Thoughts on Ministry

For the Delaware Ministerial Association meeting yesterday we had asked a veteran seminary professor from Methodist Theological Seminary of Ohio to come and speak. Dr. Diane Lobody shared with us a summary of some ministry lessons she has learned in her 35 years of being an ordained minister.

Over the next couple of blog entries, I want to share a couple of these and what they mean to me (I am approaching 20 years in the ministry).

Dr. Lobody sat on the desk at the front of the room and simply began with a story. Let's face it, stories are what make up our lives, so any life-lessons have to be in the form of a story. I won't tell all her stories, but this one deserves a summary.

Thirty-five years ago she was in her Bronx apartment with her family preparing to go down the street to her church for her ordination service. Her elderly grandmother, who was from Slovakia and was a losing grip with the world around her due to age, asked where they were going. Dr. Lobody's dad, with all the pride a father can muster, told her, "Diane is getting ordained." Grandma didn't quite understand what this meant and they tried to think of the Slovakian word for ordained. Since nothing came, he told Grandma, "Diane is becoming a Priest!"

Diane's grandmother walked up to her and in the holiness of that moment uttered some of the most profound, spirit-filled words that Diane could hear as she began her journey into ordained ministry...

"Don't take shit off nobody!"

And she walked away.

Dr. Lobody's take on this piece of advice was to listen to the grandmothers in the church, they have a lot to offer. I agree 100% with this and have made it a habit to listen them. As a young man in ministry, I remember always looking at the older generation for wisdom that a young punk like me would need.

I want to go down a different path with this. I want to comment on the advice itself.

Jesus was a pacifist and literally gave Himself up in the face of violence so that through His death and resurrection we might be saved from God's wrath. But Jesus did this when the time was complete and at His command. If you look through Jesus' life, He never backed down and He never took "S**t from anyone." Without being mean or hurtful, Jesus was able to be confident in Himself, His purpose, and His task.

I wonder how many of us can truly say that we are confident enough in our purpose and our self to stand up in the face of criticism and resistance and not lose our focus. I have struggled with this for years. I feign humility, but in reality it is a lack of confidence in the calling that God has placed on my life.

Today, I want to encourage you to be strong in your calling (everyone is called into ministry, some of us just happen to do as our vocation as well - so this is for everyone!).

For the Spirit God gives us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. (2 Timothy 1:7-8)

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:1)

You have been called by God to serve in His Kingdom. Be confident in this.

And don't take any s*** of nobody.

Under the Mercy,
Jason