Mission Accomplished

Well... it has been a work in progress. Almost 4 years to be exact. But as of today, I am the newest Master Beekeeper in the great state of Texas. And as far as I know, I am the only Master Beekeeper in the wide open spaces of West Texas. But I am certain there are more to come.

My journey began when I was just a beginner in my new hobby of keeping bees and I wanted to improve my skills. I learned about the Master Beekeeper Progam developed by Texas A&M Agrilife and I decided to take the 10 week Apprentice training course. After completing the course, I drove to Austin, TX to sit for the exam. Following the exam, members of the Texas Apiary Inspection Service observed me completing a live hive inspection. They assesed my ability to safely work with the bees and peppered me with questions about what I was seeing and what I should be looking for to ensure a healthy colony in my own apiary. To say I was nervous would be an understatement, but I successfully passed the exam.

About a year later, I began to consider the next step in the process. The Advanced level also required a 10 week class, but it also included a number of continuing education and community outreach hours. At this point, I was serving as the Vice President of the Caprock Beekeepers Association, our local beekeeping club. My role primarly involved education and community outreach, so it was great opportunity to log some hours. I found that I loved talking to people about the wonderful world of bees. The more I learned, the more I was amazed at how God created this incredible superorganism and the life changing impact they have on our planet. After another year of preparation, I sat for the Advanced Beekeeper exam and practical. It was a challenging process but also very rewarding.

When my journey first began, I had no intention of becoming a Master Beekeeper. To be honest, it sounded like way too much work to me. But since I had come this far, I decided to give it a try. But this was much more complicated than what I had done up to this point. In order to be a Master Beekeeper, I had to choose a major. It was like being in college again! I chose the Ecologist track because I want to expand my knowledge beyond the boundaries of the honeybee. In order to qualify to sit for the exam, I was required to complete 3 credits within my major along with an additional 5 more credits outside my major.

These credits included items such as working with local city officials to help update the city beekeeping ordinance, successfully raising a colony of leafcutter bees, mentoring a number of new beekeepers, and publishing an article in the Texas Beekeepers Association Journal. But far and above, the best experience I had was the privilege to participate in a university-led native bee study. As an adjunct member of a research team with the Department of Entomology at Texas Tech University, I was able to conduct field research and native bee collection. I pinned, pointed and identified my collection of bees in order to contribute to their study. It was such a fantastic learning experience.

So with all my credits complete, I was ready to sit for the exam. The information in the exam covered a wide range of topics and was most challenging. However, I successfully passed the exam with a giant sigh of relief. Mission accomplished! I completed my journey to become a master beekeeper.

But there is something very important to understand. Having passed the exam to become a Master Beekeeper does not mean I know more than all the other beekeepers. Far from it! In fact, I would compare it to my seminary education as a pastor. Because even though I have a theological degree, every Sunday I am speaking to a room full of people, many of whom know the Bible much better than me. They may not have a degree, but their life experience has allowed them to grow in wisdom and knowledge that far surpasses my own. The same is true in beekeeping.

Becoming a Master Beekeeper simply means I enjoy learning. And the same is true for being a pastor. In both cases, I'm simply teaching others from all that I am still learning myself. I am not an expert in anything, but I try to be a student in everything. I want to be a student of my wife's heart in order to learn new ways to love her better. I want to learn how to care for people who are in hard places, growing in my compassion and care. I want to be a lifetime student of Jesus, as I learn what it means to know and follow Him. I believe the only way we get better at any of these things, is to always be aware of how much more there is to learn. We never "arrive" in life. There is always something new to learn!!

“A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,” (Proverbs 1:5, NASB95)