thresh·old n 1: the starting point for a new state or experience; 2: the entrance

Photo taken by J. Dampier.

Last summer while driving from Northwestern Ontario to New York, my wife and I came across this sign posted at a nice roadside restaurant-gift shop-gas bar-tourist information centre-restrooms facility, known as an Oasis. In the States they have many of these Oases along most of the Interstate highways.

During my five years living near New York City, I never saw anything like it. It caught me off guard to see this sign at a family-oriented Oasis, in the middle of nowhere, adjacent to a corn field.

Then I thought about a letter that was written almost 2000 years ago by a first centry Theologian named Paul. He was writing to a gathering of people in Galatia, a Roman province in Asia Minor.

He warns the Galatian gathering, "It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on."

Do you see the connection? Although Paul doesn't talk about guns or weapons in a literal sense, his laundry list of damage and destruction is an outgrowth of a selfish and evil life. Guns in this figurative sense, can be destructive and can cause harm.

Fortunately, Paul does provide some hope. "But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely."

These fruit Paul talks about aren't the product of trying harder to be a better follower of Jesus. They are the product of allowing Jesus to really manifest in our lives. It is certainly not easy at times to allow God full access to our lives, but the alternative - that is a selfish and evil life - doesn't seem like much of an alternative at all.

I don't want to be known as "Armed and dangerous."

Verses from Galatians 5, The Message

For the record, how does a guy with two advanced degrees (neither of which are theological or ministerial in nature) find himself in a position accepting an offer to work as a pastor?

Let me retrace the steps for you...

Shortly after moving to NYS in 1998 (from Thunder Bay), I got connected with a really great guy named Geno, who took me under his wing and started mentoring me by teaching me the Bible. We were going through the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus). When we got to 1 Tim 3:1 he said that that scripture was for me in a prophetic sort of way. Apparently he sensed a calling on my life before I did.

On Sept 9, 2001 I returned from men's retreat while I was attending a church in Brewster, NY. During the evening service a lady came up to me and said something to the effect of, "It's about time we start doing the work of the Kingdom." I turned and said, "Absolutely!" thinking to myself, "Now that's a strange way to greet someone you've never met before." During the rest of the service, this lady's words made me feel a bit uneasy. So, after the service was over, I approached this lady and asked her if those words were for me, or rather a general greeting. She told me that the message was specifically for me and then she continued, "... and you have to start planting seeds for your future ministry now, otherwise when the appointed time comes, you will have to wait to let those seeds grow."

So I started planting seeds, so to speak. I took couple courses at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY. Also, after a strong sense from God we left the church we were attending to join a "beginning church" (aka church plant) to help out with that effort . (Last I heard the church plant is doing very well, and will be moving into new facilities soon!!!) At the same time I was working for an extension office of an Ivy League School, which gave me a tremendous opportunity to learn first hand, volunteer management and conflict resolution (very important skills for church ministry).

At the time, I didn't realize it, but I had an idol; a false god. I was focused on pursuing a PhD in the sciences. I sort of told God how this calling was going to unfold in my life without really seeking his will. (In hindsight, that was a very stupid thing to do.) I figured I would eventually get the doctorate and a teaching position somewhere. With my summers, I saw myself doing all kinds of cool ministry related things, such as leading short-term missions trips. So when an opportunity presented itself to pursue a research-based Master's degree at Lakehead in Thunder Bay, I jumped at the opportunity. I came to Thunder Bay on a mission to eventually get my doctorate and to reconnect with "the North."

Now, if you've been in my office over the past few years, you would have found three wooden letter blocks somewhere in my work space. The blocks spelled P H D. I wanted to keep my goal before me, and I thought placing a constant reminder in my office was a good way for me to stay focused on the ultimate goal.

Now fast forward to October of last year. I started to feel bound in a bad sort of way to this PhD dream. After praying about it, I felt the right thing to do was to throw these blocks out, and the dream as well. Strangely, it was rather liberating, tossing out those blocks. Probably a few months before I threw those blocks out, my wife and I started to wrestle with the idea of me finishing what I started, that is,  my seminary training, when circumstances allowed.

Then earlier this year we found out that a full-time ministry position (which closely aligned with my passions and giftings) was becoming available at our church. After some prayer and discussion, both my wife and I really felt that I should throw my name in the hat. And the rest is... well... I guess we find out shortly!

Apparently, me sporting the "Jesus look" had something to do with me getting hired.
Check out a message where this is said!

threshold

n 1: the starting point for a new state or experience; 2: the smallest detectable sensation; 3: the entrance