My heartfelt thanks for the response yesterday to the young man who was inquiring about preaching and pastoring. A very kind reader asked for his address and will send him a few books and a publisher contacted me to send him a book, too. Nothing like seeing the Jesus Creed in action! Here\u2019s the response yesterday from the young pastor-to-be: My heartfelt thanks for the response yesterday to the young man who was inquiring about preaching and pastoring. A very kind reader asked for his address and will send him a few books and a publisher contacted me to send him a book, too. Nothing like seeing the Jesus Creed in action! Here\u2019s the response […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1740],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastoring-and-preaching"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nScot,
\nI can\u2019t begin to tell you how moved I am by the response to the post. Just to have my questions acknowledged as legitimate, good, shared questions has been immensely healing and encouraging \u2013 by which I mean, I read the responses through eyes streaming with tears, of course. \ud83d\ude42 There have been lots of great responses and the fact that so many would take time to respond so graciously, thoughtfully, with prayers and encouragement\u2026I feel very embraced by the Body of Christ today. My thanks, with all my heart.
\nYour reader offering the books is another example of kindness that blows me away. Absolutely I\u2019m interested.
\nPlease convey my heartfelt gratitude to her.
\nOne last thing \u2013 I find it fascinating how many people have pointed to \u201cdeeper\u201d or formational issues underlying my questions, even without access to the complete letter which allowed you to see the same. I had lunch with a pastor friend Monday \u2013 which will hopefully be a monthly thing \u2013 and ruminating on what you\u2019d said, plus our lunch conversation, helped something click for me. All this time, I\u2019ve been asking \u201cwhat is preaching?\u201d type questions (and it does, as I said, do me more goood than I can say to have that question taken seriously and compassionately, and not be treated as a reprobate for questioning). But I think what I\u2019ve really been needing to ask is \u201cwhat are pastors? What does it mean that I\u2019m one?\u201d It is, absolutely, a deeper issue of spiritual formation.
\nSo\u2026thanks to all of you, I\u2019m asking the right question. And since that doesn\u2019t mean all the other questions go away\u2026well, thanks to you, your readers, and the many books added to my book list, I\u2019ve got lots of resources to help me get further down the road.
\nIt\u2019s been a good day.
\nBlessings,
\nName<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"