Painful/Wonderful Lessons Learned in 30 years of Ministry
Last Saturday I had the sudden recollection that this Tuesday, June 22, marks the 30th anniversary of my ordination into Christian ministry. I was ordained out of Faith Christian Church in Omaha, Nebraska, a congregation of which I was a charter member and the second individual (by a few minutes) to be baptized into the life of the body there.
The thirty years has gone like the blink of an eye; I have since been through a lot of changes and
moves. I served first as an associate at Glen Oak Christian Church in Peoria, IL, then a short stint as pastor in Winterset, IA (Bridges of Madison County country), then on the regional staff of the Christian Church in Illinois and Wisconsin, then as senior pastor at Pekin, IL. From there I spent three years out of ministry due to burn out, working as a waiter, bartender, apartment sales agent, piano tuner, and handyman, then back into ministry here in Minneapolis. I spent my 25th anniversary at a strawberry short cake party at the Methodist church I was attending then, having gotten my tips for the day earlier. I’ve been married and divorced, have two wonderful daughters of which you might be sick of hearing about, and am now kinda, sorta, beginning to reflect a bit on what retirement in 12 to 14 years might be like.
Back then I was full of ambition (that was based on no small amount of anger) to bring transformation to the church. The painful/wonderful lessons learned over those 30 years is that the only way I can be an effective agent of transformation is to be an effective witness for Christ. A pastor can’t force transformation onto a congregation; he/she can only issue the call for such. Over those years I’ve become less ambitious and more reflective, less focused on change for the Church and more focused on theological development, both for the Body and for myself. I’m kinda, sorta, figuring out that what I do in ministry is not nearly as important as being the channel for what God wants me to do and be. (Though I wish He/She would be more forthcoming on that point.)
I will issue the call here again: What do you want for the future of your own lives, and the ministry of First Christian Church of Minneapolis?
I’d like to see YOU on Sunday,
Bob
