A Home in the Faith
I hope the following brief bit of my personal history will help as you read this reflection.
I was raised as a secular kid in a secular family. Faith, church, and at least some kinds of virtues were not a part of my experience. At the age of 18 I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, as we like to say, and launched into what has become now a long walk with the Lord.
Much of my first ten years as a Christian involved a search for a spiritual home. I immediately went to an Assembly of God church. Four months into the faith I joined a Youth With a Mission school in my hometown. I traveled around my home state of Montana encouraging people to speak in tongues. Four months after that I went to a Bible Institute that forbad the speaking in tongues and other sign gifts (for the theologians out there, it was a pre-millennial, dispensational, cessationist kinda place.)
To say that I had spiritual whiplash after these experiences is an understatement.
Not quite ten years into my faith journey, the cognitive dissonance of it all drove me to the Presbyterians. I found a church in Seattle near the University of Washington (Go Dawgs) that was a remarkable congregation. I started to attend the service that was choreographed for the radio, so it ended at precisely 60 minutes. The preacher was exceptional and made us laugh. That was new. The staff was full of people who later went on to ministries of national prominence with Young Life, InterVarsity Fellowship, seminaries etc. I'd found a home. As I moved into my new denominational and local church community, I eventually got into mission work. Eventually that led to work as a pastor mobilizing for mission. That led to The Outreach Foundation and that led to The Antioch Partners. By the grace of God, I continued to find homes within my larger home.
A boss of mine once described me as “someone who has had every sort of spiritual experience you can have as a Christian.” That's an exaggeration of course, but I have been around. I've got the scars to prove it. I'd like to be as clear as I can here: I've never been around an organization I like better than TAP. From the vision, the execution of that vision, the values, the people involved, well, the whole enchilada, I have loved every minute of my involvement with TAP. A friend who has a background like mine recently went to work with The Outreach Foundation. When I asked him why he decided to join this organization, he said that following the interview he and his wife looked at each other and said something like, “Those are our people. I hope they hire us.”
That's how I feel about TAP, and well, you, even if we've never met. You are my people. You are gifted, committed to Christ and the mission of the Kingdom. You have character, a sense of humor, know when to laugh and when to cry and when to put your shoulder to the wheel and embrace the vicissitudes of mission work. And I bet you have your own scars you could show.
One of the things I love most about TAP is the emphasis on member care. In case you don't know, the Member Care Resource Team (MCRT – can't be Presbyterian without acronyms) is a group of really impressive people who love the Lord, love each other, love our partners flung about the wild world, and would do just about anything to help you out. When I'm on a call with the MCRT and we share, pray, and worry over you all and the work the Lord has given us, I am home.
Whatever you might be facing at this time in your ministry and this season of your life, I hope you have confidence to say that serving with TAP provides you a great home to be launched from. May this home base give you great comfort as you press on in your unique high calling in Christ.
Keith
Pastoral Care and Encouragement