Reflections on the Pastoral Call

This time change thing doesn’t actually work for me. I normally wake up around 6am whether I have to or not – no alarm clock, just eyes open, so the clocks going back an hour causes me to wake up way too early. This morning I woke up at an outrageous hour – around 2am I think, and of course I could not go back to sleep no matter how hard I tried.

While I lay down trying to go back to sleep I thought I would do something productive with me time, so I justs started praying, and I wasn’t the only one with something to say, God had some things He too wanted to impress upon my heart as I consider my next ministry position in a local church.

Last weekend as I considered this next phase of my ministry, I began thinking more deeply about my role as a pastor – what does it really mean? Is it just a title? Is it…?

As I picked up a catalog for a christian book store – a catalog that I had looked at before by the way, God quickly defined the role for me. On the front cover of the catalog was a verse from Ephesians – “Prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:12).

I know, a no brainer right? I have read the verse before. I have probably quoted the verse before. But never has it resonated with my heart as much as it did last weekend and as I woke up this morning.

As I move into this next phase of ministry in my role as a Children’s Pastor, this verse will be kept central in my heart and ministry practice. I love children, I love preaching and teaching God’s word to them, I love giving them a different view of church - one filled with excitement and enthusiastic worship. And a significant aspect of my call to a pastoral ministry to children is that of equipping others to impact children’s lives with the Gospel, and ALSO preparing kids for ministry as members of the body of Christ – one thing they do NOT have to wait to grow up to do is be used by God in ministry. Many of the people I know don’t fully embrace this fact, but for me it’s a settled isssue. Contrary to the opinion of some, it goes so much deeper than hanging out and having a fun blast with kids – it’s fun with a deep purpose – to introduce kids and others to Jesus, help them grow in that relationship and then prepare them to serve the Savior they’ve embraced!

So I will follow Biblical instruction and “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” With His help I will prepare not only God’s people who are adults, but also God’s people who are children – Children’s Pastor Randy Christensen refers to them as “the younger saints.”

What an awesome call. I have some fears, but God is greater than those, so because of His call and promise to be with me as I lead, I embrace the challenge in the new place of ministry He is calling me to – a church that is multi-ethnic and intentional about being and maintaining this focus. A church that is passionate about Jesus, enthusiastic in corporate worship, aiming to grow as a ministry rather than simply maintain the ministry. New Community  is all of these things and more and I am excited about growing in my personal walk with God and in my role as a leader with them. Only God could have done it like He did it, and I celebrate His call on my life and His choice to use me – I stand in awe of Him!

Still on Sabbatical!

Still on sabbatical from Children’s Ministry, so I headed to Shedd Aquarium yesterday with a plan to stay for a couple of hours – well four hours later I was STILL there. I even had a chance to watch Spongebob Squarepants in “4-D!” I got much more than I expected, top notch sound effects, the smell of pickles as Spongebob made krabby patty, real splashes of water (which I could have lived without), seat motions and air effects! WOW! I was thrilled! Oh to make kids church such a memorable experience – to help kids feel like they are “there” as I teach the Bible to them! I believe we can teach the Bible to kids in a way that causes them to “re-live” it and leave lasting God impressions on their lives – to teach kids in a way that causes them to never forget what they’ve heard and experienced…
Anyway, as I walked around the Aquarium (indoors and outdoors) I think I discovered what’s missing for me as I do ministry. I need to learn how to walk away from it regularly, i.e. let a day off really be a day off, explore the city, get outdoors (although Chicago in the Winter is a little crazy, so I might have to find an alternative plan), enjoy time alone – just relax so that I have the strength needed to jump back into ministry when it’s time.

 

I am sure I am not alone in this though, there are other Children’s Pastors who struggle in the area of balance as well. As of yesterday I have commited to keep working on this area, more than likely it will help me to be even more effective in ministry. Taking time to “re-create” is something we all need to do – especially those of us involved in ministry.
 

Downtown!

Well, I did it. I walked away from Children’s Ministry over the weekend – officially. OK, just for a couple of weeks. While on my mini-sabbatical I took the liberty yesterday to go downtown to Millenium Park. Here’s the journey (totally unrelated to Children’s Ministry and a whole lot of rambling is about to take place, but it’s my blog, so I have permission), so here it is:

1. I went all the way to chinatown – yes I missed my train stop, simply because it was no longer a stop due to all the work they are doing on the CTA

2. Got off the southbound and headed back northbound

3. Got off at a stop close to the stop I normally get off at certain that I could find Millenial Park without too much difficulty.

4. I headed towards Washington st because if I found Washington st all I would have to do is walk straight and eventually I would see it in front of me.

5. Of course as I was walking I had this “I’m going the wrong way” kind of feeling. Nevertheless I kept walking and then I noticed a fountain of orange water, a crowd of people staring at some maniacs entertaining for “Chicagoween.”

I don’t celebrate Halloween, but I stopped to check it out, took some pictures, smelled the flowers nearby, watched the birds, etc. I also discovered that my lungs don’t respond well to too much second hand cigerette smoke, so I moved on.

6. Still looking for Millenium Park, at this point completely unaware of how to get there, and bothered by the number of people walking around – I forgot it was a work day and I was downtown. I found it hilarious that they had people assisting with traffic and pedestrian crossing, blowing whistles and everthing – only in Chicago, try to find that in Downtown Boston…

7. Stopped in bakeries, did some people watching, walked SLOWLY, did some window shopping and then heading back the way I came from only to arrive at my original starting point and discover that Millenial Park was right there – about a block away.

I was so bothered because all I really had to do was look behind me when I was at my starting point. I was so close to it, but didn’t see it. It made me wonder how many times even in ministry God has answers right there waiting to be discovered, but we wander around, walking in the wrong direction in hopes that we’ll find what we’re looking for when all we have to do is stand still long enough to look around us and discover exactly what we’re looking for.

The days journey ended with musical entertainment by a woman who sat alone on the ground at the train station. As I walked down the stairs I heard a beautiful voice singing. As I stood waiting for the train, I couldn’t help but wonder about a few things:

…………What gives someone the nerve/courage to sing loudly in public unsolicited?
………………..What inspires them to do so? Is it just the need for financial income or is it something else?
…………………………….How is it that such a beautiful voice is confined to a train station – she needs some other public forum somewhere
…………………………………………Am I pouring into kids lives in a way that instills healthy self confidence and a balanced view of themselves?

As the train arrived she was singing “your grace and mercy has brought me through.” I wondered what her story was – brought her through what? I started to ask her, but I missed the moment – perhaps God will let me see her again so that I can ask her what’s up, etc.

Life is filled with missed moments, noticed but ignored opportunities to impact lives – in children’s ministry and in so many other settings. But though I missed an opportunity to touch the life of this woman who sat in the train station, she, aware or not aware, didn’t miss the opportunity to impact mine. Her last song was used by God to remind me that God’s grace and mercy is in fact what has brought me through all of the craziness in my life, and I’m living this moment because of Him.

OK, I have just rambled, but that was my day. And here are some other things that I took time to stop long enough to see while breaking from Children’s Ministry.

Birds having a party on some flowers – I forgot how good flowers smelled until I paused long enough to smell them. Beauty is all around me, being consumed by ministry causes me to miss it most times.

I don’t know what this is, but it looked interesting so I stopped at the crosswalk before crossing the street and took a picture of it, maybe some day I’ll find out what it is.