This morning the congregation completely shocked me. They “did good.” During the Sunday School time they threw a surprise going-away party for me. How were they able to surprise me since I knew it’d be my last Sunday. Well, to begin with they kept it a secret in the office the entire week. They put an announcement in the newsletter and made sure to print, copy and send it on either the afternoon that I was in Kansas City or Des Moines. They then made sure that everyone at our card game last night knew not to tell. Finally, they announced it during the 8:00 worship service. Why did I not know about it then? Cathie ran into the sanctuary at the beginning of the service to get help on the computer because she had to find a number really fast. I really didn’t expect anything at that point. Once the service finished, however, it was time for Sunday School. I ran downstairs really fast to ask Richard Lofton what time the Men’s Chorus was going to practice before the worship service. When I didn’t find anyone in his classroom, I walked through the hallway beside the fellowship hall and Lea stopped me and told me to run upstairs: Cathie was looking for me. When I caught up with Cathie, she told me to run upstairs since she had something to do and watch over the middle school class until she came up. I walked up there with Phil Hendricks and the only one there was Taylor Courtois. Cathie then came up and told me she’d lied and that I was needed downstairs. Talk about dramatic!

I’m not one for big good-byes. My pattern is usually to fade out of the setting without bringing attention. This one was great, though. It’s a congregation I’ve grown close to. I grew even closer to the staff. The fellowship time during Sunday School was great. It ended up taking me at least 30 minutes until I got a chance to even make it to the refreshment table. People I’d worshipped with each week, visited at the hospital, led in Sunday school, worked with on the mission trip all came up and we talked. The nice thing was that they didn’t put any pressure on me to tell in that short time all that I’d learned during the summer; they were there to say goodbye and just enjoy the time together. My goal during the next three days is to not act like a lame duck; we’ll see how well I can do it!

How many people could identify ministry with stripping? I think it’s safe to say that no one would equate the two at first sight. Steve Courtois made me think more on it, though. Tonight at our last Friday Night Card Game (yeah, I know, it’s a Saturday one — the name’s stuck though), Steve joked that he had a shirt I should wear for my last Sunday with the congregation: “I Strip for a Living.” The reason it’s so funny for Steve is that he works as a part-time janitor at the Catholic elementary school in town and one of his duties is to strip the floors of their covering each summer and then reseal them before the school year begins.

Part of me really wanted to wear the shirt; stripping is a metaphor for ministry. Ministry, in several ways, requires people to strip many aspects of their identity in order to make room for the ministerial one. Intrusive shyness blocks one from meeting people enough to know their needs. This summer I didn’t have a problem with shyness but instead with using some of my spiritual gifts: not all of them are best suited for First Christian Church in Keokuk. One reason I’m successful, especially in Ft. Worth, is that I can find fast ways to overcome obstacles. I’m usually good at finding solutions that work. This summer is full of instances where I found solutions to problems, but couldn’t convince others or create the impetus to make them reality. A primary example: DSL for the congregation. We were using a dial-up internet connection and found out that Qwest has DSL for only $7 per month more than what we’re paying for the dial-up. Nothing could be done at the old church, and each week it looks less and less certain that anything will happen at the new one. I’ve had to strip off my wish for wanting to do things the way that I see are the easiest. I’ll enjoy some of the independence during the next couple of years before I work in a congregation full-time.

Stripping isn’t just something that Steve Courtois does or that ministers have to do. It’s something Christians must do. Once people become Christians, their lives change. Not only are they passively changed by God’s grace, but they also change themselves. They strip off the portions of their lives not worth continuing and they reforge their lives to fill the void left behind. So I now have to ask, why doesn’t everyone want to strip for a living?

Today was the most productive day of the entire summer. It’s sad that I hit this point with only a week left in my internship. It seemed like nothing I wanted to do couldn’t get done. Well, I take that back, there were some things I didn’t get to; but, considering that I got over 3/4 of my list done, it’s not that bad.

I’ve been trying to figure out what the church needs the most. If they do the internship again in the future, I think they need to intentionally find an intern who has experience in marketing or advertising. I do some stuff with the computers, but they need an intern who can develop of a strategy for them. They need a web site that has content updated at least twice a week. They need someone who can coordinate and lead dynamic training for volunteers who are working with the hospitality team. They need someone who can see four years into the future and try to get the church there. They need someone who can bring in the practical technology and do enough training with the staff to make sure it lasts once they leave. They need someone.

Even though I say they need someone like that, I’m sure some are probably asking why they don’t need someone who’s studied religion. Easy answer: this internship isn’t set up where an intern would need a lot of the knowledge learned in classes. It’s probably because of how they approach ministry. There’s a lot of coordination, administration, and visitation to do. My Religion studies have probably let me concentrate on these more than I would have been able to had I not had it, but it’s not essential for the way they do this internship.

Why do I sometimes get a rekindled passion to do academics? Usually it’s a reactionary urge; it’s a combination of anxiety and near-sightedness concerning the future. I’m still trying to figure out why this internship is causing me to want to hold on to academia. What am I reacting against?

My sermon on Saturday night went well! Methodists are a friendly group to worship with. I preached it on the conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. It shouldn’t have been that hard to write, should it have?

It ended up not being that hard to finish. I started it on Saturday morning and spent most of the day at the church working on it. In the afternoon, when I had only a little bit left to write, I got a strange phone call. “Adam, are you coming up to Iowa City any time in the next couple of days?” It was Bill S-D, the director at the Christian Conference Center. “Ummm, I wasn’t planning on it. Why?” “Oh, we have someone in your congregation who donated tile for the interns to use to floor their bathroom; we need a way to get it up here though.” I then thought about it, and realized I could alter my route and return to Keokuk via Newton on my way home tonight. Then came the news in another phone call that I had to get it in the next half-hour. The good news is that I now have it loaded in my car and ready to go!

Sunday was good as well. Because I’d spent most of Saturday working on my sermon, I still hadn’t thought of my offertory meditation, pastoral prayer, or prepared the media with Keynote, so I came in at 6:30 and got everything ready before the 8:00am service. The worships went great and my afternoon nap afterwards was quite nice. I capped off the afternoon and evening by visiting the Whitakers for three hours (and then another porch conversation with Rodger for 45 minutes) and reading a lot and then watching The Boondock Saints.