This past Sunday morning I informed the church of the plans that God has for us. It has been an exciting journey to this point. Here are the details. For nearly a year I have been working toward the idea of continuing my education at the graduate level. After applying to Vanderbilt, Southern Baptist, and Fuller Seminary I received word about two weeks ago that I have been accepted at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena in order to complete a Ph.D program in the field of Homiletics. For more than 20 years I have had two goals in my professional life. One is the subject of the previous blog (being published) and the other was to to Ph.D work. In the span of a couple of months, the Lord has given me both of these goals. I am convinced that God gives us not only what we need but the desires of our hearts, as well.
Joanie and I will be resigning from our pastorate here after 11+ years of service. This is the longest Joanie has ever lived in one place - one house. We will move sometime prior to September to the Pasadena area and spend the next 2-4 years living there as I complete the doctoral program. Joanie has graciously agreed to go to work full-time and support us so that I can be a full-time student. She is an amazing partner. If God works it out I hope to be able to find a way for her to continue her studies during this time and work toward a Master's Degree. I have no idea how that would be possible but we are living by faith and have been for months now. God has already worked out things I thought out of my reach that had passed me by. So, I am of a mind that God can and will do many things we believe to be impossible - even when we are people of faith!
To all who read this and desire to pray for us, we have some specific requests:
1. Pray for the transition time.
2. Pray for a job for Joanie.
3. Pray for a house or apartment to open up that will meet our needs and our budget.
4. Pray for me to be able to learn Hebrew, French and German - all have to be done in the next 15 months.
5. Pray for the continued move of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is an exciting time for us to be alive and following the Lord. Amen.
2 comments:
Jeff,
I am excited for you (and will be praying) as you enter into this exciting new venture!
Of course, the biggest disappointment is that you will be leaving Central California. I have really appreciated your leadership and influence in our district. You will be impossible to replace.
At least you won't be that far, so hopefully we will see you from time to time. Please keep your blog going and keep us informed of your adventures, but also continue sharing your valuable insights and reflections.
Lloyd
Thanks for your comments Marlene, Kevin, and Lloyd. I appreciate your affirmations and interest. Marlene, I will look forward to the time when we can get together in Southern Cal. Lloyd, I appreciate you and all your support. And Kevin, I will be calling you in the next week so we can talk about all this. Thanks for reading the blog.
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