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Take thou authority...

It is done! On Wednesday evening, May 27th, 2009, Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr. laid hands on me (along with 19 others) and said: "Take thou authority..." This marks another beginning to a life-long journey that started with a calling from God, continued with preparation and seminary education, processed theough Board interviews and paperwork, endured internship and scrutiny, and culminated with this glorious event when the Holy Spirit took over and let everything gently fall into place in our midst. This was a night to remember forever and an expression of God's love that will last a lifetime. Thank you, Jesus, for grace, mercy, and love!

It's Sunday...

It's Sunday morning once again. Today our Sunday school lesson will talk about how we can be better at being the church in our community. What can each person do to use their particular gifts and graces to help advance the message of Jesus Christ? That seems appropriate for this week as we go into Annual Conference.

My sermon this morning is about prayer and how we should always be in prayer for others. Jesus prayed for us in the garden; we should pray for others - when they know it and when they don't. Prayer is our conversation with God. It is so vital to our spiritual health to be in conversation with God. Again, appropriate as we go to Annual Conference.

This year's Conference is especially important for me. On Wednesday evening I will be ordained and set apart as an elder in full connection with the Church. Wow! What an honor and privilege. I am in awe going into this and I am so pleased that God chose me to be God's servant! Thank you, Lord!

Ordination

A friend and colleague mentioned yesterday that I don't update my blog often enough; she's right. I haven't yet developed the habit of sharing my journal everyday and I'm not even sure anyone is interested. But, today I am in the mood again because I spent yesterday with our Bishop Robert Hayes and my fellow classmates who are about to be ordained on Wednesday. It was a great day and I began to grasp the full significance of all this.

The head of our Board of Ordained Ministry reminded us of the long line of succession we are about to step into. Other speakers reminded us of the years of training and internship we have endured and the significance of our calling into the set-apart ministry of ordination. All of this serves to inspire awe and the desire for excellence going forward. This is a huge responsibility and the only thing that makes it possible to accept is knowing that Jesus has been and will continue to walk beside me as I try to do my best to follow his leadership. Bishop reminded us that our only entitlement as ordained elders is our service - we are entitled to be servants of God.

I think of the words of ordination: "Take thou authority to preach the Word of God, to order the life of the church, and administer the holy sacraments. Wow! What a charge to keep I have! I pray for myself and those who will walk beside me next week that we will accept this charge with humility and grace; I pray that God will be with us as we go forward to serve in love.

Amen and amen!

Don Tabberer - 57 - Male - Mangum, Oklahoma - tangle.com

Don Tabberer - 57 - Male - Mangum, Oklahoma - tangle.com

I feel her pain

This morning I read a blog post by a ministerial colleague of mine in a small United Methodist church in north central Oklahoma. She talks about the vision for ministry she has for her church and how she has begun to realize that she often sees herself as indispensable. This is problematic because, as pastors, we are subject to relocation after only a few years and ministry continues without us. Therefore, it is vital that whatever ministry visions we cast for the congregation be independent of us and that they continue when we are gone...This is the only way churches truly grow in ministry and strength in their communities. If every ministry activity is tied inextricably to the pastor, then every time a pastor leaves that ministry dies. This is not what we are about as the church.

I feel this friend's pain as she struggles with this issue. It seems that whenever we have an idea for ministry that we believe has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, the church thinks it's our job to get it done. We are, after all, paid to do ministry and they are signing the checks. It is getting more rare for members of the congregation to actually sign on to do the lion's share of the labor to get a ministry rolling and running. However, with that said I have to also say that we - the pastors - must also learn patience. God does not work along our timetable and we may need to wait for the timing to be right for God. Once we plant the seed of an idea in the church it may take longer than we expect to germinate and sprout a ministry. Our church members are good people with jobs and families and lots of things to do...They may not be as enthused or committed to an idea from the get-go. They do get it eventually, if we stand back and let God do God's work. It's really amazing what can happen in a church if we let God set the pace.

I have recently (for over a year now) been planting seeds for a ministry concept in my church. I have been impatient about getting it started and frustrated by the lack of commitment from the laity. Well, wouldn't you know it, God finally generated some interest in some people and they came to me with this great idea - "Can we do this, pastor?" Of course they can do it! I don't care whose idea it was - if this is what God wants then get started. What's great about this scenario is that now the idea is completely theirs and they will make it work - It won't matter if I am involved or not; it won't matter if I get re-appointed or not - this ministry will continue with or without me. I may don't get any "credit" for it, but God gets the job done. That works for me!

I guess what I'm really saying is that it's tough for a pastor to stand back and wait and watch. We want to be the "head cheese" sometimes; that's why we went to seminary and that's why we put up with the endless interviews and paperwork for the Board of Ordained Ministry. Now we are the "experts" and it's our charge to get the church fired up about ministry. The reality is that real-life doesn't work that way and seminary didn't tell us all that. In the real world people move slower than we'd like and our ideas aren't always the best fit for every church and we need to be humble enough to be flexible. "Ministry of humble service" - maybe that's a term we did learn in seminary. "It's not about me, it's not about you, it's all about God" - Maybe that's not a revolutionary concept after all. For all our education, our experience, and our passion - we don't always have the best and only approach to a ministry problem and it is our challenge to stand aside while God does a better job than we could ever hope to do.

Amen! Shalom.

Financial Crisis & Faith

The current economic downturn has been tough on many people. Our churches and members of our community are all hurting. Our government is doing what it can to help fix the situation. Now, I don't know if they have all the right answers or not - I'm not an economist or a financial wizard. What I do know is that Wall Street and corporate greed got us into this mess and someone has got to step up and make some sacrifices to get us out of it.

I read an article today about banks who now want to return the bailout money because they are being held accountable for how they spend it and that the government is putting too many restrictions on it. All I have to say is: "Tough!" Send the money back. It isn't yours anyway...it belongs to the tax payers and if you don't want to be held accountable, if you don't want to lose your perks, if you don't want to truly try to fix the mess you created, then give the money back and go bankrupt. That's what should happen anyway. We are not responsible for bailing you out.

With all of that out of my system, let me go on to say that this financial crisis is like every other financial crisis in history. Many factors caused it and many things will be needed to fix it. We all need to recognize that we have become so dependent on money and our over-stuffed lifestyles that we have lost sight of what is truly important. God has given us everything we need to live well and happy. We have simply forgotten what it means to be "well and happy." Greed has overtaken need and our culture is glutted with excessive consumption and wants that exceed reason. Pray more, desire less. God will take care of us.