What Kind Of Man Would I Be?

What kind of man would I be if I didn't take a small minute, right now, to let my dear readers know that my entries may get a little less frequent on the morrow. Why, you ask? School starts next week and at the urging of my beautiful friend Gina's beautiful wife Sarah, I am going to participate fully in the New Student Orientation. They take Fall orientation quite seriously at my seminary; this week I will have five 12-to-14 hour days in a row. Praise Jesus, bring it on!

Am I looking forward to getting up at 630AM each day this week? Not really. Do I have a choice? Yes; I have permission to pick-and-choose based on what strikes my fancy. But... would I do that with the Bible? Would I do that with God? Would I do that with my salvation in Jesus Christ?

The answers are self-evident.

Today at church my brothers-in-Christ Lee and Jesse announced the formal date for the kickoff of the new ministry we are starting at COR-SF... Recovery In Faith. As Gary Busey once pointed out on Celebrity Rehab: Son Of a Bitch, Everything's Real. The Bishop was there today and she definitely invoked the Holy Spirit; the Spirit chose to anoint Charlene, of all people. What an amazing musician she is... the Spirit was in her, she was literally howling with God's Love... and she never missed one note on the organ. God is still speaking, Jesus is still healing, and the Holy Spirit is still moving across the waters. All things considered, life isn't so bad. The Bishop even lifted up our sobriety ministry in her homily. Son Of a Bitch, Everything's Real.

In late January 2011, I sat in a room in Mudd Hall and met some beautiful people. I want to take a minute to recognize my friends Gina Pond, who is currently sleeping in the next room (she is staying with me this week), and Robbie Gilchrist. Robbie is a wonderful young man who reminds me that yes indeed we have brave allies among the cisgender straight white men in this world... THANK YOU JESUS FOR THE GIFT OF PEOPLE LIKE ROBBIE... I am profoundly blessed to be in the company of such excellent and admirable hobbits.

Just before wishing her a good night's rest, I pointed out to Gina that almost exactly seven months ago, we reached a point where we began to think that PSR wasn't going to know what hit it when we start our core MDiv classes. That was before I'd become such close friends with Lee, or been abused by Lindsey's hypocrisy, or found my stride at City Of Refuge, or met Michael Cronin (with whom Gina, Robbie, and I will begin MDiv core-classes this semester). In short, I can now see that there was an air of prophecy in Gina's statement about what we are about to bring into the PSR community in the Fall of 2011. Let the games begin. For those of you who know Fraggle Rock: the Trash Heap, has spoken. Nyeeeeeh!

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. Such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil. (Romans 16:16-19)