Today is the day. The day that my husband went to work and turned in his notice that he will be leaving in two short weeks to pursue other opportunities. We have known about this day for almost a year. It is a day that we consulted the wisdom of others about, prayed about, and discussed at length before it could even become a reality. It is a day that almost didn't happen. We almost let fear and worry stand in the way of this day and all that it means. It is not a moment that we took lightly since it involves our entire family moving 600 miles away from our home where most of our family members live.
In four weeks we will be moving to Memphis, Tennessee so Jonathan can attend the Memphis School of Preaching (MSOP) for two years. The fast-paced program basically accomplishes a full four years of study in two. Often times it will be stressful, which we know because we have friends who have gone there before us. There will be many scriptures memorized, many papers written, much Greek learned, and opportunities to preach and teach Bible class beyond what he has done already. Our time there will be busy and he will regularly travel on campaigns to participate in gospel meetings. All with four children in tow. And we can't wait to begin!
Around three years ago Jonathan was invited to participate in a preparation and delivery class at the congregation that we attend. It was a small class with a handful of students and it was designed to mentor to some of the men in the congregation and help them to become better speakers and teachers and it had students who weren't seasoned speakers already. Our congregation is blessed to have many excellent Bible class teachers and is always encouraging to people who want to become teachers. Jonathan was already teaching the senior high class at that time. The prep and del class was extremely useful to him in improving as a teacher to the senior high class.
His four years of teaching the teenagers gave him a desire to teach more. The first year that he taught he developed lessons about common household items and tools to do jobs that are mentioned in the Bible. (For example, he did a class on salt.) The second year that he taught he did a class on spiritual lessons that can be learned from Pixar. The third year that he taught he did an apologetics course combating evolution. This year he worked entirely from the book of Luke and did an overview during his teaching time. He always hated not having enough time to spend as he developed those classes and loved studying for them and preparing his weekly lesson. Reading, writing, and teaching are all skills that come naturally to my husband and they are skills that he has used extensively in the workforce.
Our congregation is diligent in supporting efforts to spread the gospel. We have several missionaries that we support and when they are home on furlough they often do presentations about their work abroad. During one of these presentations we heard the speaker talking about how many gospel preachers in different areas are getting older and closer to retirement age and not as many younger men coming to fill those roles of preaching and teaching. In general the Christian population in the United States has been decreasing with many young people leaving the church. He spoke about needing more people who are able to do the job and willing to do the job.
Around 18 months ago I was able to attend a ladies' day about beautiful feet that carry the gospel. I heard a lady speaking who had spent 8 years with her husband and children in Vanuatu where her husband was a missionary. She too spoke of the need for more people to have love for souls and want to teach the gospel. She specifically addressed mothers and grandmothers who were there asking them not to be selfish and to let their sons and grandsons go and preach even if it is not in their own hometowns. She asked wives not to be selfish if their husbands wanted to be ministers. I left that particular ladies' day with so many things to talk to Jonathan about.
We have also been so blessed in our lives with the pulpit ministers around us. The pulpit minister and associate minister at our own congregation have impacted our lives in ways that they have probably never imagined. They have challenged us to study the Bible and store for ourselves treasures in Heaven. Unlike many families though we have home away from home congregations when we visit family members. We have also been impacted by preachers in other congregations. We have been able to see quite a few men who came to preaching after having careers in other fields first and going to preaching school at later ages so we knew it was possible.
For years we have been serving in the church. Jonathan is a deacon who leads a fellowship team at our congregation. He has served on the table, led prayers, done devotionals, taught the teens, and helped with VBS. I have participated in planning many ladies' days and even directed one. I have taught everything from the cradle roll class to third grade. I have hosted breakfasts for the teen girls in our home. We have spent hours doing bulletin boards and working on curriculum for classes. We created a group for the children in our congregation from infants to fifth grade since there never was a group for them before where we meet at least every other month and do fun fellowship together so that the parents and the children can develop friendships. We have been trying to give our time and our talents to God and serve Him.
We have chosen homeschooling to educate our children and are doing our very best to train them in the paths of righteousness so that when they are old they will not depart from it. The children and I have Bible time each morning and Jonathan is often working with them on different topics whether it is getting ready for an upcoming Bible Bowl and learning the scriptures for it or studying character concepts. We are trying to teach them to pray to God and why they should. We want for our children to grow up to follow God as well and not because their parents did but because they fear and love the Lord.
All of this combined is why we eventually began to discuss the possibility of Jonathan attending preaching school. After months of raising support money, packing all of our belongings, getting our home ready to be listed, moving in with family while the house was for sale, and tying up what feels like a million loose ends we are ready. We are ready to go and embrace those challenges of the two years at MSOP. We are ready to learn there and form friendships with other Christians to encourage us down the road. We are ready to finish there and find employment with a congregation where we can serve God full time as a family.
Lord willing: Memphis, here we come!
