Incarnational

Shortly before I moved to Ireland, I read Barbara Brown Taylor's book, Leaving Church: A memoir of Faith. In the book she tells the story of her ministry. When she moved from a city church to a smaller parish in the country, one of her observations were that she wondered what the voice of God would sound like in the new environment.

This thought has stayed with me since then. I confess that I do not always know what the voice of God sounds like. I often read books and blogs in which authors write with the greatest clarity about the truths and realities of faith, and ministry in general. I am usually deeply moved by the thoughts and experiences expressed by these authors. I wish I could think as clearly as they do. If only my analysis of situations could be as incisive as theirs. Wouldn't it be marvelous if everything that I encountered in my ministry would make as much sense as that. I will probably share some of those thoughts on this blog from time to time as they are truly inspiring. The authors seem very in tune with the voice of God.

And yet, I am very aware of the situatedness of ministry. I work in a specific context, were there are individuals with very specific needs. Often a description of this kind of ministry seems very mundane. I tend to find it difficult to relate my experiences with larger, more eloquent themes. This sometimes causes me to doubt myself. Do I have the ability to hear the voice of God? There are moments, however, that I feel a greater sense of peace. If I understand some of the themes of the Bible right, the voice of God is often very human, sometimes unobtrusive, even hidden between great deal of seemingly meaningless and often absurd human experience. I hope this blog can reflect some of this.