This week has been a great mass of emotions all clustered around one significant event. Last Sunday Wesley, my middle child, and I left for Waco, Texas to get him moved and ready to begin his seminary education at the Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University. Every parent knows the mixture of emotions such an event evokes; sadness, joy, grief, pride, loneliness, and others. All these feelings are a part of the process of letting go of our children as they make their own way into an adult world.
One moment was particularly poignant for me, however, and unique, as Wesley not only goes off to graduate school, but takes an important step in following his calling into the ministry. We left for our long trip with two carloads of Wesley’s worldly possessions. Since Wesley had never driven to Texas, having flown in for his campus visits, I was in the lead with Wesley following behind as we made our way from Madison through Memphis, Little Rock, Texarkana, Dallas, and on to Waco. But I had never been to Baylor’s campus. So as we neared our destination I telephoned Wesley and said, “You need to lead now. You know where we are going.”
Almost immediately I began reflecting on my words not as a practical tactic for taking the right exit off the interstate but as a statement of faith. I believe that God calls new leaders for the church from each generation of believers and enables those leaders to envision new directions as we minister to an ever-changing world. “You need to lead now,” is my blessing that I give to Wesley and all other young men and women that God is calling to be the leaders of the church in a dynamic future. “You know where we are going,” is my pledge to always listen carefully to the ideas of young ministers who understand the future better than I do.
God bless you, Wesley, and God bless all your colleagues. You need to lead now. You know where we are going.
Quiet Faith 