SpiritFarmer

Yes, we’re still on about this stuff. The pace of blogging seems to have slowed a little, but I think that may just be a brief lull to ponder what’s been said, and what’s left to mention. For some reason, I feel a need to say something for the record – this conversation about church, seminary, paid pastoral ministry, and money is not just another flavorofthemonth topic, which the blogosphere lights up with.

Mike Bishop gives a brief mention to having been relationally connected with some allies in thinking this way since around 2002. That’s about the time I met some of the same group of folks, online at first, and then in person eventually (except for one or two, like Mike). In some ways it seems like forever ago, and in other ways, I stop and think, “What? I only started talking to these guys six years ago?” It feels like a lot longer, because so very much has changed, in our hearts, in our families, in our occupations, in our church affiliations, in our home locations.

But let me assure you – we were talking about many of these same issues back then. In the early days, there was a lot of talk, and a lot less action. In part because we were just figuring out how to talk about it, let alone live this stuff out. After a little while, the talk went quieter, mainly because we knew that talk wouldn’t get us anywhere until we actually made a go of it. So for the better part of the last four years or so, these issues haven’t been talked about . . . but they haven’t gone away either.

With all that as a backdrop, I think the present conversation is at a place where we can speak with more wisdom, conviction, and confidence. There is still so much that we don’t know, but we know a lot more than we used to. So no, this topic won’t go away. It will carry on with more depth and nuance that it had six years ago. It may go quiet again, and pop up six years from now – if so, look out, because we’re gonna be crazy smart by then.