Â
Â
My heart has been overflowing the past few days with gratitude for the people of Brentwood United Methodist Church. Last night was the ordination service at Annual Conference. On behalf of Laura Brantley, Allison Fasig, and myself, I want to say thank you, although thank you doesn't quite seem like enough, for the love, support, and encouragement you have shown to us as Laura was commissioned as an Elder, Allison was commissioned as a Deacon, and I was ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. The moment of ordination, when the Bishop laid his hands on my head and prayed a prayer that has been prayed over thousands of ordained people for hundreds and hundreds of years, was a powerful and sacred moment for me. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who expressed their love to me at the reception following the service. It was a humbling night to say the least. People often talk about mountaintop moments in their journey of faith when they feel closest to God, and last night was one of those for me. I will never forget it. After the worship service and the reception, the strangest thing happened. We got in the car to drive home, and one of our boys, who was tired from a long weekend and a long night, began complaining about something. We got home, and there was laundry to fold and trash to take out. After our boys were down for the night and we were ready for bed, we remembered that we hadn't walked the dog. Not 30 minutes after one of the most mountaintop experiences of my life, I realized that normal life is still going on around me.
I'm an ordained pastor, and I have to figure out what that means in the context of normal life. I'm an ordained pastor, and I have to figure out how to be that in the ordinary, normal, mundane stuff of life. And isn't that what all of us are trying to do? How do we live a life of faith not just in the holy, mountaintop moments, but in the everyday moments of life? As we continue on in our look at the Sermon on the Mount this week in worship, we recognize that what Jesus is asking of his followers isn't just partial devotion in those high holy moments, but a life of followership, on the mountains and in the valleys and everywhere in between. I'm excited to be here with you and I look forward to seeing you this weekend in worship!
Travis