A Train Ride and a Concert

It’s 10:20 pm and I’m sitting on a train just out of 30th Street Station, on my way back to my family shore vacation after an afternoon and evening class at seminary. Tidings input is due tomorrow morning. I’ll walk into our rented apartment in Ocean City, NJ after everyone is asleep, a few minutes after midnight.

There are lots of things I could blog about. I could complain about the life of a half-time seminarian, full-time engineer, and round-the-clock father, grandfather, and husband. But then, I signed up for all of that. So I have no right to complain, after all, most of the time, I love it all. At least, I can definitely say I love seminary after I finish each semester. You might say that’s like saying it feels good to stop hitting yourself too. But, as I’ve told many of you many times, I can truly look back on each semester and be thankful for the changes I see in myself from every seminary course I’ve taken. Changes that I have a responsibility to take into the ministry God calls me to. It is my privilege and joy to do that.

Now, some courses I am excited to take, and some courses God drags me in kicking and screaming. “Theological Field Education”, known to most of you as “internship”, is close to the latter. The course only earns 1 credit per semester even though it requires 10-12 hours of work at my assigned church. I choose to apply for a “home-church waiver”, so I could do my internship at Olivet. My assumption was that I could do what I do now, most of the time over 10 hours most weeks already, and all I have to do is show up for the weekly class and mentor meetings.

Not so fast. I received a reminder letter stating that I am expected to do something new with my internship time. This isn’t what I’d planned. I can’t spend another 10 hours a week. I don’t have another 10 hours a week in addition to what I’m already doing.

But God had something in mind.

Not long before I received the reminder letter, I was working on the Main Stage Crew at the Purple Door Arts and Music Festival. I’ve been doing that every year since about 2001. In a conversation with one of the bands they suggested they come to my church for a concert. This is not the first time that has happened either, and it’s not the first time I brushed it off, this time saying, “you guys are too big for us”.

It was a week later that the letter came, and I began to realize that God may have created this opportunity for a reason, to take advantage of the opportunity to do something new in my ministry. So, I have literally now become a rock concert promoter/producer.

By the time you read this blog entry in tidings, the concert, on Sunday, September 26, will probably be over. You will probably know what went wrong and what went right.

Conversely, I’ll get off the train tonight without much of a clue of exactly what God has in mind for this concert. Will anyone show up besides a few faithful curious church members or will our sanctuary be filled to capacity at 500 attendees?

I pray God will be glorified and that people are drawn closer to Christ through this concert. I pray some of our church members are blessed to be a blessing in providing hospitality to the band members. I pray someone who attends learns something new about what it is to be a Christian. I pray someone walks away with the realization that Christians are real people, some of who enjoy good rock music with good lyrics. I pray they develop a seeking personality because they’ve realized maybe some of the other generalizations they may have come to believe about Christians may not be true either. I pray that God’s love shines through the bands Shine Bright Baby and Leo on September 26.

And for my immediate future, I just hope someone remembered to leave the side-door of the shore rental unlocked because there wasn’t a spare set of keys to take with me tonight and everyone else will be asleep when I arrive!

Happy Hiking and God Bless,
 
- allen