The Narrow Gate: Day 298 - One Small Step

The Narrow Gate

Welcome to the continuation of my blog, post-seminary. Ministry and evangelism have brought me back home to Chattanooga. I welcome your company on my journey.

The original blog, Down In Mississippi, shared stories from 2008 and 2009 of the hope and determination of people in the face of disaster wrought by the hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, of work done primarily by volunteers from churches across America and with financial support of many aid agencies and private donations and the Church. My Mississippi posts really ended with the post of August 16, 2009. Much work, especially for the neediest, remained undone after the denominational church pulled out. Such is the nature of institutions. The world still needs your hands for a hand up. I commend to you my seven stories, Down in Mississippi I -VII, at the bottom of this page and the blog posts. They describe an experience of grace.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Day 298 - One Small Step

Today I took one small step towards big change in my future. Actually it was a big step assisted by all my friends.

I am in Chattanooga. I traveled up from Gulfport yesterday so I could meet today with my session liaison, Jennifer Genovesi, and travel together to Harriman, Tennessee to met with the Committee on Care of Church Professionals (CPM). The purpose of the interview is an “examination” to evaluate my request for admission to the status of Inquirer, the second formal step in the Presbyterian Church towards entry to the ministry of “word and sacrament.”

My trip had been already a comedy of miscues. I left Gulfport about 1:30PM (Central Daylight Time), about an hour and a half late because I lingered in my office working on financial receipts and talking with staff who were going to a client’s house to work in my absence. It is a seven hour drive and I wanted to get in an early hour, about 8PM Eastern Daylight Time in order to go over all my paperwork in advance of the meeting on Thursday.

I set my ipod up in the truck and was listening to a shuffle through my library on my ride. After about 45 minutes driving I heard a musical riff that I was certain was my cell phone. I reached over to the seat where I normally place it and…it wasn’t there. It must have slipped behind my seat. I pull over at the first convenient place and search the truck…nothing.

I think for a while, do I go back and find it in my RV or just drive on? I’m about 50 miles out of Gulfport and decide since I’m going to be in Chattanooga for the rest of the weekend and hardly a day goes by that I do not get several calls from a home owner or staff person about something – I need that phone. So I turn around and head back down US49 for Gulfport, not believing I’ve done this, it will cause me at least an hour and a half delay.

On the way back I run through my steps before I left my RV. That phone must be in the truck. I pull over at the first convenient spot and search again , everywhere– no phone. I face the music and drive all the way back to Gulfport. The phone is in my TV cabinet with my old personal cell phone. I must have checked that phone and put my other one down to do it. Rats!

So I start again. Four and one-half hours later and two hours behind my desired schedule I get to Birmingham (the blessing now, at least I missed the rush hour traffic and was able to go straight through on I-59 rather than the longer loop around town). I’ve got a headache and am hungry so I stop at a Subway that I visit some times on my way down. Rather than taking my sub with me and trying to eat and drive, I decide to be cool and eat in the shop.

When I leave I drive down to the entrance ramps and turn left as usual on my trip down. Unfortunately as I approach the Birmingham Airport twenty miles later I realize I’m heading south, not north. Rats!

So I pull up to my home about 11:30PM, disgusted and somewhat embarrassed.

None the less, the interview went quite well, we had a very good series of questions and answers that covered the waterfront from baptism to writing to choice of seminary (I’ll share some with you later) and the Committee welcomed me into the Inquirer status.

Then we head back for Chattanooga, deciding to try the I-40/I-75 route rather than the US27 route through Dayton (remember the Scopes Monkey Trial?) to see which is shorter. Unbeknownst to me because I’m pretty high on having gotten to this point and Jen and are talking up a storm over it, when we get to the I-40 ramp we take I-40W towards Nashville rather than I-40E towards Knoxville. Fifty miles later we realize our mistake. Sheepishly and sufficiently chastened, we turn around and head for home arriving about an hour-plus later than planned.

Still it has been a great day, the questions in my interview were particularly constructive, and still a little daunted, I move on towards the future, whatever it beholds.

I send along a word of thanks to all my unnamed friends who have made my life so rich and encouraged me knowingly or not. Keep me in your prayers.

Peace

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Gates

The gate pervades the Good News. Peter entered the temple gate after the Jesus’ arrest to deny him. Poor Lazarus lay at the rich man's gate, longing for the crumb's from the table, while dogs licked his sores. The blind, lame and paralyzed lay at the Sheep Gate at the Jerusalem temple waiting at the pool with five porticoes for healing water. Jesus warned of the easy road and wide gate to material ease and spiritual destruction and calls us to the hard road and narrow gate to the waters of life.

necessary disclaimer

This blog is created solely to communicate to my brothers and sisters how one person sees adversity bringing out the greater character of humanity. It's early part relating connection to the volunteer relief effort in Mississippi after Katrina and later work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Program and the Presbyterian Church(USA) is solely through my participation in them; this blog does not carry any sponsorship from these fine organizations or purport to speak for them. All original content is that of the writer who holds the copyright to all original writings and art or other works (See Creative Commons License above). Every effort is made to identify content from other sources which have been obtained from open internet sources. It's more recent content contains sermons and lessons used in preaching and teaching. The url to scripture are obtained via http://bible.oremus.org unless otherwise indicated.

Texts quoted from oremus bible viewer are from "New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved." and "New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved."