Yesterday I was ordained as a pastor in the Missionary Church.  This has been quite some time in coming and quite the journey to get here.  I started in the ministry 23 years ago as a pastor out in Wichita, KS.  I even started the process of ordination more than 20 year ago.  However, after leaving my first church, God had other plans for me instead of continuing as a pastor.  I never stopped following God’s will and knew he had called me to be a pastor.  And I continued seeking to become a pastor at various churches but none opened up to me.  For the next 16 years or so, I worked 6 different jobs (none in church ministry), moved 6 times, got married, had 3 children, and bought a house.  And after all that, God finally opened a church where he has now called me.  It was a long hard road, but as I have been preaching for these last two months, I continued to put my hope in God.  And he has proven once again that he is faithful.  Even during the darkest moments of those 16 years, he never left my side and he never let me forsake the call on my life to preach the gospel.  And during those 16 years, I did preach the gospel, it just was not from a pulpit.  It was by living my life out in the workforce, rubbing elbows with coworkers and bosses, displaying the hope that I had in Jesus for all to see.  Ordination will not change that.  And I hope that those who read this will realize that you do not need to be an ordained pastor to tell others about Jesus.  Let your life be your sermon.