Breathless Haste

As the months passed, the idea of being called as a pastor began to rapidly crystallize for me. In late October 2002, a couple of weeks after returning from Chicago, I had to go to my former business to talk over an issue with the new owners. On the way, I was listening to a sermon on a cassette tape from this megachurch in my car. As I sat in the parking lot, John Ortberg described the parable of the hidden treasure: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matt. 13:44)

  Ortberg said, “This is the chance of a lifetime—the surrender of a lesser, dying futile self for a greater eternal one, the person God planned for you to be.”

At that moment, I felt God’s presence, certain that those words I heard while sitting in a dark parking lot were meant just for me. In joy, I was leaving my old life behind for something of much greater value, following His calling on my life, and really becoming the man I was created to be. I now knew this was my path, but I still had no idea where it would lead. I was in an interim position, and because I had not been to seminary, remaining in that role at First Presbyterian was not an option.