Growing Up

This past week, I had an opportunity to go back to my Alma Mater to interview some young people for a staff position at Harvest Ridge. Twenty five years ago, I graduated from CBC in Springfield. A lot of water has flowed under that bridge in those years.

Honestly, I have had a bit of an attitude toward the place. They pushed a type of Christianity that just about killed me. And, I have been sorta angry, resentful towards the institution. But, this time, when I walked on the campus, I wasn't an impressionable kid. Over the past 25 years, I have wrestled with God and come to grips with the faith that I embrace.

God has blessed me, and I felt a little like Jacob returning home with a full life. What I experienced there didn't really harm me, it helped me sort through what is real and what is garbage.

As I interviewed a couple of young men, I could hear some of the same thoughts, ideas and world views that so shaped me from that same institution. Some of it is very good, some.......

The next day, I played a game of one-on-one with a young man who is extremely athletic. I won, not because I was a better athlete, but because I have more experience.

For the first 25 years of ministry, I have accomplished a lot by simply pushing through. The youthful idealism, passion and energy that cascades from college dormitories drove most that I have done. Maybe the next 25 years, I will use wisdom, confidence and experience a little more.

I guess that I might be growing up!