John Wilks of A Preacher's Journey
Background
I was born in Midland, TX- a dusty boom town half way between Dallas andEl Paso which is most famous for producing George W. Bush and the McClure baby who fell down that well shaft in the 80s.
I was raised as a skeptical agnostic, but I became a Christian at 15, having encountered the Living Christ on a youth retreat in Dallas. When God called be into ministry at 17, I began to rebel and struggled with and often against that call for just about eight years.
At 25, I graduated from McMurry University in Abilene, TX with a degree inReligious studies. Three months later, I married Laurie, who I met atMcMurry, and we headed off to Asbury, where she and I both enrolled. Laurie went full time while I took some classes and worked.
After Laurie graduated, we moved several times. We were living in WichitaFalls, TX when our son Benjamin Jordan Wilks came into the world. Ben is a gift from God. (Doctors had told us that we'd never have children- at least not without complicated medical help. Ben was a complete surprise!) Every time I see him smile, I am praise God!
A few months later, I became eligible of appointment as a local pastor, which lead us to Whitesboro. I am beginning my second year under appointment here as the associate pastor and youth director and I am still slowly plugging my way through seminary thanks to Asbury's Extended Learning program. Laurie is now a special education teacher in a neighboring town, and Ben, now eighteen months old, is discovering a new world every day.
Why do you blog?
When I was received my first appointment in pastoral ministry last June, it became apparent to me that I needed to become more consistent in my own spiritual disciplines if I am going to be able to serve as I should. Now, I have tried for years to incorporate journaling as a discipline and failed. Somehow, though, the blog format works for me. And to my great surprise, others have started reading it too. I joke about having four readers because when I started, I figured that my wife, my sister, and a couple of old friends would be the only people who ever read the thing.
At first, my blog was just a place to vent ideas which indirectly came out of my daily prayer and study practices. But now, most of my posts are direct reflections on one of the passages from the daily lectionary. WhenI get into the office, I work through my Morning Prayer (I use the online Mission of St. Clare, which uses the Book of Common Prayer for its base) and then I go back, pick a text, and start writing.
What has been your best blogging experience?
It is hard to pin one down. Really, most of my posts are tied to my devotional life, so I see the highlights as the days when God works me through some issue that I have been neglecting. Reading through a daily lectionary makes you open to whatever God might say through those passages - and since I don't get to pick the passages, I can't just avoid sticky issues.
In reading the comments (and given the nature my blog, I don't get many) and in the e-mails some folks have sent me, I have been touched to see that other people have shared that experience of looking at the Bible or the Christian life in a new way by taking these texts as they come in the lectionary and looking for God in them. I am grateful for the shared experience.
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
Blogging is a no-rules genre. You can write cute, two-line posts, or page after page. So don't worry about style - just write what you like to write. Most of all, do it for the glory of God, and what ever comes of it, you won't be disappointed.
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
I've a Wesley Blog addict, so that would be there. I also enjoy Asbury Seminary's web parish a great deal, and my wife (who is a much better writer than I am) is developing a blog which I read and help her design. When she's ready to go public with it, I plan to do a write-up on my blog about it.
Of course, if it is Monday, I'm reading Locust and Honey no matter what else I might have on the agenda. I'd give up Wesley Blog or Web Parish for the round up any and every week.
Who are your spiritual heroes?
Patrick of Ireland, John Wesley, Rich Mullins, Teresa of Calcutta, Hugh B.Daniel (my pastor when I first became a Christian,) Corrie Ten Boom, C.S.Lewis, and Nehemiah.
What are you reading at the moment?
I just started in on Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson.
What is your favorite hymn and why?
"And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley.
Besides being the official hymn of Asbury Seminary, just read the lyrics!
I love the imagery of verse four:
Background
I was born in Midland, TX- a dusty boom town half way between Dallas andEl Paso which is most famous for producing George W. Bush and the McClure baby who fell down that well shaft in the 80s.
I was raised as a skeptical agnostic, but I became a Christian at 15, having encountered the Living Christ on a youth retreat in Dallas. When God called be into ministry at 17, I began to rebel and struggled with and often against that call for just about eight years.
At 25, I graduated from McMurry University in Abilene, TX with a degree inReligious studies. Three months later, I married Laurie, who I met atMcMurry, and we headed off to Asbury, where she and I both enrolled. Laurie went full time while I took some classes and worked.
After Laurie graduated, we moved several times. We were living in WichitaFalls, TX when our son Benjamin Jordan Wilks came into the world. Ben is a gift from God. (Doctors had told us that we'd never have children- at least not without complicated medical help. Ben was a complete surprise!) Every time I see him smile, I am praise God!
A few months later, I became eligible of appointment as a local pastor, which lead us to Whitesboro. I am beginning my second year under appointment here as the associate pastor and youth director and I am still slowly plugging my way through seminary thanks to Asbury's Extended Learning program. Laurie is now a special education teacher in a neighboring town, and Ben, now eighteen months old, is discovering a new world every day.
Why do you blog?
When I was received my first appointment in pastoral ministry last June, it became apparent to me that I needed to become more consistent in my own spiritual disciplines if I am going to be able to serve as I should. Now, I have tried for years to incorporate journaling as a discipline and failed. Somehow, though, the blog format works for me. And to my great surprise, others have started reading it too. I joke about having four readers because when I started, I figured that my wife, my sister, and a couple of old friends would be the only people who ever read the thing.
At first, my blog was just a place to vent ideas which indirectly came out of my daily prayer and study practices. But now, most of my posts are direct reflections on one of the passages from the daily lectionary. WhenI get into the office, I work through my Morning Prayer (I use the online Mission of St. Clare, which uses the Book of Common Prayer for its base) and then I go back, pick a text, and start writing.
What has been your best blogging experience?
It is hard to pin one down. Really, most of my posts are tied to my devotional life, so I see the highlights as the days when God works me through some issue that I have been neglecting. Reading through a daily lectionary makes you open to whatever God might say through those passages - and since I don't get to pick the passages, I can't just avoid sticky issues.
In reading the comments (and given the nature my blog, I don't get many) and in the e-mails some folks have sent me, I have been touched to see that other people have shared that experience of looking at the Bible or the Christian life in a new way by taking these texts as they come in the lectionary and looking for God in them. I am grateful for the shared experience.
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
Blogging is a no-rules genre. You can write cute, two-line posts, or page after page. So don't worry about style - just write what you like to write. Most of all, do it for the glory of God, and what ever comes of it, you won't be disappointed.
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, what would they be?
I've a Wesley Blog addict, so that would be there. I also enjoy Asbury Seminary's web parish a great deal, and my wife (who is a much better writer than I am) is developing a blog which I read and help her design. When she's ready to go public with it, I plan to do a write-up on my blog about it.
Of course, if it is Monday, I'm reading Locust and Honey no matter what else I might have on the agenda. I'd give up Wesley Blog or Web Parish for the round up any and every week.
Who are your spiritual heroes?
Patrick of Ireland, John Wesley, Rich Mullins, Teresa of Calcutta, Hugh B.Daniel (my pastor when I first became a Christian,) Corrie Ten Boom, C.S.Lewis, and Nehemiah.
What are you reading at the moment?
I just started in on Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson.
What is your favorite hymn and why?
"And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley.
Besides being the official hymn of Asbury Seminary, just read the lyrics!
I love the imagery of verse four:
"Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee."
Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've changed your mind?
I can name several. I was once for the death penalty, I've been on both sides of the abortion issue, and I've wrestled mightily with the "just war" concept and with issues of human sexuality. (For the record, I am"pro-life" both on the death penalty and the unborn, I am against Christian participation in war, and I uphold traditional Biblical views on sex and sexuality.)
What philosophical thesis do you think is most important to combat?
In terms of evangelism, relativism has to be the biggest issue. Relativism and monotheism are flatly incompatible. Besides, relativism, when it gets passed academia and into practice, becomes "might makes right" and opens the door for great oppression and injustice.
If you could affect one major change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
We need a viable third party badly, even if only for two or three election cycles, to stop this downward cycle of political viciousness we see taking place.
If you could affect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?
For the most part, our Discipline as it stands works just fine. The problem is when folks try to ignore the rules, like the far left with sexuality issues and the far right with the trust clause.
One change I'd love to see is in educational requirements for Elders. Seminary is getting to be so expensive, and Masters of Divinity degree plans keep getting longer and longer. Persons over 30 who a) have children and b) are under pastoral appointment should have the option to enter course of study or substitute a M.A. in Biblical studies for an M.Div. But I'll admit, my thoughts on this are a bit self-serving.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Seek first God's Kingdom and His Righteousness, and everything else will take care of itself. (OK, so it isn't my advice, it's Jesus'. But His advice beats mine every time.)
What, if anything, do you worry about?
I try not to worry because it is counter productive. When I do worry, I worry about the decadency of American Christianity (and that includes me.) Self indulgence is not a mark of the Christian life, but it is something that I struggle with and something which seem pervasive in our churches.
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?
There are many decisions I regret because of the harm I caused. But God uses me where I am, so I don't spend much time fretting over the past. That's what grace is for.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
Abilene, TX.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I enjoy hearing and making music, I love to cook, and I like to travel. But most of all, I love to spend time with my wife and my son and our whole family.
What is your most treasured possession?
Materialistic true confession time, eh? I'd have to say my guitars.
What talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be a good singer.
If you could have any three guests, past or present to dinner, who would they be?
Rich Mullins, Francis of Assisi, and Patrick of Ireland
2 comments:
Geeze, I should have had my wife proof read that stuff before I sent it to you, John. I could have a "find my typos" contest!
Nehemiah. a hero of mine too
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