What I Learned from the Board of Ordained Ministry
March 31, 2009
Several weeks ago, I interviewed with the Board of Ordained Ministry in Kansas West and was continued as a provisional member of the conference. This is good news. It means that next year I will be eligible to be fully ordained and have all the rights and responsibilities of a clergy person within the United Methodist Church. I interviewed with a team of three persons – two clergy and one lay. I recognize that I am just starting out this ministry thing and always seek to learn from others. My final question for them was, “What advice would you have to offer me, as someone just starting out in ministry?” There responses are excellent.
- Love the people.
- Don’t denigrate what is happening when you first arrive in an appointment.
- There are hands on practical things to do as a pastor – call when someone is not in worship, call when they come back to worship, make rounds like a doctor.
I appreciate all the wisdom that those who have gone before me in the path of ministry. I hope to always continue to learn from others.
What is some advice that you have received or that you have to offer for somone just starting out in ministry?
Adventures in Ministry – January 30, 2009
January 30, 2009
This month it has been an adventure to go to conferences, retreats and workshops. Throughout the month I attended:
- Kansas Area Professional Seminar for Ministry
- Kansas Area Self-Care Workshop
- Congregational Care Team Retreat
- Kansas West Board of Ordained Ministry Provisional Members Retreat
- Kansas East Residency Retreat
All of these events have been good, but it has been a lot of time out of the office. It has been an adventure trying to stay on top of the responsibilities for the N-R pastorate and also having the opportunity to network and stay in connection with other United Methodist Clergy.
Sacraments
March 13, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – Explain the role and significance of the sacraments in the ministry to which you have been called.
Response – My response begins:
The sacraments are an integral part of the ministry to which I have been called. “Elders have a four-fold ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order and Service within the connection ad thus serve in the church and the world.” My role in the ministry to which I have been called is “to administer the sacraments of baptism and the Supper of the Lord according to Christ’s ordinance.” The unity of the church is found in Jesus Christ and through the sacraments which attest to the good news. Baptism is the sacrament of the church that initiates individuals into the community of believers. Eucharist, or Holy Communion, is the sacrament of the church that unites individuals as sisters and brothers in Christ in which the past is remembered and the future anticipated. (Quotes from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, paragraphs 340 and 340.2).
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
Personal Discipline and Habits
March 12, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – You have agreed as a candidate for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most effective witness of the gospel, and in consideration of their influence as ministers, to make a complete dedication of yourself to the highest ideals of the Christian life, and to this end agree to exercise responsible self-control by personal habits conducive to bodily health, mental and emotional maturity, integrity in all personal relationships, fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness, social responsibility, and growth in grace and the knowledge and love of God. What is your understanding of this agreement?
Response – My response is:
“We always have a choice between cleaning up our acts and cleaning up our hearts.” It is more important to cleanse our hearts and seek to live a righteous life. My understanding of this agreement is that in all things I am called to strive to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The responsibilities to word, sacrament, order and service call for one that is going on to perfection. I believe that “if you want to become a good minister, you have to be holy.” I intend to live out the ideals mentioned in the question through regular physical exercise, continued learning and study, fidelity in my marriage, doing good, doing no harm and attending to the ordinances of God. (Wheeler, Sondra. “Ethical Dimensions of Ministry.” Wesley Theological Seminary. 18 January 2006.)
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
Inclusive Church and Ministry
March 11, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – Describe your understanding of an inclusive church and ministry.
Response – My response begins:
My understanding of an inclusive church and ministry is that of a welcoming community that extends hospitality to all. I understand an inclusive church and ministry to be based on the ministry of Jesus who particularly sought to enter into relationship with those who were despised by the world.
“When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Matthew 9:11-12 (TNIV)).
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
Ordination
March 8, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – What is the meaning of ordination in the context of the general ministry of the Church?
Response – My response begins:
My understanding of the meaning of ordination in the context of the general ministry of the Church has been formed by the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. “Within the church community, there are persons whose gifts, evidence of God’s grace, and promise of future usefulness are affirmed by the community, and who respond to God’s call by offering themselves in leadership as ordained ministers.” “Ordination to [apostolic] ministry is a gift from God to the church. In ordination, the church affirms and continues the apostolic ministry through persons empowered by the Holy Spirit.”
The practice of ordination, or setting aside for a particular ministry, is not something that is unique to The United Methodist Church. “The early church, through the laying on of hands, set apart persons with responsibility to preach, to teach, to administer the sacraments, to nurture, to heal, to gather the community in worship, and to send them forth in witness. … These functions, though set apart, were never separate from the ministry of the whole people of God.” (Quotes from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, paragraphs 301.2, 303 and 3o2).
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
Servant Ministry
March 7, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – Describe your understanding of diakonia, the servant ministry of the church, and the servant ministry of the probationary member and commissioned minister.
Response – My response begins:
I understand diakonia to be the servant ministry of the church in which the people of God are sent out into the world. The church is called out of the world to be sent out to be the scattered people of God in mission.
“The New Testament witness to Jesus Christ makes clear that the primary form of his ministry in God’s name is that of service, diakonia, in the world. Very early in its history, the church came to understand that all of its members were commissioned in baptism to ministries of love, justice, and service within local congregations and the larger communities in which they lived; all who follow Jesus have a share in the ministry of Jesus, who came not to be served, but to serve” (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2004, ¶305).
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
My Probationary Membership and Commissioning
March 6, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – How do you perceive yourself, your gifts, your motives, your role, and your commitment as a probationary member and commissioned in The United Methodist Church?
Response – My response begins:
I perceive myself as a probationary member and commissioned in The United Methodist Church as one who is optimistic about the ways that God is working in the world. I recognize that God is at work in The United Methodist Church in Kansas. As a probationary member, I perceive myself as becoming a part of and working toward the renewal of the Kansas Area of The United Methodist Church.
I perceive both gifts and areas of improvement for service as a probationary member and commissioned in The United Methodist Church. An area of improvement for me is experience in preaching at a weekly worship service. At my field setting in seminary I had the opportunity to preach every other month. I am comfortable with the responsibility of preaching and enjoy being in that role. I believe that there will be a natural growth in preaching ability when preaching on a weekly basis.
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
United Methodist Polity
March 5, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – Discuss your understanding of the primary characteristics of United Methodist polity.
Response – My response begins:
My understanding of the primary characteristics of United Methodist polity is primarily formed by the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. These characteristics include: itinerancy, conferences, superintendency, and connectionalism.
Ordained elders of The United Methodist Church are committed to an itinerant ministry. “They offer themselves without reserve to be appointed and to serve, after consultation as the appointive authority may determine” (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2004, ¶333.1.). “Appointments to charges may be made at any time deemed advisable by the bishop and cabinet. Appointments are made with the expectation that the length of pastorates shall respond to the long-term pastoral needs of charges, communities, and pastors” (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2004, ¶434). Pastoral appointments are set at Annual Conference “Appointments are to be made with consideration of the gifts and evidence of God’s grace of those appointed, to the needs, characteristics, and opportunities of congregations and institutions, and with faithfulness to the commitment to an open itineracy” (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2004, ¶430).
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
Nature and Mission of the Church
March 1, 2007
This is part of a series of posts on my understanding of faith, ministry and the church. I would enjoy feedback and your response to my answers to these questions.
Question – Describe the nature and mission of the Church. What are its primary tasks today?
Response – My response begins:
Although the Holy Spirit is at work in the world with or without the church, I believe that the church is the place in the world where God can be found most fully revealed. The church is the gathering of persons who believe in the good news of Jesus Christ and seek to live in a way that witnesses to the world this belief and the reality of the kingdom of God. In this way, the church fulfills its mission “to make disciples of Jesus Christ” (The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2004. par 120). The church is a group of persons that are called by God, but also sent by God into the world. I believe that the church does not exist without being sent to spread the good news.
The nature of the church is also that of a worshiping community where the sacraments are given and received and the Word of God is spoken and heard. Also, perhaps more importantly, the nature of the church is to be missional people. The church is a part of the good news being sent to the world. This is a story that has continued for thousands of years and continues to this day. Without knowing the story of being a missional people, the church devises all kinds of other functional identities for itself. (Logan, James. “Evangelism in the Contemporary Church and World.” Wesley Theological Seminary. 17 September 2004).
Discussion
- How would you respond to this question?
- Where do you agree with my response?
- Where do you disagree with my response?
