Bloat

No, I didn't eat too much Chinese, or Mexican, and look pregnant. Getting spiritual bloat is another problem completely.

With the last few years of being flat, I have been doing a lot more reading. I continue to read book after book, but never do anything with the knowledge I've been given. I do use a little on her sometimes or during school visits, but not very much. As one author put it, I'm getting spiritual bloat. Continually ingesting knowledge but never using the information, or maybe head calories.

My church's denomination, Christian Reformed Church, allows lay people like myself to be examined and get a license to exhort. It would allow me to lead sermons at churches in my area and help fill in when a pastor is gone on vacation or some other reason. The idea of getting my license has been stirring for a long time, but it has finally been poured out.

For the last couple months, I have been talking with my church's pastor and one that leads the governing committee, called classis, in my area. They went over the basic process and what some questions may be asked during examination. This week I put in the formal request to my church for a letter of recommendation to be considered for testing.

Now that I have sent the letter, the seeds of doubt keep running through my head. Would any church actually want me to speak? How many sermons can I come up with? Will churches take a quad speaker seriously? I keep reminding myself that God is in control and if it is His will, then it will happen. With the past several years of speaking in different schools and being given time to study, I feel like I'm being lead toward this direction.

If I make the deadline, testing would be in mid-September. If not, then it won't be until spring sometime and I never know where God will take me by then. I will wait and see if I start the preacher quad life or maybe later. Until then, I will serve in whatever way I am given.