On the wall behind my desk here at my home office is a very nicely matted and framed piece of parchment with these words printed on it:

Texas Christian University

 has conferred upon

 Timothy Mitchell Adams

 the degree of

Master of Divinity

together with all the honors and responsibilities pertaining thereto.

Awarded by the Board of Trustees

upon the recommendation of the faculty.

May 14, 1994, Fort Worth, Texas

Was that really thirteen years ago?

Yes, because right across the room from me as I write this is a thirteen year-old girl named Elizabeth Clara Adams sitting in front of her computer doing one of her last homework assignments of her seventh grade career.  She was four months old when TCU Chancellor Bill Tucker handed me that diploma. 

It really has been thirteen years since I finished seminary.

Where has the time gone?  What have I done with that time?

For a little over five of those years I was a pastor, which was sort of the whole reason I went to seminary in the first place.  Ministry was and is the only thing I’ve ever really been interested in and getting the “MDiv” was what they told me I had to do in order to be taken seriously.

But, please don’t misunderstand, I don’t regret going to seminary.  I don’t regret getting my seminary education at Brite Divinity School at TCU.  “Study to show yourself approved” was the counsel Paul gave to another Timothy nearly two thousand years ago and that’s what I did.

Before TCU I got a BA in Sociology from UT Arlington.  Before that there were three different Bible Colleges (that’s a long story) I attended right after high school.  Over a 20 year period (1979-1999) I served 6 different churches in various roles.  I always believed (and still believe) that God made me for one thing:

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”  II. Timothy 4:2

That got tattooed on my soul at an early age and the ink is indelible.  Being unable and unfit for nearly seven years to do that one thing for which I was made was the aching in my soul and emptiness in my heart that nearly killed me.

Nearly.

But God had other plans.

“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.”  Philippians 1:6 (The Message)

There was a time (really several times) from 1999-2006 that I quit.  I gave up.  I told God that was it, I was through.  I gave it my best shot, I made every sacrifice I could, I played by the rules, I got an education -  I tried, I really, really tried - but it just didn’t work out.  I shook my fist toward heaven and I told God we were done.

But God kept at it.  “God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded” (Romans 11:29).  Another translation says it this way, “God doesn't take back the gifts he has given or forget about the people he has chosen.”

The God I believe in is a tenacious God.  He doesn’t give up on me or you.  Thank God.

In January I incorporated a new outreach and gave it the name Corriente Ministries.  On April 6 I left my job of the past three years because Corriente had grown so much that I had to make a choice – either walk through this open door or stay where I was.  Rather than walk I chose to run.  And I haven’t looked back.

Today I took on another ministry position (in addition to Corriente) at the church we attend.  It’s “part time.”  But I’ve got some lost time to make up for, so nothing can ever be part time. 

By the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ I’m back - doing what he made me to do, what he called me to do, what the good people at TCU trained me to do.

I can’t wait to see where I’ll be in another 13 years.

Jesus, thank you for not giving up on me, even when I gave up on both of us.  Help everyone who reads this to understand that you haven’t given up on them either.  Amen.