July 27 - Anniversary and Preparing for West Virginia

We are getting ready for a special trip to West Virginia to visit Becca's grandmother Francis Wilson. "Namur" or "Foxy G" will celebrate her 89th birthday on Sunday. She won't be at home when we arrive because she still volunteers as a pink lady at the hospital in Logan, West Virginia.

We will also visit Doug & Elizabeth "Bibus" Whitten, the two love birds. Bibus is Namur's daughter and sister of Francey Newland, the eternally blessed mother of my excellent and lovely bride. Doug is Bibus' sweety and husband. We will also be blessed to see Bibus' daughter Sarah, her husband Rusty and their two daughters Emily and Abbey. They have a new dog, so this shall be an adventure.

This is my first conscious visit to West Virginia. On a trip to Pennsylvania in 1989 I might have driven through it on I-81, but this is the first time that I have gone there in order to deliberately go there. Know what I mean?

On an even higher note, Becca and I had a great anniversary on July 24. If you are reading this and either attended or were involved in our wedding, God bless you. We think of you often. Some of our biggest laughs as a couple are when we tell what we remember of our wedding. You are always a part of those memories.

We had a great anniversary night at home remembering. There was a steak dinner as well as chocolate covered strawberries involved. :)

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 24-26 - DM803 - Dissertation Writing

Yup, it's DM803 time. That's dissertation writing. We are blessed with the guidance of The Rev. Dr. Leslie Andrews. She is guiding us through the dissertation process along with the excellent staff in the Doctor of Ministry office.

How's this title sound to you? How Firm a Foundation: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Diverse Core Group Development Methodologies used in New Churches Planted During 1992-2002 within the Southeast Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church

Pretty schnazzy, huh? More on that later.

One last thing: many of the photos that I have been using have been courtesy of my new friend Aaron Wymer. He sounds like a yankee, but he's not. He's a Florida Gator, so that generates a whole catalouge of dampers on our relationship. Nevertheless, he's a good Christian guy and pastor from the Christian Church. Here is a link to his excellent blog, which contains a great deal of a personal element that is missing from this one. Enjoy!

Grace and peace,

Trav Wilson

July 21 - The First Friday Forum

From 9:30 this morning until noon, Dr. Randy Jessen, Dean of the Beeson Program, led us in a time called Friday Forum. I was mainly a time for us to interact with he and the associate dean Jack Connell and bring all of our recent coursework together.

Mainly, Randy introduced us to a leadership vision that he developed before coming to Colorado Springs First UMC: EPIC Leadership.

I know. It's very engineery. I love it, I love it, I love it! I love acronyms! Here's what the acronym stands for: "a Christian Disciple is ... EPIC:
E: Excited about Service (proactively engaged, strong cross-cultural service emphasis)
P: Passionate about Faith (growing in that faith)
I: Inspired by Hope (plant that hope in others, contagious, a.k.a. evangelism)
C: Committed to Love. (abundant, tough, and effective love)

Like all effective leadership visions it purposed to lead a congregation out of an inward anxious focus and called them to follow Jesus' mission (charity & evangelism) in the wider world.

Unlike Randy's previous appointment, this was going to be a challenge. The church faced a financial crisis (it had gone from 4000 in worship in 1965 to 700 in 2002), it faced a leadership crisis (people just wanted to maintain the institution and tradition of the church and not take risks; also the people were all gone), and it faced a theological crisis (the congregation was more given to theology that was outside of historical Methodist thought).

Randy said something that I will never forget, "People will never become what you expect them to be until you believe that they are that already." He started with the staff and at first issued an invitation to serve cross-culturally during the week. Randy himself carved out time to work on Thursdays for two hours at a job center that they church offered. Many of the staff refused.

So, Randy made it a requirement that they serve. (I know ... imagine ... Christians having to be required to serve in a charity mission.) The staff parish relations committee was consulted on the developement of this new requirement. And when 11 of the 17 staff members refused ... they were fired. Randy took a long time interviewing new staff members and those staff positions were filled. However, after that, the church staff began to model EPIC leadership for the congregation. Eventually, the congregation followed.

It was a great risk. In many churches that would not have worked. However, people live to your expectations. At some point, one has to decide if one is about positive transformation or not. The human tendency is to revert to the mediocre. In short, if we are not pushed we get flabby. The simplest example is human muscle. What happens to a muscle that is not used? It gets soft and flabby. It is in pushing and being pushed that we are made stronger. "Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another." -- Proverbs 27:17

Will we push? Will allow ourselves to be pushed? Will we be big enough to realize that it is love? Almight God, make us big enough to be challenged, lest forever we be small. Amen.

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 19-20 - Preaching with Dr. Ellsworth Kalas

Our preaching class continues with Dr. Ellsworth Kalas. On these two days he continued to focus on the fundementals for preaching. His first two topics were finding and idea for or being found by an idea for a sermon and giving a title to the sermon. His third topic was developing the introduction.

Dr. Kalas began by teaching us that the purpose of the introduction is to earn the interest of the hearers. This is a different world than our mothers and grandmothers. Few will listen to a preacher, just because she is the preacher. However, some do come to church hungry, but many people are not interested. These people are in church because the community or a loved one expects them to be. Whether these folks are actually listening or not is another matter. A preacher has 60-75 seconds to get these people interested.

How may we capture the attention of the person who is made to come to worship? We start from where they are. What is distracting them? What makes it hard for them to listen?

Sometimes people are engaged by the fact that we dare to be intimate. Sometimes a personal element can be a good introduction. However, it should not be aggrandizement. Something as simple as “I like butter on my toast. " Howver, it better be part of your scripture, idea, and title.

Sometimes preachers start with a joke. You effort to connect the sermon with the joke can sometimes be heroic, but not effective. Sometimes people will usually remember the joke, not the sermon. That’s failure. People should remember the sermon. Dr. Kalas said, "I can’t remember many of the introductions to the sermons I’ve herd over the years. That’s good. It’s purpose is not to be remembered but to lead you into what should be remembered."

In today's culture, the first couple of sentences can be lost in the rustle. Start with sentences that matter but not necessarily memorable forever. The first sentence should be a fairly short one. Notice the openings of movies today: during the opening of the movie you see the beginning and opening credits. That's indicative of culture – people are used to doing two things at once. Preachers don’t do that usually. Frequently we can't do that. You aim with an introduction to bring people into your subject. If it doesn’t lead them into the subject, it’s just a delay. So, bring them into the introduction.

Here is the paraphrase of one of the most memorable moments of the class: "I’m all for getting people where they are, but I’m all for getting them beyond where they are. Don’t leave them at the lowest common denominator. I just think it’s wicked. The Christian Gospel is terribly concerned about quality as well as quantity. Love God will all you heart, strength and mind. But make your mind and their minds as good as possible. Techniques come and go, but thinking is for good."

Fads come and go, but thinking is for good. Of all the things that I wish that I could change about many of the decisions I have made I would be to think more. I know that I am still pretty young, but I wish that I had been more patient and less impetous and thought things through more when I was younger.

How's your patience? So how's your thinking? Fads come and go, but thinking is for good.

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 14-16 -- Our Second Visitors! Mom & Dad!

For the weekend of July 14-16, Becca and I were happy to welcome my mom and dad, C. T. and Linda Wilson. They brought the rest of my plants: the flowers (for Becca), the tomatoes (gotta have those), and the all important thyme plants and the second bay leaf plant. Whew! It was quite a haul and they struggled through rain and storm to get here. However, the rain subsided on their arrival.

Dad helped me fix the computers. There had been some kinks with the wireless internet hook up in the apartment. I also want to reformat the hard-drive on my old computer and reinstall everything. It was a complete two-hours computer nerd-fest, but Dad and I had fun. I think that Becca and mom went shopping and other random girl-stuff.

We tried going to the Shaker Village nearby, but could not get a reservation that was advantageous to us, so we checked out the gift shop. They had a lot of unique gifts. Mom and Dad picked up some new and too-nice-to-use wooden utentils. I was amazed at the quality of the woodworking in the shop. Most of it, as I understand it, is made nearby in Berea. I remain fascenated by woodworking. The patient steadiness and perfection required in it are still a source of wonder and mystery to me.

My metaphor for God's presence in our lives is always the garden ... hence all the plants ... however, I can never forget that Jesus was a "teknos" -- a carpenter or handyman. They didn't have the division of labor in 1st century Israel that we have today. A teknon did all kinds of things: woodworking, bricklaying, rudamentary engineering, etc. We should never forget, especially all us recovering engineers, that The One Who Is, YHWH, was not only the first physician, gardener, and such, but also the first engineer. No offense, but do you think a liberal arts major can design the support systems for the Alps or the electrical systems that allow the human brain to dream up multiplication tables and partial differential equations? Of course, no offence, could a techincal arts major paint such a beautiful scene as the Florida Keys, or plant so grand an orchard as the Amazon, or so great as garden as the average English Garden?

Anyway, it was a great blessing as always to have Mom and Dad with us. Maybe they and you can come visit us sometime. Call ahead!

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 12-18 - DM818 - The Spirituality of Leading with Dr. Steve Martyn

Howdy, friends and neighbors. Meet Dr. Steve Martyn. And he is a wild and crazy guy who is leading the spiritual formation dimension of our time here.

Steve will be working with us on our retreat to Gethsemani Monastery in September. It will be a silent retreat so you know how much I'll LOVE that. Yet I have no doubt it will be a time of blessing a growth.

Mainly in the course we talked about five key things:

1. Keeping a postures of Repentance, Dependence and Humility in the midst of living out our call to full time Christian service. Everyone needs this, ministers especially. Sometimes people idolize their pastors. It is easy to slip into modes of thinking that leave God out and encourage us to put ourselves on His throne. Also, if we are on God's throne in our hearts, upon who are we dependent? God or ourselves? That is a dangerous trap for any Christian, let alone a pastor to fall into. Yet it happens.

The cure for these ills is humility. Not the "dona-nobis-requiem-smack your-foreheard-with-a-plank-Monty-Python humility, but true Christ centered humility that returns God to the throne of our hearts and follows a discipline of devotion in a community of accountability. One of the things that we worked on this time is our "seven deadly sins." My wost was pride, the idea that I can do it all myself and God sometimes goes to the back seat. I hope that if you are struggling with this then you'll commit to seeking the face of God more.

2. Developing dispositions toward daily devotional living. One can't have a relationship with God if one doesn't talk with Him. And one's relationship will be pretty poor if one just talks AT Him. Do you know how many hours I have spent babbling to the Almighty? Do you know how many months and years that I have spent not speaking with God? I pray that you will listen to the still quiet voice. Seek it. Hear it. Draw it into your self like like a fine dinner. Talk if necessary. Just don't talk with your mouth full! ;) Hey! That'll preach!

3. Discerning vocational direction in the midst of busy-ness and the unbiblical demand of hyper-performance. There's a million things that people think that a minister "should do." If you line them all up, you get something that is a cross between Jesus, Superman, Bill Clinton after a national disaster, and Dr. Phil. Uh ... NO!!! That's SuperPastor. If that's who you want for your pastor, then either don't hold your breath or, as a friend of mine said, "take a ride on the clue-wagon."

Some pastors are better preachers than care-givers; some are better administrators than preachers. You won't ever get the pastor that you want. Just pray for the one you've got and hold on tight, if you let her play the game the way that God is calling her to play, then you just might be surprised where you'll go in God's walk of faith both individually and as a part of a community.

4. Cultivating a disposition for appreciative living and praise; are you alive? Then praise God. What are you going to do with it? This is the day that the Lord has made, let us go forward and take advantage of it. Do you know how many hours of my life that I have spent whining?! What a waste! As a friend of mine said about cost estimation for the government: no whining; no sissies. Thanks, Andy!

5. Seeking deliverance from isolationist tendencies and embracing covenant accountability community. No one can be a Christian alone. That's probably the big mistake that I have made in my life, for all the talk I do about community and church involvement and other such stuff. I don't know if I have been as effective as God called me to be as a part of a Christian community. No, I know, "no one is." But that doesn't mean we sit around wallowing in a stinking vat of our own mediocrity. God has given us the grace to not just "do better", but absolutely spank evil and send it home to it's little wuss-demonic papa. One of the most challenging scriptures is not "Love thy neighbor" (although that is a BIG challenge), but it could be John 14:12 (NRSV) -- "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." So what works are you doing? What works is your community doing? What grace have you been given? A lot, my friend, you've been given a lot of grace. Seek and love the One Who Is. Seek and love one another. Give yourself up and find and love yourself again. You are not alone. We are not alone. You have been given more than you know or realize.

DM818 ... cool class.

Grace and peace,

Trav Wilson

July 4 - The Lawnmower Men - Festival of the Fourth

One thing that I forgot to tell you about was the "Wilmore Festival of the Fourth." For a town the size of Wilmore, it was a long parade ... about 20+ minutes. Horses, corvettes, water-gun packing 3rd graders, and The Lawnmover Men. Yes, The Lawnmower Men.

They are a group of men who did a coordinated dance with their lawnmovers during the parade, stopping at intervals to wow us with their schnazzy lawn-mower moves. Sort of like synchronized swimming, except different.

Enjoy the picture!

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 10 & 11 - Dr. Ellsworth Kalas - Preaching

This is Dr. Ellsworth Kalas our preaching professor. This man is famous among preachers and it is an honor to be in his class. We are so blessed to have him as a model of Christian life and a standard bearer of Christian preaching.

Our first conversation with him (one does not think of him as giving mere lectures) covered his his understanding of preaching. He started the class by saying, "I believe in preaching. People have been trying to decry preaching since Noah gave his warning of the flood."

Why does he believe in preaching over radio or television (although they do have their place)? "Face-to-face communication is still the best way to do business with people." There's something special about one human being locking eyes with others and sharing from the soul. Nothing can replace human contact.

Another thing was his ideas on the goal of preaching: first, a sermon should move people should be moved God-ward; the sermon should guide, help or make a person plan to be a better person tomorrow. Second, a sermon should give people something to remember long-term; this is why is focuses so much on ideas, the title and organization. And finally, a sermon should effect people eternally; from a sermon people should come to know Christ as Lord and Savior or grow further in Christ. "Jesus Christ died to save us from sin but to save us into life ... and make us saints."

The rest of our lectures will go over the fundementals of preaching. In our first two days, Dr. Kalas had the opportunity to go over one of those fundementals: if you are given an idea you better get a scripture; if you are given a scripture you better get an idea. Because if you have an idea without a scripture ... it's just a talk. If you have scripture without an idea, it's just a Bible study. Preaching is where a scripture, an idea, and the Holy Spirit bring forth a pronoucement of the Good News Jesus Christ.

Our next class with Dr. Kalas will be July 19.

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 8 - The Ropes Course - Part 2 - WHEEEEEE!

A 300 foot zip line + a 190 pound man = speed.

Whee! : )

July 8 - The Ropes Course - Part 1 - Focus on the Tree

One of my favorite books is Dune by Frank Herbert. There is a great litany in there called "The Litany Against Fear."

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

It's a cool piece of writing, but it is a little unrealistic. We cannot help having fear. It is a God-given gift. A wise person once said, "You cannot have courage without fear." What she meant by that was that if we did not have fear, there would be nothing to be courageous about. A more realistic line for the litany might be "I will not give in to fear."

The litany is also unrealistic in that God is not mentioned in it. "I will face my fear ... only I will remain." What so much focus on "I"? Are we so alone?

The Beeson Pastors had a chance to bond recently over a ropes course challenge. The chiggers not withstanding, it was a wonderful time of learning and growing. The hardest part of the course for many of us was walking 25 feet of log suspended 25 feet in the air. One was suspended by a mere rope. It was not the fear of falling that consumed me, but the fear of slipping, being the only one to slip and having to recover. I was very nervous, even tentative when I first walked out on the log. I found out from the ropes challenge people that this case of nerves ... this anxiety ... dare I call it fear? ... was because I was focusing on the log upon which I was walking and not on the tree to which it was bolted. "Focus on the tree!" they cried.

When I focused on the tree, the source of stablity, then and there I found stabilty. That's much like what happens with God. Don't we just focus on the path, it's perils and dangers, instead of focusing on God, our source of true stablity? It was a great lesson to learn that day and every day.

July 7 - Dr. Anthony Headley - Personality Inventories

Dr. Anthony Headley helped interpret two personality inventories that we took. One was the DISC profile. According to the official website, the inventory is ... "a nonjudgmental tool for understanding behavioral types and personality styles. It helps people explore behavior across four primary dimensions:

Dominance: Direct, Driving, Decisive. These people tend to be independent and results driven. They are strong-willed people who enjoy challenges, taking action, and immediate results. The bottom line is their focus tends to be on the bottom line and results.

Influence: Optimistic & Outgoing. These individuals tend to be very social and out going. They prefer participating on teams, sharing thoughts, and entertaining and energizing others.

Steadiness: Sympathetic & Cooperative. These people tend to be your team players and are supportive and helpful to others. They prefer being behind the scene, working in consistent and predictable ways. They are often good listeners and avoid change and conflict

Conscientiousness: Concerned, Cautious & Correct. These people are often focused on details and quality. They plan ahead, constantly check for accuracy, and what to know "how" and "why"."

I was a "D.I." -- a person who is more about "Dominance" and "Influence" than they are "Steadiness" and "Conscientiousness." Does this surprise anyone?

Also, there are 18 general paterns in this inventory, I was the "inspirational" pattern. I think that means that I respond to inspiritional kinds of leaders. These patterns are also indicators to supervisors about how to manage an individual. Take it with a grain of salt, but it seems helpful to many people. Apparently each pastor in the Western North Carolina Conference has taken it to the Bishop better connects the gifts of the pastor with the gifts of a given church.

Looking forward to the weekend now. Becca is doing well, just a little headache. We don't drive heardly at all. We walk nearly everywhere, except when we are going to a Mall or major shopping area. We've really enjoyed having Becca's parents here. They are heading back to Florida this morning.

Wilmore is peaceful, a place of great blessing, even reflection, without being hokey and monkish. Know what I mean?

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 5 - Our First Visitors!

On July 5, we received our first visitors: the lovely and gracious mother of my bride, Mrs. Francey Newland, and the wise and handsome father of my bride, Mr. Randy Newland.

Randy and Francey remained until Friday morning, July 7, when they set off for Birmingham, Alabama to help my lovely and gracious sister-in-law Katie Stallings and her family more into their new apartment in the big B-town.

We look foward to more visitors soon! Maybe even you!

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 5 and 6 - Laptops and Computer Orientation - A Ministry Vocation?

Part of the Beeson Pastor scholarship is the gift of a great tool: a Dell Latitude D620 Laptop. This is a great gift and grace. There is a lot that we can do with the "tool for our dissertation."

We had Jay Endicott and Jared Porter to guide us through the various potential pitfalls of setting up e-mail, drivers and printers. They even gave up several good hours of review on operating Microsoft Software.

For perspective on the spiritual nature of this training (yes, I wrote spiritual concerning computer training) I would ask you, in all the computer orientation sessions to which you have ever been did the computer folks open the session or each session in earnest prayer? During their tenure as computer folks, were the computer folks ever asked to preach at a seminary chapel service? Did the computer folks look upon their work as a vocation, a calling, even a ministry? Have you ever been to a place where even the technical people walk deeply and publicly with God?

We may not think of our jobs as vocations or callings. We may only see our jobs as part of a carefully crafted career path, a small step on a larger and self-centered journey. Yet we will never be satisfied until we are about the actions and life to which God calls us. That’s what I learned from Jay and Jared.

There is something unique and wonderful about the spirit of this place. I pray for it to become contagious.

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 4 - Time to Celebrate and Enjoy

Randy, Sue and Ana Jessen invited the Beeson pastors over for a fourth of July cookout. Here is a picture of Randy in his "grillin-in-the-rain" hat. The fellowship and the food were all great.

A thousand thank-yous to Randy, Sue and Ana for opening their home. What they did was no small task. Yes, there are 12 Beeson pastors ... plus 11 spouses ... plus 20 children ... plus 2 children due in August and October, respectively ... plus Jack and Wendy Connell and their four children ... plus the wife of Asbury Seminary President Jeff Greenway and two of his children. That's a total of about 53 people. Check my arithmetic, but, nevertheless, a thousand thank-yous to the Jessens for such great hospitality.

Afterward, a few of us went over to Wilmore Free Methodist Church. The church sits upon a hill that overlooks a wide area. From that vantage point we could see about 12 different fireworks displays, all at various distances away. About 200 people gathered there to see the scene: like a vast green field filled with fire fountains. It was a wonderful sight.

Happy Fourth of July! And God bless America!

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson

July 3 - Second Orientation - Part Three - Beginning a Good Work

The fifth and sixth people that we better acquainted ourselves with were Dr. Randy Jessen, Dean of the Beeson Pastor Program and his wife Sue. They are the co-founders of the Global Hope organization. They have also been working with Romanian mission ministry since 1991.

Sue's background is in the area of mental health. She worked for over ten years at Fort Logan Mental Health Center in Denver, Colorado. She provided care for emotionally disturbed children, working with local school systems as well as individual therapist.

Sue is now is the primary care giver for their daughter Ana. Ana has extensive developmental delays from her first five years in the Romanian orphanage system. She also received a small amount of contaminated blood as an infant which infected her with the virus that causes AIDS. Randy wrote a book about Ana’s life, their struggle to adopt her in a book entitled Ana’s Voice: When God Speaks Through a Silent Child. Becca read the whole book in one sitting. I have asked her to write her thoughts and feelings about it in a blog entry soon.

In the mid-1970's, Randy and Sue purchased a small grocery business in Genoa, Colorado. While there, the church they joined basically “loved them to the Lord.” They both make commitments to Christ and began the search for opportunities to serve. Answering a call to full-time ministry, Randy came Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, graduating with a Master's of Divinity degree in 1984. Like Jack Connell, Randy also is a Beeson Pastor, receiving his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1997.

Randy and Sue have served the Fort Morgan United Methodist Church in Fort Morgan, Colorado, Longs Peak United Methodist Church in Longmont, Colorado, and Broomfield United Methodist Church in Broomfield, Colorado. Before coming to Asbury to lead the Beeson Pastor Program, they also served First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado for three years while Randy was appointed to serve as the lead pastor.

So who are or have been the mentors in your life? What did they plant in you that God is bringing to completion? How are you a mentor, a planter in the lives of other people? How are you working diligently, mentoring, planting in the great ChristGarden?

July 3 - Second Orientation - Part Two - Beginning a Good Work

The second and third persons that we got better acquainted with were Dr. David Rambo and his wife Dr. Ruth Rambo. Ruth will be working with us, guiding us through several personality assessments that we have taken part in, as well as giving us vocational guidance.

David was one of the people who interviewed me for acceptance into the Beeson program. He is the dean of the international component of the Beeson Pastor program. Once a year for four years, for six weeks at a time, international students come to earn there Doctor of Ministry degrees. These students must defend their dissertations on the third of their fourth visits and must submit the completed dissertation on the fourth visit. This spring the first class of International Beeson Pastors will graduate. What a historic time to be in Wilmore!

The fourth was Dr. Leslie Andrews, Dean of the Doctor of Ministry Program. She will be teaching our dissertation course. Dr. Andrews is a licensed minister in the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In 1993, she became just the fourth woman this century to be elected to the Christian and Missionary Alliance Board of Managers – that denomination’s highest administrative board. She has also served on numerous administrative boards and task forces in both Canada and the United States.

July 3 - Second Orientation - Part One - Beginning a Good Work

“3 I thank my God every time I remember you, 4 constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5 because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6

At our second orientation session we had the chance to get better acquainted with six people who will bless us greatly in the coming three years. They are already beginning a good work in us that God will bring to completion.

The first was Dr. Jack Connell who comes to us from Crosswinds Wesleyan Church in Canandaigua, NY. This is the fourth time that Jack has lived in Wilmore, Kentucky. The first was a time of “grace” was as a child while his father attended seminary. The second was a time of “calling” as Dr. Jack left his job as a banker to answer a call to ministry. The third was a time of “development” when he was accepted into the Beeson Pastor Program in 1994. The fourth is a time of “multiplication” as Jack sets about the ministry of multiplying Christian leaders. I found this great article about him.

July 2 - First Orientation - God's Journey, not Ours

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. " -- Ephesians 1:17

This is the scripture that Beeson Dean Dr. Randy Jessen used to open our first orientation session. Randy let us know in no uncertain terms that we are here for academic pursuits, however our year at the Beeson Center is also for the gaining of wisdom and revelation. This will be a year of learning and growing -- with the Holy Spirit working in us -- growing to one end along to know Christ better.

Our closing prayer together struck a chord in my heart and mind. Randy prayed, "Father, it is your journey that we are on, not ours." How many times have we talked about going on "our journey of faith"? How many times have we worshiped our own perspective? In theological education we so often say those idolatrous words, "From my perspective ..." and "In my opinion ..."

The One True God, YHWH, the One who brought Christ into the world has a perspective that is more than merely inclusive of our own little views of ourselves, our journeys of faith, and our precious perspectives -- God transcends them. Wow. Here's to God's journey. We get to go along for the ride. Let's roll.

We're Here!

We arrived on June 27! We have had some issues getting internet access and the phone. Nevertheless, we have been well-received and well-fed by everyone that we have met here. As soon as we get some details ironed out concerning the computer access, I will begin regular posting. There's a lot to tell! Can't wait to tell you about the dancing lawnmower men.

Right now I'm in a computer orientation class. Have you ever been to a computer orientation class that began with prayer in Christ's name? Me neither. It was a welcome change of pace from other institutions of higher learning from which one has matriculated.

Today we are blessed with a three day visit from Becca's parents. We can't wait to show off the wonderful town of Wilmore to our family.

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson