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Friday, August 31, 2007

preaching

I got a call on Wednesday of this week from a little church out west of Louisville asking me to come preach for them on Sunday morning. The church is English Baptist Church in Stephensport, KY. Their interim pastor, or actually their former interim pastor now, was one of my graders at seminary my first semester. He was also an Air Force Reserve Chaplain. I ran in to him this summer and he told me that he was switching over to the Army so he could go on active duty and asked me to send him my resume to forward to the church. I got a call from the head of the pulpit committee this week. I would covet any prayers that might be lifted up for me as I prepare the share the gospel with them on Sunday.

I'm still amazed that God has called me to do this since I never wanted to be a preacher and honestly liked dealing with computers more than I did people. But He has placed this call on me, and I have seen His transforming hand on my life over the past couple of years as He prepares me for it. I am now anxious to get away from the computers (at least as a profession) and to deal more with people. I long to develop relationships that will give me the opportunity to share the gospel with lost people and see them brought to Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I have seen the evidence of what I've heard all my life. God will not call you to do something without equipping you with the tools and gifts you need to do it.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Money for nothing? Well, almost...

With as much time as I spend on the computer in general and on the internet in particular I have for a long time wondered if it is possible to make money online without spending a ton of it up front. I have tried many different programs and most of them end up dying a quick death just about the time they are supposed to actually send you money. I have found a couple that actually pay however. One of them is sendmoreinfo.com. This program works by sending you emails based on the interests you select in your profile. When you get the email you click on a link to go to the advertiser's site. You can then just close the site and move on to the next email. For each email you click on you get a "share". You also get shares for each email that anyone you refer clicks on. These shares are converted to cash at the end of each month. The amount varies based on how much revenue the company has generated and how many shares were earned. I was skeptical about this at first but I have actually received 4 checks from them. You're not going to get rich clicking emails (unless you refer a heck of a lot of people) but I know in my family, any extra money is a good thing.

Friday, August 17, 2007

back to the books

Well another semester has officially begun. I am again taking 4 classes this semester. They are:
1. Introduction to Old Testament I
2. Systematic Theology III
3. Introduction to Christian Philosophy
4. Team Ministry Relations

So far it seems like this is going to be an interesting semester. The only drawback so far is that 3 of my 4 classes are 3 hour blocks one day a week. In one sense that's good because I only have to have assignments done for those classes once a week. However, I have the feeling that sitting through two 3 hour block classes on the same day is going to get really old. But, oh well, it's only for a season.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

AF Chaplain Candidate Tour - update 4

Well today was a new experience for me. I had the opportunity to preach my first sermon. I've led Bible studies and youth group meetings before but never had the opportunity to preach an actual sermon. It was a great experience. I'm sure it was nowhere near the greatest sermon ever preached. It probably wasn't even very good, but I got lot's of encouragement from the congregation following the service and that helped to build my confidence and let me know that, yes, I can do this job that God has called me to do.