Thursday, April 23, 2009

Pepperdine



Well, I've written the last sermon I will write for a couple of weeks. After 16 Sundays in a row of filling the pulpit, Holly and I will be taking nearly two weeks off while we are in California. This is a big trip for us. It will be our last vacation together as a married couple without kids. It will be our first experience at the Pepperdine Lectures in Malibu (It's great to be a preacher!). We will get to see my parents for the first time since Christmas. And I'm teaching my first class at a Lectureship. We're so excited!

The class I am teaching is entitled "Musings of a Young Minister (Reflections and Regrets from My First Year in Ministry)." In my class, I hope to give valuable feedback to members in a congregation with a young minister, leaders who are tending to a young minister, and to young ministers who are about to begin their ministries, with a bit of a humorous view into the life of a minister that most people never see.

So, as I prepare for my class, I'm thinking back on the past 9 months. Holly and I were talking today about how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were pulling our moving van into our apartment complex. God has been faithful. There have been blessings, curses, and challenges all along the way. But most of all, God has been faithful. And he is certainly at work at the Littleton Church of Christ.

Transitions are sure to come as Holly and I start our family together, but we are so blessed to be surrounded by the body of Christ in Denver. We know there will be no worry of finding baby sitters. We already have so many who have vowed to become surrogate grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, and mentors. It's nice to be able to preach about the Acts 2 community, as I experience it in my own congregation.

So, here I sit, penning my thoughts for my lectureship class. There are already so many good memories and laughs that can be told. And there are many times I have wept for the people in this city and within this congregation. God is at work and it's great to be in the center of his will!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Collin, Have you read "Under the overpass" by Mike Yankowski? Fabulous read! Very thought-provoking. Great fodder for a bible study / small group discussion. Everytime you mention church as a community, I think of this book. -Carol Luallin

Collin Packer said...

Carol,

I have heard of that book. Mike actually spoke at the National Conference on Youth Ministry in Colorado Springs earlier this year. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my to read list.