Rambling About Pastors, Temptation, and "What if..."
I found out recently that a fellow pastor has resigned from the ministry. We were classmates but not friends - not really. We moved in different circles with different friends and different groups. In fact, I doubt he would remember me. He was smart in school, quick to speak up and argue fine points of theology, sitting with a particular group of professors and students at lunch time and talking with them, soaking up their wisdom, theologizing at a higher plane than me. I was content to do my part, an average student, hanging out on the edge of the radar scope. I would participate in class, when necessary, engage professors if I had a question, but generally stay on my side of the road, so to speak. What do you call a man who graduates seminary with a B- average? “Pastor.” He wasn’t my friend, but he was someone whom I grew to respect for his intellect, his ability, and his pastoral heart. He was a good and faithful pastor, pointing people to Jesus, telling them – assuring them...