Meet Me in St. Louis...

Fall Break has arrived, and I have just returned from a very fast trip to St. Louis with Jeff to visit Covenant Seminary. We left Knoxville on Wednesday around 7:00pm and arrived at Covenant around 2:30am on Thursday. Later that day (after a quick night's sleep in a very nice guest room on campus), we got to sit in on a couple of classes, take a tour of campus, eat with a student, and meet with an admissions counselor. That evening, we ate dinner with Michael Phillips, the former male RUF intern at Tennessee who I replaced this year. He's in his first year at Covenant, and it was great to chat with him about the seminary and also to pick his brain on the internship and get some advice.

This was my first seminary visit, and I have to say...I loved it. I obviously still have more than a year before I'll be making this decision, but it was exciting to go ahead and start looking at what might lie ahead and the direction God may have for me to go. I also plan to visit RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary) in both Orlando and Charlotte. At the urging of my good friend and roommate, I might also visit Trinity in Chicago. For the time being, though...I really liked Covenant. And St. Louis? Talk about a cool city...

I am so excited to be in Knoxville. I am loving the internship. I have already learned a lot, but I know I have so much more to learn. The first thing I've learned is how unqualified I really am. Obviously, no education will instantly make me "qualified." I think anyone who has any shred of honesty about themselves will agree that none of us are truly qualified for ministry, while some are certainly more gifted than others. However, I am really looking forward to being able to sit under the instruction of wise, godly professors (all of whom are also pastors) to be able to learn more about God's Word and how to better share the gospel and show love to God's people.

The more students I meet with, the more I realize how little I really know and how much I need to rely on God for any "difference" I might make. Again, no education will completely change this...much depends on the Holy Spirit continuing to work on my heart. However, I also trust that much of this work by the Holy Spirit will take place through a seminary education. I ask for your prayers in this regard. I also ask for your prayers as I continue to pray about where God would have me go after the internship.

I remember when Dr. Harry Reeder, pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian in Birmingham, used an illustration in a sermon about a man who was walking through a forest. He saw someone in the distance chopping down trees...or at least trying to. As he walked closer, he realized that the man's axe was extremely dull, and even though he was trying his hardest (to the point of exhaustion), he was barely putting a dent in the tree. The first man finally approached him and asked, "Don't you think you should sharpen your axe?" The woodcutter stopped, exasperated, and said, "Are you kidding? I don't have time to sharpen my axe! Look at all these trees that need to be cut down!"

I'm excited to continue learning through this experience as an RUF intern at Tennessee, but after visiting Covenant, I'm also very excited for the opportunity to "sharpen my axe" after the internship, and, by God's grace, be better equipped to do whatever work He has laid out for my life.

I am enjoying having my parents here in Knoxville this weekend. We'll be driving over to Pigeon Forge tomorrow to go to the Apple Barn! Two words: apple...fritters. yes.

Thank you again for your prayers, and I hope you are having a wonderful fall!

Resting in His promises,

Stephen