It’s been an intense month of growth and a full week of ministry.  Last Sunday I taught Proverbs 8:12-21 in our adult Sunday School class.  On Monday I preached in chapel on Romans 8:32.  On Tuesday and Thursday I substituted in the “Problems and Procedures” counseling class teaching on how to counsel believers wrestling with same-sex attraction.  Before came lots of thought and wrestling, and between came lots of discipleship, discussion, and decisions.  This is a rich and full ministry.

The Lord always devastates me through preparation and study, which makes preaching simultaneously the most miserable and wonder-filled ministry that I do.  I have often told Cindi that for me, the preparation process is so gut-wrenching and soul-agonizing that I often get to the point of feeling petrified that this is what I’m convinced I must do for the rest of my life.  And I’m choosing my words carefully here.  The issue is not nervousness about public speaking.  It’s the mental, emotional, spiritual labor that exhausts and intimidates me; it’s the inescapable conviction of wickedness and hypocrisy that haunts and condemns me as I fill myself with ideas and words and realities that I must stand up and proclaim to others; and it’s the weight of glory that I feel utterly incapable of communicating, the beauty of truth that no eloquence can paint, and the staggering realities that no fallen affections can match.  So it was very hard, and God was equally gracious.

Today (Saturday) we went to Disneyland with some free tickets that were given to us so we could spend time with the large group of TMC students who were going for our annual Disney Day.  Judah was so excited last night that he stayed up jabbering until Cindi went into his room to ask him why he was still awake — “Go-to-Disneyland-please…”  Disneyland was fine, but what made my day was spending precious time with my family and seeing the expressions of anticipation and joy on Judah’s face throughout the day.

I have very little idea of how this blog will go in the near future.  I think it’s absolutely silly how many blogs exist, which makes it absolutely necessary that I know why this one exists.  I think I do, but with my schedule and responsibilities being what they are right now (without even starting on some significant academic writing and exams), I don’t know how it’s going to happen.  I value meditating and writing and maybe some of you value reading, but I just can’t predict any particular level of frequency, length, or depth.

I did want to announce, though, that I plan on doing more interviews and guest posts.  I know a lot of people who have a lot of knowledge, wisdom, expertise, and experience, and I’d like to interview some of those people because (1) I want to learn from them and (2) maybe you’ll want to learn from them.  I also have friends that I think have some good things to say and the character to back it up, and I plan on inviting some of them to write some posts here.

First up this next week will be my good friend Eric Zeller with two posts on Christian mission.  I’ll introduce Eric at the beginning of his posts.  He knows what he’s talking about.