The Overflow

Regular readers might have noticed posts to this site have been sporadic over the past couple of months. I’ve been quite busy finishing up this semester’s research projects along with preparing for the big move and haven’t had time to write new content. Today, I knock the dust off of the blog with few bits of news I’m excited to share.

First, I’m happy to report the move is mostly done and the family and I are now Missouri residents. Last Saturday the moving truck was loaded and we made the 40-hour trip across the country over the span of four days. We have greatly been looking forward to this new chapter of life and anticipate God doing spectacular things in the coming years.

For those of you that don’t know, we moved to Missouri to be part of The Crossings Church – a growing, healthy congregation planted in Wentzville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by good friends of ours a few years ago. Those who know Airiel and I know we are passionate about seeing people come to know Jesus and maturing in Him (i.e. making and developing disciples). That same passion is part of the DNA of The Crossings, and I encourage you to visit this congregation and spend a bit of time talking with the people making it up. You will hear story after story of God redeeming broken people and transforming them into the hands and feet of Jesus – the fruit of disciple-making!

This atmosphere is very attractive to Airiel and I, and it’s because of it that we turned down other work offers choosing instead to move here. We hope to use our gifts and talents however we can to eventually help spread this type of community to another place in the form of a church plant. For now, we will become observers and learners in order to soak up as much knowledge as we can from our friends here, and I am 100% positive this time will be formative.

Second, I’m approaching the completion of my first Masters Degree from Fuller Seminary (and by “first” I mean “last”, but first sounds much more impressive). While on the west coast I was able to complete the majority of the required courses and now have just seven more to finish online. I will be taking most of those this summer and fall, and plan to spend many work days doing something I enjoy most of the time – studying theology.

I’ve also been investigating doctoral programs, and, while I’m pretty sure a terminal degree is something I will eventually tackle, I’m not quite settled on when or where I should enroll. After looking into a number of institutions to study through, I’m currently leaning toward Covenant Seminary simply because 1) it’s near St Louis, 2) it’s reputable, and 3) it would probably be the most convenient option. We will see.

Lastly, I have a few teaching appointments on my calendar and would love it if you could be there:

• July 12-14, 2012 – Campus Ministry United Workshop at Harding University; Friday night keynote
• September 27-30, 2012 – Global Missions Experience at Camp Takodah; four learning labs on disciple-making campus ministry
• September 30-October 3, 2012 – HU Bible Lectureship at Harding University; three sessions on disciple-making in the USA
• March 20-23, 2013 – The Tulsa Workshop at the Tulsa Expo Center; one session on disciple-making among 20-somethings w/ Lynn Stringfellow

I’m hoping to also make a presentation at some point in the fall to the Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy, AR (my sponsoring congregation) to inform everyone about the new work, but have not yet gotten confirmation on when exactly that’s going to happen or what the format will be. We will see.

If you’ll be at any of these events please be sure to say ‘hi’ 🙂

That’s all for now – thanks for reading.

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[To any Crossings Church members unfamiliar with who I am or why I am writing a lengthy post about my activities: my wife and I have been serving as missionaries in the United States for the past several years and are financially supported by a number of different individuals and churches. In addition to writing articles about other things related to Bible study or Christian ministry here, this blog is one way I keep supporters up-to-date regarding mine and Airiel’s work. I will make the occasional post about what we’re learning from our friends at The Crossings to keep supporters informed. If that sounds interesting to you, I welcome you to subscribe, and look forward to being your friend. 🙂 – Wes]

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