Why I Chose to Study Theology
I cannot write about how I chose theology or ministry without starting by stating that I feel that I did not choose ministry or choose to study theology–I was chosen. You see, I was a nonpracticing Baptist when I first came to St. Alphonsus “Rock” Church. I took the job of athletic director and worked my 20 hours per week as required under contract. I was so meticulous about my hours that if was asked to “do something” on a Sunday, then I would charge that against my 20 hour work week. Other than working at a church, I was pretty far away from Jesus (or so I thought).
I have always been driven to succeed and to perform well on the job, so I was not about to lower my standards just because I was working in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable environment. It was uncomfortable because I believed that churches were filled with hippocrites who said one thing on Sunday and did the opposite on Monday. I was not connected to anything but the paycheck twice a month.
I have always made room in my life to help children, so I let my love for kids be my guide as I encouraged coaches to move away from the “win at all costs” mentality and to strive to keep the game fun for the players, while maintaining the highest standards of sportsmanship. After a couple of years of watching my philosophy, the church administration offered me the position of youth director. I accepted with some trepidation because I was not attending church regularly and was not Catholic. However, I was, once again, driven to want to do my best, so I approached the Director of Religious Education to ask about taking only the first part of RCIA. I was only interested in the first part of RCIA because I was still convinced that I was not going to be converting to Catholicism, but that it would be important to gain a familiarity of Catholicism in order to relate better to the youth in my program.
RCIA sparked the conversion in me that led to my profession of faith and becoming Catholic. I believe that I am merely following God’s plan for my life as I minister to the youth and young adults at my parish and as I pursue the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies at Aquinas as part of the Apollos Project. I am proud of the progress that I have seen in my life once I let go of my plan for my life and began to follow God’s plan. Aquinas will be yet another chapter in my life that may help people to understand who I am and why I do the things that I do. I am a servant of God.