The "new self" (con't)

As I said in my previous post, I'm having the time of my life as a middle school teacher right now. A friend emailed me the other day to see if I had been eaten alive yet. I replied with a much shorter version of that post.

This process of discovering my new self has provided all sorts of interesting questions from others. I have a ton of t-shirts that I got from church camps for kids. I have an equal number of shirts from an annual pastors retreat I used to attend every fall, which by the way, is meeting right now without me. Since I coach the school's volleyball team, I always change for practice and usually wear a shirt from one of these two collections.

Today, I was wearing one of my "Carolina Pastor's Gathering" shirts. One of the girls on the team noticed and asked, "Are you a pastor?" I honestly did not know how to answer. I was chided a few weeks ago by a co-worker whose husband was in youth ministry for 20 years when I said, "I used to be." She said, "You'll always be a pastor." My wife was gently reminded by another pastor's wife that even though I am not pastoring a church right now, she is still a pastor's wife.

So . . . how did I answer that question? I certainly don't feel like a pastor, at least not in the traditional understanding of the word. I definitely feel like my job as a teacher is a ministry to the kids and fellow staff. I have countless ministry opportunities available to me everyday. I take advantage of each one as they come my way. I can't remember if I've said it here before, but one of my fellow teachers calls me Pastor Matt. A mock up of my seminary degree is even posted outside my classroom door

My reply to the student was, "I used to be." That may have been the wrong answer. One of the things I will be very honest about in this journey of self re-discovery is that very issue. What am I? I do not see a return to the brick and mortar church in my future any time soon. But might I become the "chaplain" of Clayton Middle School?

That's my story for today about trying to live faithfully. My new self is having a great time, but still questioning how others might view me, the least of which is not God himself. Soon I'll come back and share some of the other things I've learned at middle school, about myself and others.