This week marked the twentieth anniversary of my arrival at Austin Seminary to begin my theological education. The lease on my apartment in Tulsa had run out, so I moved to the seminary on the earliest date they would allow. I donated or sold most of what I purchased for my post-college bachelor pad and was ready to live like a monk as I started seminary. At that point, my experience in the church was a scant few years of worship attendance, a religion degree from the University of Tulsa, and a stint as a part-time youth director where my biggest accomplishment was eating an entire order of Sonic Tater Tots in one bite. What I did not know at the time, and what I am thankful for now, is that seminary would change my life.
I did not live like a monk. While the dorm room was small and sparse, my plan to live television free and pray/read endlessly lasted exactly two days. The boredom was filled in shortly after as other students started to arrive and I volunteered to help move their boxes in just for something to do. Those early encounters led to some of the great friendships that I still value today. Once classes began, free time was replaced with memorizing important Christian historical dates, diving deeply in John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, and discussing all the ills of the church that we would fix when we were finally Ministers of Word and Sacrament. Chapel worship opened my mind to the vast variety of Christian practices in our denomination and others. Seminary, especially those early days, was a rich and eye-opening experience.
There are a lot of reasons I have dedicated my life to work in the church, but I found one of them there in Austin: community. We came to APTS as individuals from our own corners of Christ’s church. Together, we learned and grew. My class was one of the largest classes in the history of the seminary. We followed a trend of post-9/11 Americans re-evaluating where we were called in life and the church. Fundamentally, we discovered Jesus in one another. We began to understand how God was calling us in an assortment of ways. We witnessed how deep and wide the church really was. We cared for one another and were able to help another navigate the tricky ordination process. We saw ministry flourish in one another as we began seminary and then as we started to go out in the church.
All those experiences contributed to me being who I am today. They helped to define my friends and their ministries, as well. Some of those folks are in mid council work like I am. Many are on their second, third, or fourth call. Many have left ministry for the non-profit world where they are building and impacting communities in a slightly different way. Still others have left ministry altogether.
On the anniversary of one of the starting dates of my ministry, I would challenge you to answer this question: Where is God calling you?
Rev. Tim Blodgett
General Presbyter
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