About Rev. Awesome

From my personal blog, reflecting on how I got the name Rev. Awesome, and why I keep it around:

I have days that I wonder “how in the world, in the head of myself – that is such an introvert and always second-guessing myself – did I get this reputation for being awesome?”

Because, let’s face it, it started as a joke. More of a response to the “how are you” down the hallway that no-one really wants a response to, so I started saying “I’m awesome, how are you?” At least that would cause people to stop and turn around for a second… It was also my response on days when I was feeling less than awesome because it would help me lift myself up.

Awesome is one of those words that is a wall word. It’s a brick in my protection. Now, yes, as people remind me, I have done A LOT in my life, and a LOT of it is awesome. I mean, I’m not yet 30, and I’ve lived overseas twice, I’ve met awesome people, played awesome concerts, read great books, attempted writing a book (well, many), been published (don’t ask, seriously), learned a lot and tried to use it for good, and had a grand time with people literally all over the world… my life has been awesome…

but that’s not what I think about on a daily basis. To me, I haven’t done enough, not yet. To me there is more to do. To me I need to finish a book and publish it. To me I need to discover myself more. To me – well… I’m my own worst critic (As I’m reminding myself over and over the last few days), and I don’t necessarily think I’ve reached the pinnacle of awesome (yet?).

But I would like to be awesome some day – whatever that means.

And yet, somehow, my life has devolved (evolved?) into this ball of awesome. My ordination even had the word awesome thrown around a couple times. So, I go with it, and made an instagram with my new moniker: RevAwesome (a name stemming from my ordination), and a twitter handle (RevAwesomeMK) to a similar effect….

And yet I question my awesomeness. I’m not nearly as egotistical as calling myself awesome implies. In fact, it’s a striving that I take part in every day…

Much like following Christ, it’s not a goal, but a process…

and I guess that’s awesome, too.

There’s my authenticity and awesome for the day.

fin.

Currently, I am an associate minister at a moderately sized church on the east coast. I have my MDiv, and I try to use it and make my professors proud (or at least not gag and disown me) while I work with youth and develop missions within our community.