Tag Archives: call to ministry

Wisdom from Staff Parish

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Earlier in the month, it was a blessing to meet with Staff Parish for my annual review. I met with a few representatives of the entire Staff Parish team for an interview / conversation that lasted about an hour. I felt genuinely supported during our time together.

At the end of our time together, they asked if there were any other questions that I would have for them. I asked them a question, that I try to be intentional about asking in settings like Staff Parish, Board of Ordained Ministry, mentoring and conversations with members of the congregation

What advice would you have for me as a young pastor starting out in ministry?

I hope to continue to ask this question throughout my life, shifting it to address my current situation. I think that listening and learning is a critical component of being a leader and a pastor. I want to share some of their responses as I found them encouraging, uplifting and applicable.

  • Continue in ministry in a spirit of organization and prayer.
  • Continue to be open to new experiences, new opportunities. Be open to what God would have for you.
  • Be a sponge – soak up and learn everything that you can possibly learn and experience.
  • Be a sponge – squeeze yourself out. Be willing and ready to pour your effort into the life of the church. Do not underestimate the influence that you have as a leader.

What would your response be to my question?

God’s Call in my life

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Earlier this week a member of the congregation shared a story of God’s call in the life of a member of her family. I was inspired by the story. It is encouraging to hear stories of God’s call in the life of another and it can serve as a reminder of one’s own call. I want to share my story with you.

I majored in biology at Pittsburg State University after high school. I thought that I would be a genetic researcher. The summer before my senior year, I had an internship where I was able to do that all day everyday. I found out that I was good at it, I could do it, but I did not see myself doing that for a career. I came back to school in the fall of 2002 not knowing what I would do when I graduated the next May.

In the fall of 2002, I considered many possibilities for life after graduation. One of those possibilities was pursuing graduate theological education. At a campus ministry retreat, as I was reading the account of Jesus calling his disciples in the Gospel according to John, I heard God speaking to me. The disciples’ question, “Where are you staying?” seemed to correspond to my question, “What would seminary be like?” Jesus responds clearly to them: “Come and see.” To me this response was Jesus saying to me, “Come and find out what seminary is about and how you can serve God in the world. Follow me and I will show you what you need to know.”

I enrolled at Wesley Theological Seminary after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2003. When I enrolled in seminary I was not sure of which direction theological education would take me. In the summer of 2004, I lived and worked in Yellowstone National Park as a part of A Christian Ministry in the National Parks. I worked as a housekeeper at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Cabins and led a team of college students to lead five worship services in four locations each weekend. Through the experience of weekly worship leadership, conversations with teammates and personal discernment, I felt called to serve in the local church.

I graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree in May 2006 and received an appointment to serve at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection beginning in July 2006. I am currently considering the possibility of being the pastor at a new church start and am excited to continue listening for God’s call in my life.

Will you start a new church?

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Great question. This was a question that was a common part of the New Church Leadership Institute last week. It has also been a common follow up question when people ask either how my trip was last week or where I was last week.

I have been considering this question or variations of this question intentionally since January and have moved through various responses. During the summer, I kept looking for more details of what would it be like to be the pastor at a new congregation. I had received some good information about the personality of person that is likely to be fruitful in the new church setting, but wanted to know really what it would be like. A few months ago, I realized that I may not know many more specifics until / if I were to be appointed to a particular community for a new church.

Early last week my response was this – I think that I have gifts and graces that may be fruitful in a new church setting. I am not able to clearly say – God is calling me to start a new church. However, I feel movement on that spectrum toward saying more clearly that God is calling me to start a new church.

Last Friday, one of the speakers asked a question that brought me to my current response, which is: I would like to be considered for an appointment to a new church start. This is very dependent on an interview which will take place in December. This will be an assessment interview with clergy members from Kansas who will have been trained for this specific interview.

I am looking forward to the interview to provide more clarity around this question for me. I believe that God’s call in my life can experienced both internally and externally. I think that this interview process will be an important part of understanding God’s call.

The Phonebook is Obsolete

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This week we received a phone book at our home. It went almost directly from the front door to recycling. I have not used a phone book for over a year and am not sure if I will use one again. I have found the internet to be faster and more helpful. My children (maybe one day, not right now) may never know about the difference between the white pages and the yellow pages.

This reminded me of the card catalog at the library. I remember learning how to use the card catalog in elementary school – this is a practice that is already far gone. In both of these cases the need remains – people still need to find phone numbers and business names. People still need to be able to find text that they desire – written or electronic.

I think that this is like our faith. There is still a need for the sharing of good news of Jesus Christ. We are still called to move toward perfect love of God and neighbor. But what that looks like today may be different than it looked 50, 25, 5 and even 2 years ago.

  • What current practices of congregations do you think are obsolete?
  • What practices have you seen that continue to produce fruit?
  • What new practices of faith have you discovered?

The Young and the Godly – God’s Call

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This post is in response to the series from NPR, The Young and the Godly. From the website:

In a year-long series, NPR brings you the stories of young religious leaders as they begin their first year of ministry in an era of increasingly diverse religious beliefs. We’ll look at why they chose this often low-paying work. And we’ll ask, “What does the call of God sound like?”

Great final question. I would like to make an addition. I think that God’s call may be experienced in more ways than sound. Perhaps a more appropriate or inclusive question might be – What does God’s call look, feel, taste, smell, or sound like?

  • What do you think?
  • Have you experienced God’s call? If so, in what ways? If not, what do you think it might be like?

Previous posts in this series:

The Young and the Godly – Introduction

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On Monday of this week, a co-worker drew my attention to this series from NPR, The Young and the Godly. From the website:

In a year-long series, NPR brings you the stories of young religious leaders as they begin their first year of ministry in an era of increasingly diverse religious beliefs. We’ll look at why they chose this often low-paying work. And we’ll ask, “What does the call of God sound like?”

As a young religious leader, I have thus far found and believe I will continue to find this series to be particularly interesting. Look for more posts on this series as it continues.

Young Clergy

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I recently found a link to the North Alabama Conference Young Clergy Forum from Bishop Willimon’s blog. North Alabama has also organized a Young Clergy Research Team. The Lewis Center for Church Leadership is currently conducting research about young clergy and their ministries. More information about this research and a link to the survey can be found here.

As a young clergy person I am deeply interested in helping young people hear God’s call, enter and continue in ministry. At the present time, I am not aware of a specific effort in Kansas – either the East or West conference to organize / formally support young clergy. Do you know of any other efforts to support young people in full time ministry? Have you found these efforts to be useful?

WesleyKU and Call to Ministry

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Today I heard a compelling vision about Wesley KU and Project Transformation – Kansas City at the Kansas City District clergy gathering.

Wesley KU is a mission of the United Methodist Church at the University of Kansas with a vision “to build a community where college students are discovering their identity in Christ(BEAUTY), developing as Christian leaders(PURPOSE), and transforming the world(JUSTICE).”

Project Transformation – Kansas City would be modeled after Project Transformation – Dallas.  Project Transformation – Dallas “is a nonprofit, Christian organization that provides ministry exploration and leadership development opportunities to college-aged young adults, and community oriented programs for children and youth living in low-income neighborhoods of North Texas.”

Creighton and Nikki Alexander are the pastors at Wesley KU. Creighton presented a vision of Project Transformation as an 8 week summer internship for college age students to make a difference in the urban center of Kansas City in both Kansas and Missouri. Another benefit of the program is that it is an environment in which students can experience and explore a call to full time ministry or seminary.

I think that this is a great program and made me think about what else is being done to cultivate the call to ministry. This is part of the concern of the Study of Ministry Commission, but it is also an important part of life in the local church.

How is a call to ministry nurtured? How was your call to ministry nurtured? How can attentiveness to God’s call and ways to respond be made available in local congregations?

Personal Discipline and Habits

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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

  1. How would you respond to this question?
  2. Where do you agree with my response?
  3. Where do you disagree with my response?

Ordination

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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

  1. How would you respond to this question?
  2. Where do you agree with my response?
  3. Where do you disagree with my response?