My Quitter Experience

I don’t know if you have read Jon Acuff’s book, Quitter, or not.  If you haven’t, stop what you’re doing, buy it and read it.  Jon has not paid me to say that.

I don’t know if you have had a Quitter experience.  I have.  Just not the way Jon advises.

Several years ago I felt called to ministry.  I gained support from my pastor at the time.  The seminary that I wanted to attend had an extension center in the town I lived in.  It was the perfect setup.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t my dream.

My dream was to move to the main seminary campus.  I wanted to do this so badly that I became miserable in my job.  My performance suffered.  I invented scriptural reasons and ways that God was telling me to move.

So, what did we do?

We moved.

It was a miserable experience.  Not to say that we didn’t have some good times there.  Unfortunately, I worked three jobs and went to school.  I hardly slept.  Our financial situation worsened.

Looking back, I should have done it differently.  I would have worked harder to be financially in a good position before we left.  I would have taken more classes at the extension center.

I can still achieve this dream.  It’s just on hold.  My dreams have shifted and morphed a bit.  My kids are at an age where I can’t pursue that one right now.

It will still happen though.  No doubt about it.  I will still complete my seminary degree.

It will just happen differently than I originally expected.

Do you have a Quitter experience?

What’s Your Story?

I would like to kick off February in two ways.  I’m going to tell you a little about me.  Then I want to know a little about you.

I’m 43 years old.  I’m working on my twentieth year of marriage to my lovely wife, Jan.  I have two outstanding kids, Lauren and Andrew, who will both be in high school next year.  I came to know Christ when I was 25, even though I had been in church all of my life.

I surrendered to a call to ministry in 1999.  I thought that meant I had to go to seminary and be a pastor.  So, that’s what I did.  I went to seminary for a year and then returned home.  However, I never became the pastor I thought I would be.

Now, I preach in a campground from late spring through fall.  I teach in church any time I can.  We are also in the beginning stages in a new church.  You can follow those adventures every Monday.

I love to write my blog and interact with all of you good folks who choose to visit Deuceology.  I’ve made more mistakes than I care to admit while blogging.  I love this community that I have become a part of in the blogosphere.

That’s my story.

Your turn.

What’s your story?

140 Words (more or less) About My Dream

It’s Twitterific Thursday again.  I’m writing 140 words, more or less, about my dream.

In 1999, I announced a call to my church at the time to the gospel ministry.  At that time, based on what I was thinking and feeling, I did not know of any alternative.  I began preaching and ended up spending a year in seminary.

What I have discovered since then is that I do not want to be a preacher/pastor.  At least, not in that form.   In fact, I cannot fathom actually being in that kind of position.  Thankfully, the Lord never allowed me to get any of those type positions that I interviewed for.

However, I would love to be a speaker.  About faith.  Live.  In person.

What I would really love to do is to take these blogs I write and adapt them for speaking.  That way I could combine two of my favorite things: blogging/writing and public speaking.

Would you pray with me on this becoming a reality?

What’s your dream?