New year, new semester, new thoughts on ministry

This is really fun reading!
Books for schoolare longer and I don't
 usually have cuddle buddies!

It's the New Year 2017 now, and I'm just back from a little vacation with our family. It was nice to be away and to spend time with family and friends. I haven't written for about a month, so let me update you that I did finish my first semester with all passing grades. I have started reading for my January class and will spend all of next week, Monday through Friday, in Dubuque at school for one "intensive" class. Then I'll have a couple weeks to finish that class at home on my own and second semester will begin. I think I ordered 15 books for the semester, so if you're looking for me, I'll be reading!

The class I'm taking this month is United Methodist Polity. You may guess that it is about the polity of the United Methodist Church. You'd be right! That means I'll learn about the organization and structure of the church and the underlying beliefs that formed this organization led by the Holy Spirit, but also clearly under the influence of people like you and me. For any of you that are associated with the United Methodist Church, you may find it interesting that we are assigned to read the entire Book of Discipline (it's around 800 pages). Because the Book of Disciple covers topics that aren't always interesting in extreme detail, the reading can be dry. However, at times, such as when explaining some things I've wondered about or articulating doctrines, the reading can be interesting and even a little exciting. And, there are little gems all over the place, like this one "Support without accountability promotes moral weakness; accountability without support is a form of cruelty". It was written regarding Social Principles but applies to a lot of situations: parenting, leadership, etc.

One of the things I've thought about a little differently these past couple days as a result of the reading is the idea of ordained ministry. For years, since the beginning of the church, Christians have had a practice of setting apart people for total dedication to the ministry of the church in the world. In some ways, I think of this similarly to how we set apart money in our personal and corporate budgets to support the work of the church. Setting apart money in our budget for the church doesn't mean we can waste all the rest of our money - we are still stewards of it all, and in the same way, setting apart some individuals for full-time ministry doesn't mean the rest of Christians aren't also stewards of God's grace and love for the world. We are all called to ministry.

Many times, when we talk about a person "going into the ministry" we are talking about something that is very personal for that one person - one person gets a call from God and one person responds. However, that understanding isn't the understanding of the United Methodist Church, and it's not my understanding either. True, I do believe God is calling me to prepare and to be set apart for ministry, but it's not something about me as one person. The Book of Discipline says that the greatest contribution the local church makes is identifying and supporting candidates for ordained ministry. The local church, where the hands of Jesus meet the world, is the body that is used to nurture people who will exemplify the Christian life in the world. Through the reading, I've been confirmed in thinking that my being set apart isn't an action that just I'm doing. My local church is setting me apart now, and probably one day the larger church will too. We are all stewards together - sharing Jesus with the world.

Then there's about 799 other pages that begin to scratch the surface of how the UMC works in the world...