People often ask me what an "average day" looks like for me as a minister at KSU. My answer is always the same, "there's no such thing" In the field, every day is different, and in the line of service to the cross I have done everything from preaching to a congregation of octogenarians on Easter morning, to dressing up as a giant chicken and throwing candy around.
Somedays I mess up and end up hurting people, some days things work out and I end up changing people's lives. Somedays I wonder if I ever accomplish anything at all. But today was a good day, So hopefully if I tell you about it, you'll be able to get some idea of what sorts of things go on. (better than if i were to tell you about a terrible day where i was stuck in the snow for most of it anyway)
Today I woke up at the crack of noon, and promptly went back to sleep. No appointments, might as well take advantage of the opportunity to oversleep.
At about 2 I got out of bed, checked e-mail, and started cleaning my basement apartment. Administrative duties; Organizing receipts to deduct, creating a list of follow ups, dishes… that sort of thing. By 4 I was at Bluestem, my local haunt, the Coffee Shop where I go to mingle when I don't have anywhere in particular to be. I wrote out my Ministry update letter, and sent out a vulnerable e-mail to my Sunday Night Group, asking for some help with it.
Bluestem is always filled with acquaintances, Baristas and other locals chat, and hang out, A Statistics Prof, gives me advice on my shorthand poker game while two other friends discuss the finer points of acknowledging one's ex's birthday.
Around 5 I make a trip to the Verizon Store because I'm going over the limit on text messages. I'd had a conversation earlier this week with two students over text about the differences between Men and Woman, John Henry Newman's seminal work, and Die Hard and it put me clear over the top.
By 6:00 I'm back at Bluestem finishing a Blog post. And I got a call from another student wanting to know the "name of that kind of study we've been doing" He and I have been leading a manuscript study for the last couple of weeks, and he wanted to know the name of it, because he was going to try it with his house church…AWESOME!
Long story short, I end up attending the gathering, where I get to see one of my leaders lead others, into leading an inductive study of the bible. I get done just in time to make it to "Theology on Tap" a ministry of the Episcopal Canterbury to talk about God in a pub. I brought a non-christian friend and we both loved it. Most of us were ministers, all of us lean left of center (pub and all) and the conversation was great. I got the number of a potential new mentor. My friend got to see Christians being christian while recognizing their own mistakes.
When it was over at about 11 many of us stayed and began to dream about a place open 24 hours where you could go to connect with people. We discussed the next generation, and what the world will look like when they're in charge. We discussed what matters in life, and came to the conclusion that helping people matters, and not much else.
At 1 am we went back to his house, at  1:30 we were searching the internet for some 24 hour prayer ministry we had heard about at 2 we arrived there, and found it empty, so we decided to hold down the fort until 4 when the next shift arrived, and then we prayed with them for another hour
My night wasn't over until after 5 AM this morning.
I'm sleeping in again