My big news

As I mentioned in my last blog, I would tell you guys today or tomorrow my big news and a decision I came to. I'll start with the decision I came to.

As the header to my blog states, I desire to be a preaching pastor someday. I believe that God is calling me to apply to The Bethlehem Institute to further that desire and call to ministry. In case any of you don't know what TBI is, it is based out of Bethlehem Baptist Church, of which John Piper is the pastor for preaching. It has three tracks. The first is for young believers and is more basic, the second is an apprenticeship program for training biblical elders, and the third is for missionaries. Lord willing, I'll be applying for the second track. Why TBI and not a seminary? First, TBI doesn't rule out the possibility of seminary and if I was to go to seminary some of the credits might transfer over. Some universities even accept up to fifty semester credits even though TBI isn't accredited. Second, I like the idea of apprenticeship and working alongside the elders in ministry. If I am accepted, I will learn from them a number of practical things and how a church works along with all of the academic and spiritual pursuits. Plus, I don't think you can beat learning how to preach directly from John Piper. Lord willing, I am really looking forward to learning under a man that has been used by God for so much and has a tremendous spiritual gift. Anyway, that is the decision the Lord has led me to and we'll see where the Lord takes it.

Now for the news. God has really been working on me in the area of missions and it has become something that I am very passionate about. I believe that the American church desperately needs to have a missions mindset. We need to understand that the American dream we have been pursuing isn't the Christian reality. We are the richest nation in the history of the world and we barely give anything to missions. We are the rich man who lets everyone know how much we are giving even though it is a fraction of our wealth when we need to be the widow and give everything we have, even if it is only a few pennies. We are drowning in the sea of our own affluence and I think that a focus on missions will help us to see more clearly the glory of God and leave behind the riches of this world. Furthermore, if we are to be a church that focuses on the glory of God, then we must be a church that finds its joy in spreading that glory to the ends of the earth. This week I conveyed these thoughts to my pastor, Tom and Hugh, the elder in charge of the missions board. Hugh hasn't been able to be very active with the missions board recently and, unbeknownst to me, has been looking for someone with a similar passion to take it over. He asked me to pray about it and God is definitely leading me to do that. So today I became the official chair of the missions board. I'm hoping that the Lord will use me to develop a culture of missions at the body in West Point.

In addition to this, throughout this growing conviction another desire has begun to take root. That desire is, at some point in my life, to become a missionary to an unreached people. I don't know when or even if it will happen, but it certainly has been my desire recently. I think it would be awesome to be used by God in that way. To die in that service would certainly not be a vain death. But we'll see where God takes that as well.

Until next time, God bless.