Once in awhile there are special occasions that are cause for great celebration! We, at MCC San Diego, recently had the privilege of ordaining Alisan Rowland into full-time ministry.
I first met Allie in 1997 when I came to this church. Allie was singing in the choir – she has a beautiful smile that brightens up her whole face – and is contagious! Through the years I watched Allie blossom, becoming my main admin support for the choir; she took various leadership roles and through her sharing her poetry as devotionals, I saw her heart and could hear her voice – loud and clear. God had her hand on you, Allie!
It grew from there, through her involvement in this community of faith, using her talents in the Loaves of Love and Choir ministry, God revealed her calling. It wasn’t easy. She had to make some tough decisions. She had to make sacrifices – quitting her full time job with all of the benefits, and living on school loans and going back to school to get her M.Div. from doing her internship here and in North Hollywood to being hired as a hospice chaplain. What a journey!
Allie also asked me to give her some advice – so, here goes. Being called into full-time ministry is not an easy task. Like swimming in the beautiful ocean, there are rip-currents. Sometimes the waters are dangerous. There are risks to being in ministry. I know you’re going into this with your eyes wide open – and I want to share some of my experience with you with the help of Bishop Deborah Kiesey. Only because you asked!
1. There is the risk that you will fall in love with the people you serve
And if you don’t think that’s risky … think again.
Loving others makes us vulnerable. It takes us out of the safety of our own isolation. It opens the possibility – and the probability – that our lives will be impacted by them and by what happens in their lives.
You are being asked to walk with them through some of the most intimate moments of their lives: the joys of marriage; as well as the struggle to stay married; the birth of children; as well as the difficulties of having, raising, or even losing those children; the pain of loss and the joy of discovery.
As you are in community with them when they hurt – you will hurt; when they struggle – you will struggle; when they rejoice – you will rejoice.
And, that is risky business.
I can still remember being called from a vacation on New Year’s Day in Colorado Springs to go to the hospital because a board member from our church was going to pull the life support system from her partner of 25 years. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, I wasn’t trained what to say in moments like this, but I knew I had to go. I was her pastor.
Allie, if you truly try to live out the love of Christ, you love them – no matter what – even when they are seemingly unlovable, or angry, or hurt, or disappointed – and sometimes it will be targeted at you.
Yes, dangerous waters, but powerful waters. Waters that leave you humbled, and also strengthened.
2. Another risk. If you continue in ministry there is the risk, and a strong risk, that your faith will not remain the same
Your comfortable faith, nurtured in Sunday school and solidified in seminary, will be challenged and stretched and pulled in new and sometimes frightening ways.
As you know from your chaplain experience, sometimes the easy answers aren’t so easy in real-life.
From the simplest questions asked by a child, to the faithful person who’s prayers go unanswered, to suffering that we don’t understand … your faith will be challenged, and changed.
And there will be times when you are going through your own time of wilderness or darkness or doubt. Many times it’s extremely humbling to stand in worship before the gathered faithful and realize there’s so much faith and life experience before you and you wonder what possible words of wisdom have I to offer to these faithful people?
If you venture into these dangerous waters, you risk running into questions that have no simple – or sometimes even adequate – answers. And your faith will be changed, but it will also be deepened and it will be honest and it will be real.
3. Another one. Perhaps one of the most frightening things about entering these waters or ordained ministry is that by doing so, you are no longer in control
If you’re a person who likes to know where she’s going and what’s going to happen when you get there. Well, as you continue on this journey, you can forget that!
You may find yourself in places you’d never dreamed, doing things you never thought possible.
You may find yourself in places you thought you’d never want to go, and you will discover that was just exactly where you needed to be.
And the amazing thing is God is there with you, just as God has promised. We don’t know where God is leading, but the journey is always well worth it.
4. And finally, when you wade into these waters, you are offering yourself in true servant ministry
We are reminded that ultimately, ministry is not about us, it’s not about the size of our church or the salary, it’s not about where we serve or the recognition we receive. But ministry is about God. It’s about loving and serving those around us. It’s about finding new and creative ways of telling the story of God’s inclusive love for all people.
It’s about opening our hearts – and the hearts of others – to the possibilities found in relationship with God. It’s about deepening the faith of those for whom this is not a new story. It’s about giving our lives to help transform the world – one life at a time. It’s about using your gifts, Allie, of mercy, forgiveness, compassion, love and hope. It’s about leading with integrity.
Continue to love. Always come back to your calling when things get tough and people are people. Remember who called you and that it’s a sacred calling. And, no one can take it away from you!
So, welcome, Allie! Welcome to the dangerous, exciting, risky, life-challenging, life-giving waters of ministry. I rejoice that you are willing to take that risk!
Remember the words Jesus spoke to his disciples, are spoken to you today, “Take heart! Do not be afraid! I am with you – always!”
Amen.
Rev. Dan Koeshall is the senior pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met), 2633 Denver Street, San Diego, California, themetchurch.org. Services every Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m.
