Today, against all odds, the District Committee on Ordained Ministry (DCOM) agreed to make my wife a certified candidate and approve her for a Local Pastor's License, despite the some unresolvable issues that I mentioned in a previous post. Dear readers, none but the Almighty could overcome the weight of UMC bureaucracy to make such things happen!
For the last year, after finishing seminary, she has been serving a small, part-time church as... uh, I guess she's "officially" been a lay-speaker with pastoral care and administrative responsibilities. According to the Discipline, she hasn't been the "Pastor," or "Minister," per se, but try explaining that to the ordinary congregation (she preaches every week and runs meetings, they have a hard enough time understanding why they can't call her "Reverend"). The first Sunday of each month, a retired UMC elder has lead the congregation in communion... Soon enough, she will be able to lead the people of her church in the celebration of the sacraments, just as she has lead them in worship, prayer, evangelism, outreach, service and the business of the church over the last year.
So far, that's all the good news we have... I still hope that the District Superintendent and the Bishop's Cabinet will find a use for me, even while I'm still a student... but the truth is, I'm not overly optimistic. God may provide an opportunity for me to serve, but the time might not yet be right. In the meantime, I'll pray, hope, and wait...
I know, dear readers, patience is a virtue... but the truth is, it's not exactly a virtue I have in particularly great quantities. I tell you the truth, if patience were the sole measure of faith, I'd be far from the Kingdom of God (as only part of the equation, I'm probably not as far from the Kingdom).
Just if you're wondering if my late-night tummy trouble has turned me off of pork, tonight we'll be having pork sirloin chops with cole slaw and perhaps mashed potatoes with feta. Mmmm... pork and cheese...
For the last year, after finishing seminary, she has been serving a small, part-time church as... uh, I guess she's "officially" been a lay-speaker with pastoral care and administrative responsibilities. According to the Discipline, she hasn't been the "Pastor," or "Minister," per se, but try explaining that to the ordinary congregation (she preaches every week and runs meetings, they have a hard enough time understanding why they can't call her "Reverend"). The first Sunday of each month, a retired UMC elder has lead the congregation in communion... Soon enough, she will be able to lead the people of her church in the celebration of the sacraments, just as she has lead them in worship, prayer, evangelism, outreach, service and the business of the church over the last year.
So far, that's all the good news we have... I still hope that the District Superintendent and the Bishop's Cabinet will find a use for me, even while I'm still a student... but the truth is, I'm not overly optimistic. God may provide an opportunity for me to serve, but the time might not yet be right. In the meantime, I'll pray, hope, and wait...
I know, dear readers, patience is a virtue... but the truth is, it's not exactly a virtue I have in particularly great quantities. I tell you the truth, if patience were the sole measure of faith, I'd be far from the Kingdom of God (as only part of the equation, I'm probably not as far from the Kingdom).
Just if you're wondering if my late-night tummy trouble has turned me off of pork, tonight we'll be having pork sirloin chops with cole slaw and perhaps mashed potatoes with feta. Mmmm... pork and cheese...
2 comments:
God is bigger than bureaucracy.
He's bigger than the weirdos who run the UMC.
Oh, God is bigger than bureaucracy
And he's watching over you and me!
Sing along, everyone!
-Chris
Oy vey! Thanks for that insightful bit of veggietales reference Chris...
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