Who Did God Use to Call Me to Ordained Ministry? SynchBlog Day– #Explo13 #UMC

As I mentioned in my previous post, God is obviously the one who called me to professional, ordained ministry, but there have been a lot of people (a "cloud of witnesses") cheering me along the way.

As someone who was baptized as an infant in a small, rural United Methodist Church in Polk, Nebraska, I have known that I somehow belonged to God from the beginning.  We moved around a lot, and eventually settled in the Seattle area.  I was active in my high school youth group, and was asked to tell the congregation about a retreat we had gone on.  Following that worship service an elderly woman in that congregation told me something I had never heard before and hoped never to hear again...  "You would make a wonderful pastor!"  I thought she was crazy.  In hindsight I just wasn't ready. Yet.

Following some "wilderness" years through college and beyond, when I was not certain of anything except my own nagging doubts and questions, I decided that I needed a sense of being grounded in a faith community to aid me in my spiritual searching.  We found a vital and vibrant community of faith, and while in that church many people began to invite me into leadership positions (small group, worship, church visioning, etc.).  After a particularly powerful retreat, I was asked about the impact of that time away.  I replied that if God wanted it all, God was going to get it all.  That person replied that it was wonderful that I was going to pursue ordination. I was perfectly happy as a physical therapist, and my family and I craved stability since both my wife and I moved a lot until we were age twelve.  "What are you talking about?"  But the question lingered and burned away at me.  "Really, God?  Me? But I am really happy, and I don't want to go..."

I then entered into a season of discernment that was at times heart wrenching and difficult, and at times made my soul sing.  I began meeting with informal mentors, both clergy and faithful laypeople, one of whom chided me to "bloom where you are planted," and not to worry about seminary, etc.  I was already in ministry right at that moment, and my understanding of that would grow over time.  Over a period of several months, I discerned that my life would not be complete without pursuing this path, and then I spent a couple of years paying off my student loans for my first career and investigating educational opportunities.

In my experience, I have had ecstatic (stand apart) experiences of the Divine but I have also experienced God speaking to me through other people.  I have learned that everything is discernment, and everything is ministry.  I hope we can all continue to listen...

Perhaps you are hearing a call, and if you are a young adult, you might consider attending Exploration 2013.  Here is a link: ExploreCalling.org  

SynchBlog Day on 4/4 – Who Called You? #Explo13 #UMC

Next Thursday is a "synchblog" (think "synchronized blog") of ordained, commissioned, and local pastors and ministry professionals who are responding to the question “Who called you on the journey of ministry?” While it is obviously God who calls people, there are others who helped along the way and that’s who our group will be writing about on April 4th.

The purpose is to raise awareness and interest for young adults to attend "Exploration 2013" in Denver this coming November. There is a link below, and the event is for young adults asking about whether they might be called to ordained ministry.

If you would like to join the Synchblog, here’s the form to sign up.

Here’s more information on Exploration 2013.

Hope folks can participate and attend this great event!

Are We Ready?

"Are we ready?" "Are we ready to do the important work of multiplying our impact on the world?"  Those are the questions that confront me and the leadership of the community of faith I serve, Covenant UMC.  Now, we are embarking on a process to discern how we will move forward, and it is in the form of an online survey called “Readiness 360.” It assesses four areas: Do we have the spiritual intensity, dynamic relationships, missional alignment and cultural openness to do this important work?  (By the way, if any of you have used this process, I would love to hear your feedback!)

I am passionate that those of us who say we follow Jesus take seriously our call to BE the church.  We must continually invite God’s transforming grace into our own lives, continuously invite everyone to be on this journey with us (through words and actions, ESPECIALLY ACTIONS), and continuously move forward with conviction that we WILL transform our world. 

I am also passionate about having the community of faith grow so we can more effectively share what we ourselves have received.  I am convinced that Covenant UMC is situated in an incredible place to do this life-giving work, so this is an exciting time to be the pastor here.  Will you please hold us in your thoughts and prayers?  I am certain that God will touch lives and "produce a harvest" beyond our wildest dreams.  May it be so!

“Being Counter-Cultural”

Hello Friends,
One of my seminary professors (a New Testament Scholar) used to say, “If it is repeated, it must be important!”  In that same spirit, I think it might be helpful to reiterate a little bit of what I claimed in a recent sermon:  I am convinced that Jesus instructs his followers (all of us) to be counter-cultural in many different ways.  Similar to other times throughout history, we live in an culture filled with ANXIETY and TENSION, and this impacts our families, our institutions and our whole American society!  Like a room filled with gas fumes that could go off at any minute, people seem to be waiting for something to ignite the air around us.  There are several different symptoms of this anxiety we experience, and they are all interconnected.  Where do you see these in our culture?

1. INTENSE REACTIVITY – There are vicious cycles of intense reactions to events, other people, and different ideas.  Think about discussions of human sexuality or climate change and how people react. 
2. HERDING INSTINCT – The forces of togetherness become “stuck-togetherness” and don’t allow anyone to separate from the “herd” without being threatened with separation from the herd.   Often there are competing herds (like Democrats and Republicans), but often new herds develop, like the Wall Street protesters or the Tea Party movement. 
3. BLAME DISPLACEMENT – It is so much easier to challenge others rather than look at what fundamental changes we ourselves might need to make.  This is the classic “victim mentality.”  Whose fault is it when things don’t go right?  It’s always “those people.” 
4. QUICK-FIX MENTALITY – People have a low threshold for “pain” and will do whatever is expedient to relieve the symptoms of their discomfort.  If we just do this one little thing, everything will be better, right? 
5. LACK OF HEALTHY LEADERSHIP – We can see how ineffective leaders are sucked into the anxiety of the system above, but they both cause and emerge out of this system.  Think about people in leadership positions who manifest the above symptoms, and don’t just think about “those people” you disagree with.  

Anxiety is like those fumes and fills the air around us. What would it mean for us to be the kind of counter-cultural followers of Jesus who figure out ways to get rid of the fumes instead of waiting (along with everyone else) for a person to enter that room full of fumes with a match so that we can blame them? I believe ridding ourselves and our society of that anxiety is part of our call to more faithfully follow Jesus, but any change has to start with US.  No doubt it will be a challenge, but what if we instead embraced the adventure, stood apart from others, and looked for new ways to truly share the “Good News” about living this life as a follower of Christ?  Jesus repeatedly teaches his followers to be like salt in a bland world; like light for a world filled with darkness; like leaven or yeast (which is different from the rest of the flour) in bread.  What would it mean for us to be truly counter-cultural?  In our world, I think part of what that means is that we must be a “non-anxious presence” in an incredibly anxious world. 

I pray every day for my ability to be a healthy leader that will help lead faithful people into the future, but I am grateful that I am far from the only leader in the community of faith in which I serve as pastor (Covenant UMC; covenantmethodist.org).  

I have this sense that we have an amazing adventure ahead of us, and I am so delighted to be on this journey with gifted, talented, and passionate people here in the Pacific Northwest.  I am convinced God has huge plans for all of us, and I can’t wait to see how God will use those of us who follow Christ. 

I pray I get to see you (or meet you) soon, either in worship or in service in the world.  Let me know if I can help you to connect in a meaningful way. 

Prayerfully,

Gregg

Pastor Gregg

P.S. – Many of these ideas are adapted from a book titled, “A Failure of Nerve,” by Edwin Friedman.  I highly recommend it!

I'm Baaaaaaack...

Hello Friends, 

 I think my blogging hiatus is over...  At the very least, I want to convey the thoughts I place in our newsletter in this format as well, but you just never know when the inspiration will strike.  Be prepared (which I say with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek).  

I am grateful you are taking the time to read this.  

Prayerfully,

Gregg

Pastor Gregg