I’m sitting in a hotel room in Florida tonight, bored and needing blogging inspiration. So I hit up twitter. Two minutes later my buddy Geof primes the pump: twitter.com/gfmorris/…

So, three careers I could’ve pursued, but didn’t. Here’s your chance to get to know a little more about me.

Career option #1: musician

My first love has always been music. I’ve played the piano since I was in second grade, play guitar and bass, love classical, jazz, rock, and most stuff in between. One of my greatest joys is playing with a talented group of musicians. There’s an amazing convergence of mental pleasure in playing some piece of music as a part of a group - everybody contributing their own part to make the whole - and an emotional rush from the beauty of the music itself.

[caption width=“500” align=“aligncenter”]Arcade Fire Could I have been this guy? Nah, I could never pull off that haircut.[/caption]

I considered some music options while I was in high school, but never really committed to the idea. I suppose I never really had a good idea about what the heck I would’ve done with it. My dad had been a high school music teacher, but his recommendation was to do something else - something that would be easier to provide for myself and a family. I don’t resent his advice at all or regret heeding it - I’ve got no complaints about where I am now - but sometimes I wonder what alternate path could’ve occurred if instead of going to LeTourneau I’d gone to Belmont to do something music related. I would’ve been there about the time Andy Osenga and Cason Cooley were deciding to quit school to do this band called The Normals, and when Ben Shive was skipping finals to write string arrangements for Andrew Peterson’s Christmas album.

Career Option #2: Pastoral ministry

I’m a bookish, nerdy guy. I like theology. I like to study and wrestle with issues. There was a time in high school when I thought the pastorate was the way to go. Relevant advice I received from two different pastors over the years: “if you can do something else, do it. Only be a pastor if you’re so called to it that you can’t do anything else.”

[caption width=“328” align=“aligncenter”]Window at Parish Church of St Peter, Frampton Cotterell, England My church doesn’t have stained glass. I kinda miss it.[/caption]

In retrospect, it’s probably just as well I didn’t go this route. Though I continue to love theology and exploring my faith, I’m such an introvert that I think the personal aspects of pastoral ministry would completely wear me out. I enjoy the opportunities to be in church leadership in a role as a layman; making a career out of it probably wouldn’t be a good thing.

Career Option #3: OK, this one is a cheat.

I never seriously considered this one as an option, but I’ve idly thought about it as a path I would enjoy following in some alternate universe: I’d like to be a professional baseball umpire.

[caption width=“500” align=“aligncenter”]Umpire Time to get in the zone.[/caption]

I love the game, have a keen enough mind that I might be able to absorb the intricacies of the rulebook, and might just be able to hold my own in making the judgment calls. I might be a little bit tall to be an umpire - most MLB umpires are under 6 feet, making it easier to squat down to call balls and strikes - but maybe I could make it work. I hear the minor league circuit is pretty brutal on umps, though, so it’s not as if it’s a particularly glamorous job, and there aren’t a lot of openings at the top level. Still… it’d be fun.

So thanks, Geof, for the topic. I’ll go peruse twitter now and see if there are any other good ideas floating around there.