Not Who I Am; Who I Am To Be…

June 23, 2006 | 1:20 PM

So this guy from Louisville is starting a church in Uptown (New Orleans), and he and his posse came into town this week to check the place out. I spent Wednesday night chillin’ with all of them and Amy (from here). It was cool meeting him and the posse, but that’s not what this post is about. During a conversation he asked me what I would love to be doing with my life (I guess, what my dream job would be). I thought about it for a second, and I wasn’t completely surprised by what came out of my mouth: writing for a travel magazine, being on the road most of the time, and doing my own photography too.

Then I quickly said, “if I weren’t a Christian, I mean, if I weren’t in the ministry full time.”

And I knew at that exact moment that somewhere along the way, I’d missed something. I’d just said I’d rather not be doing what I am doing now, and that I could think of something I had more passion for.

Huge. How many times have I heard someone say, “If you think you could be doing something else right now, you should go now, and do that, and leave the ‘full-time’ ministry.”? Plenty. And I always agreed with the statement, and acknowledged that indeed, this was what I am called to do for the rest of my life, without question. But I could easily ask, “What counts as full-time ministry?” If it’s a pastorate, then I already admit it’s probably not for me. So what is?

I know I’m called to “full-time” ministry. I doubt that I have the same definition of most people (maybe they’d surprise me, who knows?), but I know that for me, I cannot seem to do anything else. I followed everything up, in my conversation with the church planter, by explaining that I intended to sort of mix ministry and travel, since I had an intense passion for missions (global and not). I said that it was my desire to mobilize people (in particular, college students) to see the world, and in doing so see the need for us to take Christ to all we visit. And I’ll be honest, that means with medicine, food, shelter, construction crews, diplomatic workers, and anybody we can go with. To help as many people as we can before we die.

Tonight I was telling one of my friends about St. Francis Xavier, the Catholic missionary to East Asia. He took Christianity to Japan, and before it was eradicated (literally exterminated) from the islands, there were Christian samurai and peasants alike. My friend said that Xavier was insane. I responded, “EXACTLY.” The conversation went a little something like this:

HIM: he’s insane
ME: EXACTLY
HIM: which is the point of loving like Jesus did. love so much that ppl think you’re crazy. not really a bad idea.
ME: it’s what i’m going for…

You know, I get that I’m known for being blunt. I know that I’m especially renowned among certain Baptist bloggers for being to the point and often harsh. I don’t mind calling out those who’ve already been called out by God. I have very little patience for Christians who don’t act like them. And I have less for those who claim Christ but completely deny Him by their lifestyles (Kevin Bussey is doing a wonderful job hounding one such group). But I want to be known for more than just a sharp tongue.

I want my friends to tell their friends, “I know Joe Kennedy, and he’s the craziest son of a b**** I know. He’ll go anywhere and meet anyone.” I want to change the world; I want to show the world what it means to love God and love people. I don’t care if I’m famous, but I want those who know me to see me as an example of how to live as a Christian, not as someone with the knowledge to live right and no actions to have ever lived it out. When I die, I want my friends to gather at my funeral and say, “It was a good death…” and mean it.