exceptionnoted

John Calvin’s St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva

After seven or so years of theological training (from undergrad and now midway through seminary), one question often posed to me goes something like this: “So, Ivan, what ministry do you sense the Lord calling you to? What’s next after you graduate?” By now I probably sound like a broken record when I explain how I’m torn between the pastorate and teaching, of how I would love to be a pastor in a local church but how I would also love to teach in an academic setting.

On my bad days such thinking causes me to carry an existential angst, anxious about the future and uncertain about what lies ahead. On my better days I’m reminded of God’s sovereign leading and acknowledgement that either way I must be an unashamed workman and an example of Christ-like virtue (cf. 1 Tim. 4:12; 2 Tim. 2:15…