Three years ago today I was convinced by Angela Davis to start blogging. A few days later I was to move to New Orleans for seminary, and I decided to journal my seminary experience, which was to end in May 2007, if all went as expected. It’s really hard to believe that it’s been three years since then, and of course you know that things didn’t go as expected.
I’ve got one more year left in New Orleans thanks to That Storm. I’ll be reflecting more on that on August 29th. For now I’d like to look back on my adventures and experiences over the last three years.
The Road Trips
The summer before I moved here, I went on a mission trip to Siberia. It didn’t start my passion for traveling; for as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with maps and history- combining the two for a desire to see the world not just as it is, but as it was. Since August 2004 I’ve been to 21 states and 4 provinces. I’ve made a handy map for you. I told you I was obsessed.
See? I’ve been a lot of places, but the green is where I’ve been in the last 3 years. I went on two separate trips to Canada (in 2005 and 2007) and I went to Nashville three times: once on a mission trip and twice for Passion Conferences. I went to Atlanta several times- once for class, once for Catalyst, and once as a stop on my way to Canada. Oh, did I mention I haven’t set foot on a place since I went to Siberia? I was born a ramblin’ man. And I enjoyed every second of it- even the time on one-lane gravel mountain roads at dusk in the middle of Montana.
A Little Adversity
I’ll admit, Hurricane Katrina messed me up. Sure I lost a bunch of books and a lot of stuff from my dorm room. Sure FEMA has given me more trouble than help in the last year. But I’ve also watched family suffer with illness (in particular, Mom’s cancer), and last April I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The blessing is we’re both still alive. I’m still here. I survived Katrina and I’m surviving diabetes. Somehow, I’ve managed to keep my sanity in the last year. Granted, another hurricane could finish that sanity off anytime between now and December 1st, but so far, I’m alright. And God willing, I’ll stay that way.
The Mission and the Church
When I started here, I visited one church before I made a decision on where I’d belong. Day one: Edgewater Baptist Church. There was no other choice for me. I knew immediately. They haven’t let me down. One semester in, our pastor Jim Shaddix announced he was moving to Denver. I’d already seen what happens to a church when a pastor leaves, and I was convinced that Edgewater, like my previous church, would fall into angry power struggles. I was wrong. When I got to Edgewater I heard the phrase “the church gathered, and the church scattered.” On Sunday we gathered, and during the week we scattered throughout the city. When Katrina came, we really learned what it meant to be the church scattered. There was talk of disbanding- giving up. But a small group of remnant members came together in the home of Charlie and Sheryl Ray, while Edgewater’s building soaked in over 9 feet of water. Dr. Shaddix’s church in Denver sent Edgewater money, which was distributed among the families in the church. Then they sent teams to help us rebuild. The church scattered, and the church gathered. In the last three years I’ve seen what the church is really about. How they band together through adversity instead of falling apart. It’s the bigger love of the family (to quote the Family Matters theme song). I can’t and won’t forget it.
So three years gone, and another one to go in New Orleans. Here’s to making one more matter.
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by Joe Kennedy
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