Friday Night, the ice storm came in and shut down Delaware. I was lying down on my couch with my PDA in hand as I was going through each section of power point slides--theology, English Bible, Church History, PCA History, the Sacraments, back to Presbyterian History--ugh, I am tired of these slides...so I stopped in the middle of Presbyterian History and came to the realization that if I passed the ordination exam the following day, I would never have to see those slides again. I was a bit sad in that these power point slides on my PDA have been a part of my life for almost 3 years now! Should I keep studying? Nah, they probably wouldn't ask too many Presbyterian History questions. It was time to relax and go to bed.
Saturday didn't start off so great. 2 inches of solid ice on my wife's car made me think that the Presbytery meeting for my ordination might be cancelled or at least postponed indefinitely. It was freezing cold and I was getting frustrated as my nerves were rattled.
However, we were able to make it out of the treacherous neighborhood and make it to the church with time to spare. Of course, attendance was light. This was to be expected at a specially called meeting and especially with an ice storm. But you know what was really awesome? Many of the presbyters had called me as soon as they heard about the special called meeting to let me know why they couldn't be there and that they were praying for me. That was a real encouragement.
The meeting went as scheduled once we had more than a quorum requirement. The Bible and Theology exams zipped by. The sacrament questions were interesting as I discussed with the brothers what I might do in certain situations. The final oral exam was the history exam and guess what question came up? That's right. Presbyterian European History. My weakest point and the exact area I stopped studying from the night before. After stumbling and mumbling through a few points I finally conceded and said, "This isn't my best area of history." The brothers were gracious enough to move on in the exam and I did a fine job through the rest of history.
All the exams were sustained and I was asked to leave the room for the vote. The rest is history. What an incredible experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I started out on this journey knowing nothing and now I begin a new journey knowing I don't know enough. The study of God, theology, is humbling. It is never finished. It is incomprehensible. We can't qualify everything even though we try. We find out how insignificant our knowledge is in the face of the knowledge of God.
Do I feel good? You betcha! I was driving into work today and another pastor brother's family pulled up beside us at a red light. She rolled down her window and was so happy and congratulating that I had passed the exams. You see, she went through this with her family years ago. A man couldn't possibly serve without his completer. My wife is my completer. I never could have done this without her total support. There was a particular night where I was having a tough time studying and had to devote more time to studying than the family. I told her how sorry I was and she just kissed me and said, "I will be here waiting for you." My wife truly is my completer.
Thank you brothers and sisters for your prayers through all of this. You have been encouraging, sharpening and a huge support as you always have throughout my entire life. I am looking forward to serving the Lord with you in this role as a pastor. To God be all the glory forever and ever, Amen!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
How Does It Feel?
Posted by Pastor Dan at 9:45 AM
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