this is no longer my blog

Okay, so this isn't really a post about the Eschaton or the parousia or the rapture or anything like that (so, for all of you non-theology nerds, we'll interrupt this post briefly to discuss the theological terms just used... Eschaton is taken from the Greek word eschatos, which means last or farthest. It has to do with the final events in the history of the world or humankind. So, it means the end of the world. Parousia is taken from the Greek word pareinai which means to be present, and is used to describe the Second Coming of Christ. The rapture is what you're reading about when you read the Left Behind book series, when all of the good and righteous believers will be lifted up, leaving all of us sinners down here in our dirty squalor.)

Now that that is out of the way, back to the intent of the post.

It is getting down to where I can count on one hand the number of times I have to do certain things here on internship. Here is a partial list:

6 more Sundays

4 more sermons

4 more staff meetings

2 more church council meetings

1 more executive committee meeting

1 more softball game

1 more internship committee meeting

1 more newsletter article

1 more area clergy gathering

So, when you put it that way, I really don't have that much longer left here on internship. They always say that internship kind of flies by, but when you are looking at internship as merely a future reality, a year seems like a long time. But life in the trenches clips along at a steady pace. It takes a bit to get into the flow, but once you do, it takes you along pretty quickly. Before you know it, the end is near and keeps getting closer.

I was reading through my blog archives the other day, reliving moments from my previous year at seminary, like when I found out where I'd be going on internship. Then I got to where I blogged about moving to my new town, my first time assisting with a worship service at the church, my subsequent loss of a social life, when i discovered the vagrant in my furnace room, my constant struggles with Tom, various dillemas and discernment crises, various errors and bloopers I committed leading worship services, and all sorts of various and sundry stories and tales and remembrances. A lot has definitely happened this year.

Through it all, not only have I managed to cling on to my calling to become a pastor, but I believe it has gotten stronger. I've seen some of the things that ministry entails - good and bad - and really believe that this is where God is calling me to use the gifts and talents that I have been given.

So, yeah. My time here on internship is drawing to a close. Pretty soon, my blog will shift from detailing the experiences of an intern in the midst of pastoral ministry to a senior seminarian struggling through essays and interviews and exams and venturing into the waters of the first call process. I look forward to sharing continued adventures with you!!!