And Away I Go

I am at the Atlanta Airport writing this post. My flight to Ghana leaves in about an hour. In case you are just stumbling across this blog, I am headed to city named Tamale which is in Northern Ghana in West Africa to teach for a semester at a Baptist seminary. While I am there I will be teaching Christian Ethics and Christian Family Life to Ghanaian pastors. I will also be working with Seed Ministry doing the work we always do there (preaching, teaching, and working in the villages). While I am in Tamale I will be living at the Seed Ministry compound with Rev. Bob and Bonnie Parker. That is always a joy.

The best one word description of what I am feeling tonight as I embark on this adventure is grateful. I am grateful God called me to Ghana five years ago and that he has called me back there again and again. I am grateful for all the people along the way that did their part to steer me towards Ghana to begin with, some without even realizing they were doing it. I am grateful that my family understands what I am doing and supports me in it unequivocally. I am especially grateful that my beautiful wife supports me and am even more grateful that she is a partner with me in the work, even if she isn't with me in person this time. I am grateful my parents understand. I will never forget the day I told my parents that God had called me to be a preacher. The first words out of mom's mouth were, "At least you're not moving to Africa or something!" Oops, sorry Mom. I am also very, very grateful for all the financial support and prayer support that makes what I am doing a possibility and, more importantly makes it effective.

My plan is to try to blog as regularly as I can; for my sake as a kind of log of what happens, and for others to read who may be interested in hearing about it. I won't have a tremendous amount of regular Internet access, certainly nothing like we have here in the States, but I'll blog as often as I can. I hope you'll meet me here to share the journey. You can follow this blog, or keep up on Facebook (www.facebook.com/doctorstevej). If you'd like to write me, my mailing address is Dr. Steve Jackson, Box 465 ER, Tamale, Ghana. You can also text encouragement, prayers, and news to my cell phone, which I will have with me while I am there.

Until next time, this is Steve signing off – I'll be in touch again 12 hours and 6000 miles from now. Go with God.

 

 

Encouragement

Thanks so much to everyone (mainly Facebookers) for expressing your support of my going to teach in Africa by commenting on this blog. It struck me tonight what a baby I'm being about all this. I think of all the brave men and women who serve our country in the armed forces. These folks routinely have to ship out, most of the time for a lot longer than three months, and many times they have folks shooting at them. What do I have to complain about?

I'm vowing to be more regular in blogging while on this journey. Hopefully I will have enough Internet connectivity to blog, check Email, etc... I think it's going to be pretty interesting.

For now I am pretty well packed and have things in order here. Tomorrow I'll tie up a few loose ends and then time's up. Thanks again for the prayers - Steve

An Emotional Day

Yesterday I returned to NewSong, a church we planted back in 2000 that I stepped down from as Senior Pastor back in January. It was a very emotional day for me. There were plenty of reasons for me to blubber. I had friends come from a long way to be with us at church, people whom I love a lot. On top of that there was our great church family from NewSong; everyone was so wonderful and supportive.

As I tried to compose myself I realized I have been pretty much in "business" mode, checking off tasks for my trip, and not really allowing myself to go too deep emotionally about the changes Donna and I will be facing these next few months. Today it all hit me and I just lost it when I tried to speak.

I also realized today just how much better God's plans are than ours. As the pastor of NewSong said today; all we need to do is seek God's kingdom, and his righteousness (Matt. 6:33) and leave the rest to Him. I'm feeling very grateful for that tonight. Please keep the prayers coming as the time draws near for me to go; I'm feeling a bit anxious - but as I learned today, God has got it all under control.

TCB

One of the most difficult things about taking an extended trip like the one I'm about to embark on is all the minutiae that you have to take care of in order to be away for a while. That's what I've been up to for the past several days and I am pretty sure this necessary evil will continue to dominate my time until I go.

On the other hand it's kind of nice to get a handle on all the loose ends that we all have flying around such as misplaced papers, forgotten passwords, things you've been meaning to get around to for months, etc... I'm sure you've experience of working so hard to get ready for a vacation (cleaning off your desk at work, servicing the car, stopping the newspaper and mail etc...) and then realizing how much simpler and easier life would be if you'd stay "up to date" and kept things organized all along. Or better yet, perhaps how much better life would be if you didn't have all the "stuff" to contend with to begin with.

That's what I'm thinking today. I am becoming more conscious of the ways all the "stuff" in my life shapes me. One of the great things about living in a developing country is that you realize just how little you really need to live a life of grace. After all, what most of us are yearning for is a singleness of eye and purity of intention and heart, whether we realize it or not.

Lord, teach me - teach us - to trust in You more than in the things that take up so much of our time and distract us from time with You. More of you is what this restlessness in our soul is about, and no amount of stuff will fill the God shaped vacuum within us. Help us to grasp this ancient but simple truth today. Amen.

Moving On

Now that it is official, I can share an opportunity that has recently come my way. While in Ghana earlier this summer I met one of the leaders of a seminary there. As we talked I told him that I would love to teach in a seminary in Africa someday. We spoke a few more times after our initial meeting, and to make a long story short, I was invited to come and teach there this fall.

The position is a missionary one (translation: unpaid), but I consider it a great honor and privilege to serve in this capacity. I have always loved to teach, and I am very excited about the opportunity. I will dearly miss my family and one of my favorite times of the year (Fall) at home, but I am confident this is what I am supposed to do right now.

These are strange days for me. I have spent the last few months discovering that what worked for me so well for so many years no longer works. The things that drove me even after my call to ministry: influence, success, affection and praise, now all seem hollow and empty. Something inside me is dying and yet at the same time, something new is also being born. I am convinced that the years that lie behind me, with all their struggles and pain, will in time be remembered only as the road that eventually led to my - to our - new life.

The thought that for a while I am to live away from family, friends, and all the other things that make my life what it is today is a little scary, but I am confident that as I move into this new territory it will be the place where I will finally learn what it means to fully surrender to Jesus' Lordship and the Spirit's guidance. A time and place where I'll stop fighting with God over who is in control and acknowledge my powerlessness. A place where I will hopefully someday be able to join Jesus in his prayer of absolute trust: "Your will be done, not mine."

I'm not sure exactly where this path will eventually lead, but every day I'm on it I'm discovering more about how much the One who has me on this journey loves me, and that makes every faltering step worth taking.