With a Starbuck's Coffee In Hand
This week I was in Huntsville, AL at a conference. It was pretty boring and I didn't meet anyone as interesting as Rocket Man from last year. I did meet an unsung hero from 9/11 but I'll post about him later.
On Thursday as I was walking to the convention center dressed in my business clothes, carrying my briefcase in one hand and a Starbuck's coffee in the other, I had an epiphany. I've become the typical middle-class American. And it scared me. I'm not sure I want to be the typical middle-class American.
I don't think I want to sell resin, manage projects and help develop "Tomorrow's technologies today". I know. I should have figured that out before I went to college, or accepted my job. I like my job but I feel like I am on hold. Just waiting to do something worth while.
I really want to work with an inner-city mission. I've been reading a book called A Heart for the City edited by John Fuder. It's a really good book about urban ministries and it's been getting me excited about actually moving downtown.
This quote stuck out to me: "Character development is crucial for those going into urban ministry. In all my years of urban ministry I have not seen a person disqualified from service because he could not or did not know how to DO urban ministry. Rather, most disqualified individuals had failed to BE the man or woman God required for urban ministry tasks. These people left ministry because of moral failures or because of their inability to get along with their peers. They disqualified themselves because of their failure to use good judgment in key situations. These urban ministers we trained how to DO urban ministry, but they failed to comprehend what it meant to BE an urban minister."
I think that is so true in any area of ministry. Scary and exciting all at the same time!
On Thursday as I was walking to the convention center dressed in my business clothes, carrying my briefcase in one hand and a Starbuck's coffee in the other, I had an epiphany. I've become the typical middle-class American. And it scared me. I'm not sure I want to be the typical middle-class American.
I don't think I want to sell resin, manage projects and help develop "Tomorrow's technologies today". I know. I should have figured that out before I went to college, or accepted my job. I like my job but I feel like I am on hold. Just waiting to do something worth while.
I really want to work with an inner-city mission. I've been reading a book called A Heart for the City edited by John Fuder. It's a really good book about urban ministries and it's been getting me excited about actually moving downtown.
This quote stuck out to me: "Character development is crucial for those going into urban ministry. In all my years of urban ministry I have not seen a person disqualified from service because he could not or did not know how to DO urban ministry. Rather, most disqualified individuals had failed to BE the man or woman God required for urban ministry tasks. These people left ministry because of moral failures or because of their inability to get along with their peers. They disqualified themselves because of their failure to use good judgment in key situations. These urban ministers we trained how to DO urban ministry, but they failed to comprehend what it meant to BE an urban minister."
I think that is so true in any area of ministry. Scary and exciting all at the same time!
posted by Andi at
3:57 PM
