The Ordination

I thought it was about time that I write about my ordination experience. It was a great time with family and the church that has been supporting my family while in seminary. Evidence was shown of God's grace and his sovereignty over all things and I am still, a week and a half out, blown away by it all. God's providence never ceases to amaze me.
Sunday morning began with me preaching, the pastor wanted me to preach for 2 reasons: 1. he had never heard me preach and didn't know me that well, since he came after I had left for seminary and 2. he wanted some of the newer members of the congregation to see my heart for the Gospel. For my text I chose Ezekiel 36:22-32, and I had been struggling with this passage because there is so much in it. The church likes 15-20 minute sermons, and that tends to be the length of time I preach for, but not this time. No one knows for sure, and I do not look at the clock, but I think it was about 30 minutes. I was confident, relaxed and believe I preached the Gospel clearly, I hope the Lord was magnified by what I said. The service ended at about noon and so I got to spend about an hour and a half around family for lunch and then had to be back at the church by 2pm for the council.
The Ordination council is basically a time for asking the guy being ordained any question they want. The questions were theological, relational, personal and practical in nature. I was fortunate to have only ten people on the council, and most of them people I had known for awhile. I count it a special privilege to have had my grandpa on the council, who was ordained as a deacon in 1954 and has raised his family to follow Christ. My friend Matt, who gave the ordination message, was also there and said that I was very gracious in my answers. It was one of the first times I had been questioned like that, and I again felt confident and strengthened by the grace of God. Fortunately, the vote was unanimous to ordain me, which I believe to be another sign of God's calling into ministry.
At 3 pm, the ordination service began and I feel the Lord was glorified by the things said during the service. BreAnna and I were very encouraged by the prayers and love displayed to us. Matt's sermon went beautifully hand in hand with mine earlier that morning, a thing which we did not coordinate. His sermon was on Colossians 1:15-20, and according to him he shortened his sermon a little, but it wouldn't have mattered, the sermon was excellent, he preached the gospel clearly and he is a good preacher. We were blessed by his sermon.
Afterward, there was a reception for us. After all we're baptist, food has to be in there somewhere. I didn't get to talk with many people and could barely hear the ones I did talk with, but it was encouraging to see so many gathered together.
Praise God for his blessings and the power of his word. May his word continue to go forth and never come back void. Thank you for all your prayers.

Busy then Busier

Well, we knew that it would be a busy week this week. This is the week before my ordination. I have a sermon to write, school work to do for the week, a paper for which this and next are the week to get my resources, gotta get both cars cleaned out and oil changes done, have an interview on Skype this afternoon, had to get a suit to the dry cleaners and then...... It happened...... I was making sure that everything was out of my suit pockets, when I noticed it...... a hole in the knee. I know I did not fall in my suit, its just been hanging in my closet for about a month or so. I took my pants off the hanger and started looking closer at them and found holes all over the suit, not just the pants but in the jacket as well. I tried to recall wearing it and being near a fire, but I've never worn it near a fire. As Charlie Brown would say: "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Yesterday began the inevitable run around town looking for a suit. Let me just say one thing about clothes shopping: I have my wife dress me. She knows what I look good in, I trust her opinion on these things implicitly and at some point in the break down of it all I just don't care. I know the thoughts, I think them too: What!? you don't care what you look like? No, not really. I know people judge you on the way you look, I do it to, and I know its wrong, but it really doesn't matter to me what people think of me by the way I dress. It is not those opinions that we look for in valuable friendships and building community anyway. The opinions that we want were the ones they will think while we are interacting with them and after they're gone. Thoughts such as "That's a really nice guy." "That guy really loves the Lord." "I had him pegged all wrong." Now don't get me wrong. I like to look good, especially for my wife (which is why I have her dress me). As long as she thinks I look good (and that is something that I can see in her eyes) I know I look good.

I digress, we bought a suit last night after much searching, which looks good, but we are going out to a couple more stores today to check things out and see if we can't find a better deal.

It should be interesting as we close this week out and things begin to come together. I know I am having fun this week and trusting in God... BIG TIME...