Mighty Morphin' Preacher Teacher

"Not that I have already attained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

I have become aware of the power of business in the last couple of months. I've now been at my internship placement for six weeks or so. And what a time it's been! The reason that being busy is on my mind is simply because I have been. It's in the lulls and stillness that we can discover how truly busy we have been. And I am coming to appreciate the ebb and flow of my time here.

Without wanting to paint a negative or overly positive picture of internship, the reality of everything is sinking in. While I love the learning and the work I am doing, I am concretely aware that there have been a number of hardships.

I have received much advice from former interns about: coping with the reality of living away from all the people I love, feelings of loss and loneliness, self-care, and a number of things for which I am grateful to hear that I am not alone in feeling. I am filled with gratitude to see how connected pastors in this church body remain, how supportive everyone is, and how caring questions and reminders are. There is SO much to be said for living in community.

I posed a question as to why I continue to do things that would set me up for disappointment, and the reply was one that I have been pondering in light of a somewhat self-motivated learning experience like internship. I have difficulty believing that something really can come easy to me; that there are things that I can do without much difficulty. So, like any crazed person, I set out to test my limits. One of the places where I have already started doing that is in my preaching.

I have almost always wanted to be a teacher of some kind. I never thought I would be a teacher in a school, but I wanted to do something that would promote teaching outside of a classroom's four walls. In a way, I suppose I am teaching myself.

Knowing the limit of the exercise, I have currently set out to try something new with each sermon I have preached. This is a stylistic growth so I can help identify my preaching style. I appreciate the opportunity to experiment and spend some time learning and trying things out. And this is what internship is about, in my mind. Testing my limits in an encouraging and supportive environment so that I may learn what my talents are.

I suppose that's why I appreciate that even when someone in the congregation tells me that I'm full of shit when I say that I am not confident about my abilities to do something, I can laugh and continue a conversation that helps me to form who I am becoming. I am striving to make something my own even when I know that it truly is something bigger than just me.

And we're off... like a herd of turtles.

"But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good." Psalm 52:8-9

September is here, and the Fall season of programming has commenced. I always find it interesting that we consider the Tuesday after Labour Day to be the unofficial beginning of Fall. Maybe it's because we don't like the idea of kids going back to school in the summer? I'm not entirely sure.

Normally, I would be gearing up for a semester's worth of courses at this point, but I'm not. It's Internship year! I can't believe we're here already.

I'm in Winnipeg, MB for the year with a lovely and large congregation. I've been at work for almost two weeks, and I am slowly getting accustomed to a new schedule. Over the next twelve months I expect to learn a lot, and grow a lot too. It will be interesting to document this journey for all the readers out there who care to know what's going on.

I am amazed at the amount of work this congregation is doing and look forward to getting to know as many of them as I can. I really like the staff I work with, and can easily see loving them all quickly. My supervisor and I get along and we talk about a lot of things. His door is open, and I'm often across the hub asking one question ro another. I'm now working on sermons and getting to know folks, but I'm finding that there are many things that I get to experience in a regular week here. It's easy to see that the time will pass quickly and probably in more of a blur than I expect.

Peace to all who are also venturing out into something new. May God bless your journey and give you the strength to accept the new with wide arms of joy.