Greetings, PTCUMC! I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to get to know you as a church! As we live into this season of transition, and as a way to begin getting to know each other, I thought it might be helpful for you to hear a little about my call to ministry.
As a young boy growing up in northeast Texas, the Methodist church was always part of my life: we went to Christmas Eve services with my grandparents in a small, country church; my father was on all of the committees while my mother was in the handbell and chancel choirs and my brother (who is 10 years older) was involved in UMYF. Being engaged in the church felt more like a birthright than a calling.
As I grew in life and faith through high school and into college, I was confronted with a stark reality during my sophomore year at the University of Texas in Austin. Apparently college was going to end! So for the first time in my life (not the last), I asked the central, obvious question that all who follow Jesus must ask: “what is it that God would have me do with my life?” In the process of asking this vocational question, God began speaking so quietly that it initially sounded more like an echo than an active voice. In conversations with parents and pastors, friends and mentors, I began to see a thread that had been running through my life for as long as I could remember. In the same way that God had been pursuing me since the day I was born with a relentless message of grace and homecoming, He was now calling me to play a role in the timeless pursuit of all those who have yet to experience the transforming love of Christ.
It was a supernatural experience of the Peace of God that confirmed this calling after a long season of discernment. From that day to this, I have tried (sometimes successfully) to put myself in a position to learn the skills and develop the gifts that would position me to fulfill this calling. Although the setting has changed several times over the years, God’s calling in my life has remained constant. I can’t wait to see how God will use our collective gifts to invite the world around us into a life-changing relationship with Christ!
