Just my Imagination

Today I am preparing to preach my first official sermon. I guess you could call it my "inaugural sermon." What makes this so exciting and yet, anxiety producing, is that I am preaching during Sunday Morning Worship Service at Destiny Worhsip Center Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in Cedar Hill, Texas. What is even more amazing is that I serve that fine church as their Assistant Pastor.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine myself preaching during Sunday morning worship services. Well, now that's not altogether true. In fact, that is exactly what I have done over the years...Imagine.

I can recall sitting in my pew, listening to various male preachers and begin thinking, If I were preaching that sermon, I would have said this or that" Or, if I were preaching I would have approached that subject this way." All I have been able to do is "imagine."

I guess I allowed myself to imagine because the powers that be in my denomination, couldn't censor or reprimand my imagination. Imagining was all that was available to me--a woman with aspirations of being in full-time ministry. Because of these limitations, my minsterial aspirations involved teaching women, and working in various Outreach Ministries of the church, but never the Pulpit.

Even as a Seminary student, I decided upon graduating in May 2006 with my MDiv, that I would pursue PhD studies instead of a DMin. My reasoning for this choice was that in my denomination, the only persons (except for one woman who worked at a University) who held the DMin. degree were men serving as full-time preachers and pastors. Therefore, I needed to restrict my studies to teaching at the University or Seminary level, and continue my work with women and outreach ministries.

While there is nothing wrong with ministering to women or serving in outreach ministries, in fact, that is still the largest part of my ministerial functions. However, if God desires to expand the borders of my life into preaching the Word to the entire Body of Christ, for me to refuse, would be an act of disobedience.

And so, here I am in July 2005, an Assistant Pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), who could have imagined that, certainly not me.

But God, knows the plans that God has for me.

I simply want to walk through any and all doors that God opens, even if on the other side, something new and different awaits me. For I am assured that if God is there, all will be well.