Craftsman at Birth, Pastor at Rebirth

Recently, well not too recently I discovered that I am a craftsman.

I do enjoy hearing the ring that comes from that name in my ears, and I do have a passion for crafting.
I have always been working with my hands. When I was little I used to pretend I would make tea for
my family. From three years old I constructed buildings and ships and cars with legos. I would invent
things from junk or trash and re purpose them. I would give things new life and meaning. A hockey
helmet box became a chute for an upside down trash can etc. I crafted things.

I began skating about age five. I began playing hockey at age six. I would practice for hours on end
refining my stick handling and shots. I would draw things my mind imagined and recreate paintings
from artists like Van Gogh (my favorite). I picked up guitar in eighth grade then drums and piano in
the ninth grade. I used my hands.

Lastly, I picked up a Bible in tenth grade. At the time, I did not know what that meant but I knew that
God spoke to me through it.

In College I was called to Pastor; I am called to Pastor. I have heard that I am called to Pastor and now
I wonder what that will look like. I do fear things. I fear not knowing (do not we all?). I fear being
trusted with people's lives because of what I have been named by God, "Pastor".

I am not only a Pastor though. I too am a craftsman. My most recent venture in using my hands has been
with coffee. I have this desire to beg back to the root of every problem and fix it. With coffee I still
have not reached the root but I am well on my way. I have become a coffee snob. Mainly with espresso.

I have learned that coffee is a complicated process and that I cannot do the exact same thing every time to produce the same result I did before. Each bean must be roasted according to its origin, type and size. Beans are roasted based on time, color and crack. Beans are ground according to burr size, type of extraction, and person. Grinds are steeped according to extraction type, temperature, time and person. Within each realm of extraction of coffee, beans are grown differently, prepared differently and even blended together.

Sure there are many metaphors that could come from the coffee experience, yet the one I want to highlight has not yet been listed.
The back story is that that I recently talked with a friend who I hardly know about seemingly random topics. The topic landed on drums. He had very recently (through God's appointment he adds) met a very unique drum maker. This drum maker crafts very unique and high end drum sets. His main purpose is for God, for Jesus. He has been able to use his ability of crafting for God and God's kingdom. Trust me, the drums are good.

What gets me is...the drum maker is not good at playing drums! He is famous in his profession, but what his profession seems to accomplish (making the best drums, so that you can play the best) he lacks in completely. His actual profession is working for the kingdom of God. Though he is one of the best in what he does, it is evident that he does not make drums so that he can be the best at playing them.

Likewise, I have chosen to fulfill my role in the kingdom of God as pastor through means of craftsmanship. In whatever capacity, I will strive to the best in that area. Not for my sake or for the sake of being the best, but for God. I will use my craftsman abilities to produce the best coffee for the world not so that I can taste the fruit of my labor (superb coffee, mochas in particular) but so that people will be shepherded through me
and in the capacity that God has given me; being a craftsman; being a Pastor.