being able to communicate with the world? Something tells me that I am going to find a few things to keep me busy until I can get settled into the new parsonage and figure out what I need to do to get back online. You don’t suppose that I would have to go back to dial-up do you? LOL

Keep us in your prayers the movers are going to be here soon!

Blessings

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place...

I don’t even know where to begin. These past few days at Annual Conference have been completely remarkable. The Worship services have been awesome, the lessons were both practical and inspirational. I have never heard the Bishop more on his game, (truly inspired) and the mission work on Saturday afternoon was a complete blessing. Then of course there is the little matter of the Service of Ordination and Commissioning this morning. All I can say about that is WOW! I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of the Bishop laying his hands on me. I could truly feel God’s presence.

The most memorable moment, however, was when the Bishop asked those people to come forward who had felt that they were being called into ministry. I watched as young people, old people and every age in between came forward to be prayed over as they sought to discern God’s call on their life. I had tears steaming down my cheeks as I watched the faces of these brave souls coming forth, not at all knowing why they were coming or what God had in store for them, only knowing that God had in some way forced them up out of their comfortable seat in the auditorium and compelled them to come forward and answer a call that they couldn’t possibly begin to understand.

This was so moving for me because I was one of those people just a few short years ago. I had just made the decision to enter the ministry. The only people on earth who knew of my decision were my Pastor and Karen, and it was my Pastor who had encouraged me to attend the Service of Ordination at Annual Conference.

Friday night during the Ordination Service, Bishop White began what I thought was going to be an alter call. I thought, how odd it was that he would do an alter call when most of these people were already leaders in the church. He then said that “right here this evening there are people among you who God is calling into ministry. I want you to come down now from your seats, come forward and we will pray with you about your decision.” I was frozen in my seat. I didn’t know what to do. He was talking to me. I knew he was talking directly to me.

I wanted to stand but I was afraid. “I’m not ready to tell anyone yet! I know that there are people here tonight who know me. What will they think? It’s not time yet!” All of these and a thousand more thoughts rushed through my mind in an instant. Tears welled up in my eyes, what should I do? What could I do? Suddenly, the debate was over as quickly as it started, I knew what I had to do. I leaned over to my Pastor and asked “Will you go with me?” He nodded and together we made the long walk to the front of the auditorium. I really don’t remember much of what happened after that. I do remember that it was then that I made a covenant with God, to go where God leads me, and to serve God for the rest of my life.

That night played a pivotal role in my decision to enter ministry and this morning all of those thoughts feelings and emotions came flooding back to me in an instant.

I will never forget that night nor will I ever forget the feelings of this morning as the Bishop put his hands on me. “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place!”

Blessings

Tomorrow is the big day...

Tomorrow is finally the big day that I have been waiting for. The Commissioning/Ordination service will be tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM. We have been told that we are to be in our places at 9:30 AM robed and ready. That actually sounds good, I should actually be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow:) That is very unusual for a Sunday.

Actually, it is after 10:30 PM and we just got back to our room after a very long but yet extremely rewarding day of conference that began before 7:00 this morning. We had a wonderful experience this afternoon when we went with our new District on a local mission here in the Muncie area. Our group went to a nursing home, while other groups painted, picked up trash, worked in food banks and a dozen other community projects. It was an awesome experience and it was an example of what we should be about as Christians.

Tonight was a worship celebration centered around our mission work for the day. It was one of the most memorable worship experiences I have ever had at Annual Conference. Even the Bishop seemed to be more emotional than usual.

I continue to cherish these very special days, endeavoring to savor every moment. Tomorrow will be very special!

Blessings

Mom Would Have Been Proud...

I must admit that the last few days have been rather momentous. They have been filled with exciting moments and significant milestones. Thursday night at Annual Conference I introduced myself at the Clergy Session to about 1000 clergy members from all over Indiana and a few minutes later the session voted that I should become a Provisional Member of Annual Conference. This has been such a long journey and it feels so rewarding now as I watch it unfold before me. In many ways it feels very surreal.

Then, this morning, I had the opportunity to usher for the first time at an Annual Conference. It really wasn’t much of a big deal, except for when I got to see my good friend Robin again, who was also ushering. But, just having the opportunity to participate in something as important as Annual Conference was a real honor to me.

This afternoon I was introduced to the entire Annual Conference. The auditorium was packed with close to 3000 people and it was exciting to hear my name announced and see my shining head up on the big screen :)

Tonight, however, was the highlight of the Conference so far, I was allowed to help distribute the Communion elements during the Memorial Service. As I mentioned before, I have never done anything at Annual Conference before, other than attend, but walking across the stage, taking Communion, and then helping to distribute the elements to so many people was definitely one of the highlights of my life.

I do want to share with you something that has been greatly on my mind here recently, but especially since I have been here at Annual Conference. I have been thinking that my Mom would have been so very proud of me these past few months, passing the Board of Ordained Ministry, completing Seminary and now preparing to be Commissioned as a Provisional Member of the Indiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. I know that she was always proud of me, but I somehow think that these past few years as I have changed directions in my life, that she may have found great satisfaction in my decision. Since I have been here at Annual Conference, it is a little bit difficult to describe what I have been feeling, but I just have the sense that Mom is looking down with tears of joy in her eyes:)

Tomorrow and Sunday are going to be big days!

Blessings

I'm Definitely Not in Indiana Anymore... Oh Wait, Yes I Am! OH NO!!!!

Well, we have officially arrived at Annual Conference. The trip was uneventful except for the extremely heavy traffic. Once here, we found ourselves in what is either a brand new building or at the very least a newly remodeled one. The main dilemma that we have found is in the bathroom situation. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t really mean to complain, but let me share with you what I believe the situation to be. It appears that there is one bathroom for every 4-5 rooms which would mean that there is one bathroom for approximately every 8-10 people.

The bathroom itself consists of the main room (common area) with 2 sinks and then two individual rooms off the main room with a toilet and a shower. Ok, here is my dilemma. That means that this is a coed bathroom. Not a unisex, but coed. Here is the situation which scares me to death. Tomorrow morning I take my key, go down to the bathroom, open the door and standing inside at the sink is a half dressed woman.

So what do I do? Go on inside, go to the private room and go ahead and take my shower? Or follow my first impression and RUN!!!!!!!

Oh my! I may not sleep tonight! Maybe I should get up at 3 AM and take my shower to assure that there is no one in there, maybe I should just not take a shower or go to the bathroom at all for 4 days. Naaaaa that won’t work.

And just in case you were wondering, I explained the possible scenarios to Karen and she was about ready to head to a local Holiday Inn until I explained to her 1. There are absolutely no rooms in Muncie available and hasn’t been for months and 2. We don’t have any money for a room. Neither of these things seemed to deter Karen from telling me that the situation is my fault:)

Oh my goodness, this is going to be a long night as I ponder this dilemma. Karen decided that we would go down at the same time so that she could be in one shower and I could be in the other shower. I said that would be fine, but I didn’t explain that it wouldn’t help the situation of walking out of the shower and finding a half dressed man (in Karen’s case) or a half dressed woman (in my case) standing at the sink.

How on earth do the College kids handle this? I’m almost 50 years old and it has me totally bewildered. The kids probably don’t even care LOL

I’ll let you know how this all works out:)

Blessings

PS: I did a search for coed bathrooms and found the picture that I posted above. Karen thought that it was a bit risque, but then I explained to her that I agree and that she made my point exactly. What on earth am I going to do for the next 4 days????

Count Down to Annual Conference!

We are really getting close to being finished packing. There is only one room left that isn’t all done and I bet that you can guess which room that is… Yes you guessed it, My office! It’s not that there is a lot left to do, but some of these things I am going to need up to the very last minute, well at least that’s what I keep telling myself:)

Tomorrow we have to deliver Odie up to Ben’s house by 8:30 AM and then I think that we will force ourselves to stop by Cracker Barrel on the way back home. (We think that it is important that we continue to help stimulate the local economy) And then it is back home to make the final preparations for Annual Conference. I am actually a little nervous about Conference this year. Prior to this year, I have never had any responsibilities at Annual Conference before. In the past, I showed up, and well, uhhh that was about it. This time I have to be voted on at the Clergy session, serve as an Usher at a couple of different sessions, show up at a training session and a rehearsal, get my picture taken, help serve Communion, and get a blood test. (An insurance thing) So I am going to be one busy guy it appears.

Karen is already making her preparations by making sure that the batteries are good in her MP3 player, checking to be sure that there are plenty of puzzles in her Word Search and looking forward to buying a new book at the Cokesbury Book Store. It sounds like she has a little different agenda than I do as I ponder all of those Constitutional Amendments that we will be voting on.

This time tomorrow night we will be safely tucked into our room up at Ball State University. I am looking forward to it:)

Blessings

Oh, By The Way...

Oh, did I mention that I am going to be Commissioned as a Provisional Member of Annual Conference on Sunday morning? With all of the excitement of graduation, meeting my new congregation, saying goodbye to my old congregations, moving, and starting the Residency in Ministry program, I almost forgot to mention that this Sunday is going to be one of the most important days of my life. I will process into the auditorium at Ball State University with the Bishop and all of those who are about to be Ordained and Commissioned and in front of what I expect to be a very large group of people. Maybe around 1000 or possibly more, the Bishop will commission me and consecrate the call that God has placed on my life.

This is a really big thing. Certainly not the final step, but I must admit that four years ago, I would have said that this moment was only a pipe dream, something that I couldn’t really have imagined happening. If you remember, I started this blog last year in August as a way to share with you what I was going through in this process of becoming an Elder in the United Methodist Church, and here I am, preparing for a step that down inside I wasn’t at all sure would ever happen.

The only thing I can tell you at this point is that I didn’t do it alone. God was with me every moment through this process and I know that God will continue to be with me.

We leave for Annual Conference on Wednesday at 1:00 PM so I am not sure that I will have many more opportunities to write until next Sunday when I return from Annual Conference. Then again, this is a college campus for heavens sake; wouldn’t you assume that they have internet access there? I sure hope so.

Keep me in your prayers on Sunday; it will be one of the most important days of my life!

Blessings