The Journey of Ministry

What a great book to be reading as I fly to Abu Dhabi for my journey on learning about life for students at our campus in the Middle East.  The Journey of Ministry by Eddie Gibbs was a favorite book by his granddaughter, Ash, who is one of the RAs on campus at NYU.  Ash is actually written about by her grandfather in the book!  Gibbs presents a series of insights from his life of “practice as a scholar and a minister” during his 50+ years in the field.  He has taught at Fuller Theological Seminary in California since he completed his ministry across the continents.  Originally hailing from the UK, Gibbs presents his story from youth and meeting his future wife while studying to become a minister.  The chapters flow nicely, matching his own growing up process as a youth.  From family, to finding different directions (unsure where the road will take us), to facing “hurdles” in life, how to handle the challenges of people you love dying, working within teams and organizations, networking to expand your circle of influence, how to communicate and staying open to God as life gets busy, all presented in a clear and thoughtful manner.  I enjoyed the reflection questions presented at the end of each chapter that makes you think through his life’s lessons and concepts of being a better person.  The chapters include stories from Gibbs and his family and how he applied his learning through those stories.  Amazing how diverse his family is, each of his four children married someone from a different ethnic/racial/socio-economic background.  He has the most amazing melting pot there is for a family!  I just love the fact that his granddaughter felt it was her favorite book!  That in itself should be compelling to pick up the book.  We all need to learn more about ourselves and how to deal with the bumps.  For those who are not overly religious, he does present biblical readings throughout, but it is to further illustrate his points.   I enjoy the biblical references, so for me it reminded me of things I need to think through in life.  A nice read and perfect for the religious depths of people I would meet on my trip in Abu Dhabi.  Thanks for sharing Ash and I can only imagine what a great grandfather you have!