Life-long Wrestling
Earlier this month, I had the honor of introducing a mentor in ministry who received a distinguished minister award from the Alumni Council at Brite Divinity School. A part of my introduction included reflecting on conversations about the education offered at Brite that I’ve had with colleagues from my seminary days, with elders in ministry, and those post early 1990’s. From my introduction:
I give thanks for the generalist education that teaches students to exegete their context as well as the bible. The foundation for ministry that Brite provides through the study of scripture, theology, pastoral care, ethics, and knowing oneself, helps students develop the basic moves necessary for a life-long wrestling match with God, with the Church and all God’s people.
I don’t know if Brite intended to offer an education that created an exegetical foundation of gifted generalist, but I learned some moves that have helped me when I’ve had to wrestle or wanted to wrestle. The first is clarity. Be clear about your baggage and your weakness (growing edges). Trust your skill set and work on your skill set. Always reflect on your call to ministry.
The Church, like it or not, is an Institution. I have a love/hate relationship with the Church.
Christian ministry, in its best moments, is relational. So, listen more than you speak, and speak more often through what you do than what you say.
Prepare. Make room for God’s spirit in your preparation so that in the performance of ministry you can be present, awake, and adaptable.
Be authentic, but respect where you meet people on their journey with God. You may need to use words that helps a person hear the good news in their language that doesn’t completely compromise your theology or experience of the good news of God.
Find a hobby, activity, or discipline that puts change into your pocket. When I was at Brite students went through mid-program review. It was an opportunity to reflect on your journey in seminary, work in congregational life, and how you were growing theologically. It was the first step in putting together the words that would become the student’s theology of ministry. It was a communal experience. Four or five students reading each other’s work, one of the seminary professors assigned to the cohort, and lots of conversation. In front of my peers, Dr. Craven, noted that I could be as authentic as my theology of ministry was at that time, but that I would most likely either never serve in ministry or I would serve for a very short time. “Mr. Davison, there will be times that you will have to be willing to give away the change in my pocket to the Church. You will have to put a quarter or more on the table. You’ve got to find a way to be comfortable with that because the Church is not going to change the way you want it to or think it should in your lifetime. Your pocket change is limited so make good choices and remember to find ways to put a quarter back in your pocket.”
The life-ling wrestling match continues.