There is a FIRST TIME for everything! Part 1

Did you call so and so? What time are we leaving? Did you see on Face Book? Have updated Twitter? Where did I lay my phone? My inbox is overflowing! How many times a day do we make any or all of these statements. And one I am guilty of saying "I am dreading school next week". I have had a week to reflect on my time in Nicaragua and as I spent days thinking and remembering I felt God was convicting me in two areas of my life.

One of the things we were able to do while in Nicaragua was some pastoral teaching. We invited several of the area pastors to come to the mission house where we were staying and four of our team leaders shared and taught from the the books of Corinthians and Romans. As we waited patiently the first morning for the pastors to arrive we were all filled with anxiety and curiosity. We were waiting on the inferior natives to show up and be trained by the Americans. As the room filled with pastors (some rode a bike 2.5 hours to get there) we were exited to get started.

As we began each pastor introduced himself to us and we opened with a word of prayer. It was at this moment the teaching began, except the roles were reversed. It was evident very quickly that these men were not uneducated men that needed training from the Americans. These men knew their Bible from front to back. They had a passion for God's word. They truly desired to understand the Bible better. Their focus and concentration was amazing. They were scribbling notes as fast as they could. They fired questions that would make the most seasoned pastor stop and think. It was evident that they took their role as pastor and as a christian very seriously.

Most of you know that I am a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Now I am no theologian by any stretch of the imagination. In fact some days I wonder how I even got excepted here. I have the opportunity to sit under some of the best professors in the world. This seminary is considered to be one of the greatest in the world when it comes to academics. And I through the grace of God and His provision am able to attend for almost nothing. Yet many days I begrudgingly go to class and put forth half effort.

God spoke to me that day. It was like He was saying these men rode a bike for 2.5 hours to come hear YOU GUYS (a group of average joes) teach. Not only did they sacrifice to get there but when they arrived they were hungry for the word. God has given me an opportunity to get one of the best theological educations money can buy at no cost to myself and I have taken that for granted. So as I begin a new semester next week I look froward to it with a renewed passion and desire. I no longer have to go back to school but rather I GET to go back to school.

How many times do we as christians take going to church and learning God's word for granted. Week after week we just go through the motions. We show up we stay a wake and we go home. God has provided us with some of the greatest pastors and small group teachers in the world. My challenge for you is to not take that for granted. The next time you cross the threshold of the Church remember that it is a privilege and honor to get to study God's word. We should do it with passion and purpose not pain and agony.

The title of this post is There is a First Time for everything. This was my first time to post on a blog and probably my last. I am no english major so I am sure that there are a few run on sentences and comma splices (if I used any commas). I didn't let Brandi proof this so you will just have to understand and forgive me.