Tinker Toys

Well, I finally got through it.  The Bishop's Advisory Commission on Ministry weekend was this past Thursday and Friday, and I have officially been scrutinized.  My overall impression is very favorable; it was quite fun to be at a camp in the mountains with a big group of 'church nerds' like me!  Most of the event centered around group activities among the aspirants so the Commission members could observe how we interacted as a community.  While there was certainly an air of artificiality to such proceedings, it was thankfully an acknowledged one, and generally a good time was had by all.
As some of you have heard by now, I really did have to build a church out of Tinker Toys!  This was the first activity of our time together, and it seemed more of an ice-breaker than anything else.  We divided into groups of three or four and were given a can of Tinker Toys to create our 'model church.'  I sat down with my group and said immediately, "I'm a carpenter, I need a plan!"  After much discussion about how amorphous the church is compared to a set of Tinker Toys, we set about to build a few (very abstract) people and a small building with a coffee mug inside (gotta have somewhere for a coffee hour!).  We put a big cross on the lawn and connected all the people with some tubing that was in the kit.  We proceeded to take the lid from the toy can and place all our spare parts on it -- this was our offering plate!  I wish I had taken a picture of the thing; I think it would take pages to describe and explain it.  It was interesting and informative to see what the other groups came up with. 
I look forward to telling more stories in the coming days, but for now I am also busy with getting my application filled out for another seminary (Church Divinity School of the Pacific), so the writing may be a bit scant until that one's in the mail.