the    sides

Pain may have been C.S. Lewis’ megaphone, but I think silence is mine.

It’s quiet in the house - it’s late (or early depending on point of view). I can’t sleep and my mind is zinging.

We have a pastors/elders planning retreat this weekend for the 2006 ministry year. As a ‘professional Christian’, I’ve been on quite a few of these. Not all of them have been good.

As a grad assistant, I sat in on the Theology Departments planning session for the upcoming school year one fall. The Dean worked around the room to all the profs asking for their major objectives of the year and a quick synopsis of their plan.

Write a book on eschatology, contribute an article on the South Galatia Theory, prepare to go to Israel for an archeological dig…blah, blah, blah.

Then it came to Dr. McGraw. “I have no major objectives or plans.”

Classic McGraw. Sent the Dean into orbit because McGraw never did anything provincial.

I asked him later why he answered that way.

“I want to impact students for the kingdom better next year than this. And right now, I’m not real sure how God is going to do that. I have a sneaky suspicion that it will be as a result of my relationship with Him.”

Those three sentences did more to mold my theology than any of his classes. Thanks, Dr. McGraw.