At my denominational meeting last week, I co-led a workshop on creating networks of care. Below are some of the notes for my piece of the workshop, which focused on finding non-peer professional support. (Note that my section followed a discussion of the value of peer learning groups.)

What are the benefits of non-peer professional support?

• Non-peer professionals come with particular expertise and credentials. They are also often able to be more objective about your situation and needs than peers.

• Professionals are generally bound by confidentiality clauses in the professional-client covenant and in the ethical codes of their disciplines, thus creating a safe environment for you to share freely.

What are the biggest differences between a coach, spiritual director, and therapist/counselor?

• Coach: Coaches concentrate on forward movement from the present, helping the coachee name particular action steps toward reaching goals. The coach believes that the coachee is the expert on his/her situation, and the coach asks focused questions to draw out inherent wisdom and new awareness in the coachee. The coachee sets the agenda, meaning the coach asks questions that help the coachee reach her/his stated goal.

• Spiritual director: Spiritual directors help clients pay attention and respond to where God is at work, letting go of whatever is in God’s way. Spiritual direction’s main emphasis is growth in relationship with divine. The spiritual director’s primary tools are study, narrative, questions that prompt reflection on the spiritual life, and spiritual disciplines.

• Therapist/counselor: Therapists assist clients in healing from past events and learning how to move forward in light of them. Therapy uses narrative, problem-solving, and various exercises to help the client find health.

Each of these fields has nuances, and many ministers engage more than one of them. The different approaches often complement one another.

Where would a minister look for one of these professionals?

• Ask for referrals from ministerial colleagues and/or denominational staff.

• Additionally, if you’re looking specifically for one of these professionals:

  • Coaches: Check with coach accrediting bodies, seminaries, and parachurch organizations.

  • Spiritual directors: Look for spiritual direction accrediting bodies and retreat centers.

  • Therapists/counselors: Contact nearby pastoral counselor centers, your insurance provider, or your physician.

How does a minister determine a good match with a professional?

• Comfortable talking with the professional

• Clear about nature and goals of relationship

• Confident in professional’s skills, willingness to listen, and commitment to confidentiality

• Sense support and/or progress in the issues raised

Don’t hesitate to end a relationship if you and the professional are not a good match!

How does a minister pay for this professional support?

• Check on insurance coverage for counselors/therapists.

• Use professional expenses as appropriate. (Check with your ministry setting or a tax professional if you have questions about appropriate uses of funds.)

I recently wrote a post with some thoughts about starting a new ministry position well. Though I didn’t name preaching specifically, a thoughtfully-considered first sermon is an important piece of a fast start for pulpit ministers.

I heard an example of a great first sermon a couple of weeks ago. (Brag alert: it was delivered by my husband in his new appointment.) Matt started by outlining the different schools of thought about how to approach a first sermon, then told a humorous anecdote about each of his previous first sermons. These stories humanized him and gave his new congregation a sense of his growth as a preacher. They also showed his parishioners that they are meeting up with him mid-ministry. Matt then pointed out that he is joining this church’s narrative – already in progress – and that together they are all locating themselves along the arc of God’s relationship with humankind. Matt gave his hearers the charge to grab different threads of the story of God’s work among us and weave them more tightly into the trajectory of the kingdom, making the fabric stronger and more functional in the process. It was a great way to acknowledge the linking of a pastor’s ministry and a congregation’s mission while honoring all the history that each side brings to the relationship. This kind of sermon takes experience and a strong pastoral identity to preach, and it struck me as very effective.

I’m not often a good (traditional) pastor’s wife, but I certainly was a proud one that day!

Last week well-known Christian author Anne Lamott caught a lot of flak for her tweets about Caitlyn Jenner, many of which were deemed insensitive by transgendered people and their allies. In response, writer Jonathan Merritt called for grace, noting that many of us are just now learning about transgender issues: “…[W]hen people with limited knowledge begin to engage complex issues, those people often misspeak and

All of us have blind spots about other people’s experiences. I am a straight, white, cisgender, middle-class, Christian, American female. I can know and speak with certainty only out of the overlap of those categories. To know about the privileges and concerns of people from different intersections, I have to be willing to learn, and the experts on those intersections – i.e., the people who live in them – have to be willing to teach me.

How, then, do I deal on a practical level with my gaps in understanding?

Acknowledge having blind spots. There’s plenty I don’t know, and sometimes I don’t even know what I don’t know.

Look for conversation partners. Who will take the risk of sharing truthfully with me about their struggles? It’s important to seek out these generous souls without shifting the onus of the work - which is rightfully mine - to them.

Refrain from arguing with someone else’s experiences. They were there. They have lived this. I was not and have not.

Ask for feedback. Whose perspective(s) am I still overlooking? What language should I be using?

Let the dialogue change me…and my ways of doing and being. Now that I have this knowledge, there are realities that I can no longer ignore. So what now?

No one wants to be told that their understanding is deficient and that their comforts come at the expense of another. But the hard work of knowing and being known by others pries ever more open the curtain between this world and the one to come.

You jingle your new keys as you look for the one that fits the lock. You open your office door and find (ideally) a clean desk and a few neatly-arranged office supplies. You adjust the height on your desk chair and turn on your computer.

Now what?

It’s your first day in your new ministry. There are only possibilities before you, and there are no crises yet to direct your day. So…where do you begin?

Maybe the better question is not now what, but now who? Ministry is relational work, so whom do you need to reach out to first? Consider not just formal church and community leadership, but also other influencers (e.g., “gatekeepers”). Find out about these folks and their passions. Tell them yours. Let them fill you in about potential landmines and unwritten expectations the church has of you.

What preparations and processes is the church actively engaged in? Is your congregation getting ready for Vacation Bible School? Hitting the lull after the initial excitement of a capital campaign? Dealing with a difficult staff departure? It’s important to know your role in these situations, if any.

How will you build a relationship with the congregation as a whole? How will you use your public forum and individual interactions to know and be known by your people? It’s easier to work toward a shared mission with people you know.

What expectations do you want to set? What will your weekly work pattern be? What boundaries will you be instituting regarding personal/family time? How will you handle complaints? The easiest time to set expectations is at the beginning of your tenure. Communicate them well and maintain them as consistently as possible.

What would be some good early wins, and how will you go about getting them? What gift has the last minister left you in terms of a quick victory? Take advantage – doing so will bank some goodwill and extend your honeymoon period.

What support or resources do you need? You don’t have to do it all on your own time and dime. You may be the leader, but you and your congregation are all in this ministry together.

And…don’t forget to have fun in your new role! Ministry is a serious calling, but the work of the ministry doesn’t always have to be serious – and neither does the minister.

One of the most crucial jobs of a pastor is setting the tone for the ministry he/she will do alongside the congregation: how will we work together toward God’s vision for this church? Two aspects of this task are preparation and self-management.

A minister can prepare perfectly, but if she/he fails to manage her/his own anxiety, things can go off the rails quickly. Conversations take a negative turn, committees get mired in minutiae, and processes get abandoned. Here are a few thoughts, then, on self-management:

Wring out your anxiety sponge on a regular basis. Make the calendar your friend by scheduling self-care appointments (for example, coffee with a friend or a massage). Celebrate affirmations and progress, however small. Find joy or humor somewhere…anywhere.

Humanize the “other.” If you are running up against a particularly prickly personality or faction, pray for him/her/them. Say to that person’s directory photo, “you are a child of God.” (Cheesy? Yes. But a helpful exercise – sort of the reverse of putting someone’s face on a dartboard.) Engage difficult people rather than avoiding them, seeking to understand them and channel their passions productively.

Create and lean on a network of partners. We all need commiseration partners, those folks who affirm that we are not crazy or wrong. Commiseration partners could be colleagues who receive venting and respond in a professional way as well as good friends and family members who only half-jokingly offer to punch that nemesis in the throat on your behalf. But there are also:

• Prayer partners – those who pray with and for us.

• Common goal partners within the congregation – laypeople who are allies in the ministry at hand.

• Staff, deacons, or other lay leaders who can be trusted implicitly – voices that can assess the situation from the inside and help with informed decisions.

• Reality check partners – anyone willing to say “I hear you, now what will you do about it?”

• Professional support – therapist, spiritual director, coach, etc.

Ministers who engage in solid preparation and good self-management model those practices for others, paving the way for mutual trust and respect and progress toward God’s mission fulfilled.

One of the most crucial jobs of a pastor is setting the tone for the ministry he/she will do alongside the congregation: how will we work together toward God’s vision for this church? Two aspects of this task are preparation and self-management.

A minister’s preparation eliminates as many unpleasant surprises and as much negativity as possible on the front end of conversations, committee meetings, and processes, while still leaving room for the Holy Spirit to work. This groundwork includes:

Doing your homework. What details do you need going in? Where can you find them?

Getting the right people in the room. Who should be involved so that key people know what is happening, there is buy-in, and tasks can be claimed by the people who have the skills and passion to carry them out?

Making the physical space work for you. How can the room be better arranged to help you accomplish your objectives? What visual or auditory cues will be conducive to your aims?

Having a sense of your trajectory. What process will you follow? What’s the timeline? How will you stay on track when a distraction or tangent pops up?

Following through. What steps will you take to assist people in honoring their commitments? How will you ask your church members to hold you accountable?

Above all, preparation involves communication with God – speaking and listening – through whatever spiritual discipline best suits your personality, learning style, and faith history. You are working on God’s behalf. Let God empower and guide you.

It’s my last day at my current congregation. If I had my way, I would leave my keys on the desk and sneak out the back door. Not because I don’t love my co-workers and church members, mind you, but because I do. Saying goodbye to people you care about is hard, especially if you’re an extreme introvert.

But, I firmly believe that how a minister ends her time in a position is at least as important as how she begins it. So here are the things I’ve been mulling the past few weeks:

Which relationships need closure? Not all of the relationships I’ve formed in this church will end when I put that last box of books in the car, but all of them will change. How do I mark this evolution with intentionality?

What loose ends need tying up? I don’t want to leave messes for my colleagues to clean up. They have enough on their plates with the transition.

How do I prepare the way for my successor? This is tricky in my case because no one has been hired yet. Generally, though, I want to file enough information to help the next person hit the ground running and avoid landmines. I don’t want to define his/her relationships with church folk, though, by giving too many details about personalities. I also want to leave the physical work space decluttered, Pledged, and vacuumed.

If I say my goodbyes and do my homework well, not only will I feel more settled, the minister who follows me will be better able to establish trust and get into the nitty-gritty of ministry quickly.

In every new call there are landmines that must be sussed out and avoided, at least in the early days. You’ve got to figure out what topics can’t be discussed without hushed tones, what habit the last pastor had that drove everyone crazy, whose blessing is needed to launch a new initiative. Early wins + landmines avoided = longer honeymoon period for church and minister.

And then there are sacred cows. These are the preferences and rituals that church folk sometimes seem to love more than Jesus himself, bless their hearts. Every church has them, and they are the stiflers of new leadership, new ideas, and new life. They trap congregations in permanent maintenance mode.

In his article “Eight Common Characteristics of Successful Church Revitalizations,” Thom Rainer emphasizes the importance of taking on those sacred cows. He notes that one church listed all of its ministries and labeled them as biblically essential, contextual, and traditional. In other words, where in scripture do you find a directive for this ministry? If it’s not in the Bible, do we hold onto this ministry because it serves our community well or because we have “always” done it?

I think this kind of parsing – done by leadership teams or by the congregation as a whole – could be very eye-opening. “Why do we do what we do?” leads into “Is it helping us accomplish our God-given mission now, and if not, where would our efforts and resources be better spent?”

Ministers cannot tackle sacred cows alone. They must help the congregation come to its own realization that it is a new day with new needs.

Moving is a hassle with a capital H. I hate the packing and cleaning on one end, only to clean and unpack on the other. Very few ministers (or people of any vocation) stay in one place their entire career, though, so moving is pretty much inevitable. Why not try to put lipstick on that pig, then?

Nostalgia. When was the last time you went through your old yearbooks and mementos, as packing prompts you to do? Maybe it was when you were preparing to move to your current location.

Purging. Stuff tends to accumulate faster than we can give it away. Moving forces some tough but liberating choices.

Moolah. All that unwanted stuff? Yard sale or Craigslist it. Or give it to a charitable organization to give away or sell.

Appreciation. Paring down what we have tends to help us remember what we really need and how lucky we are.

Mental and emotional transition time. Has the impending reality of your next phase not yet sunk in? Pack a few boxes and then see where you stand.

Potential. Nothing says “clean slate” like a completely empty house or apartment, just waiting for your homey touch.

May your moves be few, and may they be to places full of possibility.

Church strategic plans – in the traditional sense – are tricky. They require congregations to predict cultural shifts, the economic fortunes of the surrounding community, and technological innovations (including social media) for the next five to ten years. In other words, they can quickly become outdated.

There’s a better way. Following the lead of some uber-productive businesses, some congregations and denominations are visioning in one-year chunks. (I know, I know. I generally don’t like the thought of patterning ministry after business, but in this case I’ve found it’s helpful.) Yes, the church still has to have a larger understanding of its purpose for longer-term needs like facilities and staffing, but these single-year processes make sure that specific projects are fresh, meet the current needs of neighbors, and utilize assets to their fullest.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Dawnings initiative, for example, teaches spiritual practices to a congregation’s leadership team and guides the team in using those practices to discern God’s mission for this church in this time. The arc of Dawnings goes something like this:

• How do we attune ourselves to perceive God?

• Now that we’re better able to pay attention, what work does God have in mind for this church to do in the community in the coming year?

• What resources do we already have toward these ends?

• What additional resources do we need, and where will we find them?

The result is doable ministry that will make an immediate impact. A side benefit is that a congregation is not forever wedded to these projects, so there’s more willingness to try something new. And the overall impetus is entirely different from a strategic plan. Rather than a church creating a scratch blueprint out of its desires and hopes, it is taking an in-depth look at its neighborhood and adding its energy and assets to places where God is already at work.

Conflicts often go from a simmer to a roiling boil when a person or group feels powerless to affect the narrative. Maybe there’s a quiet person who needs extra time to process or doesn’t like to interrupt. Or someone on the fringes who feels self-conscious putting forth a minority viewpoint. While it seems simpler in the short run to let the loudest voices propel a cause, those who feel ostracized may leave the conversation altogether or nurse resentment that later manifests in destructive ways.

Power sharing is one answer to this imbalance. Recently one of my coachees introduced me to the concept of mutual invitation as outlined by Eric H. F. Law. In this process the leader gives personal perspective on the issue at hand, then invites someone else by name to do the same. That person can speak, pass for the time being, or pass altogether, then invites the next person to share. These steps repeat until everyone in the room gets two choices: whether to speak, and whom to invite to speak next.

Mutual invitation could be a very useful tool for potentially divisive conversations. Each person has the chance to contribute uninterrupted, and no one can later claim not to have been given a forum. And since people invite one another to speak by name, everyone has not just a listened-to voice but also an acknowledged identity in the process. Mutual invitation would work well with a leadership team or other small gathering. In larger groups, it could be employed in table discussions, with findings then reported to the whole body.

I am a big believer in frugality – spend wisely, save aggressively. I get some of my money tips from The Simple Dollar, and recently there was a post outlining “Ten Steps for Protecting Yourself Against an Unexpected Job Loss.” The article could just as easily been called “How to Make Yourself Marketable,” because it gives some good readiness tips for making a vocational move. All the suggestions were helpful, and I’ve pulled out a few of them and tailored them to ministry:

Network. Network. Network. Networking is about swapping wisdom and support with colleagues of all stripes and figuring out how you can partner to do some good. Happy by-products of networking are increased name recognition and early tips about opportunities.

Take advantage of continuing education. Does your setting pay for you to go to trainings, conferences, or denominational meetings? Go! Your participation benefits the people you currently serve and expands your network and skill set for when you’re ready to make a move.

Keep track of your tasks and accomplishments. Maintain a running list of special projects (and outcomes) and consider how those experiences have provided transferable tools and increased confidence. That list may be helpful in your current position too if you’re looking for a reminder of what works or if questions come up about your job performance.

Be a team player. We are all more likely to thrive when we are invested in rather than competing against each other. Resisting the temptation to bad-mouth takes grace and self-assuredness, but it creates a more productive work environment and a community of colleagues invested in one another’s current and future growth. (Some of those colleagues might even make good references!)

Certainly we are called to “bloom where we’re planted.” But the time will come when we will be transplanted, and finding the most flourish-friendly environment will depend on our commitment to augmenting skills and relationships.

Recently I was directing my youth in a run-through of their Youth Sunday worship service. This was a full rehearsal so that we could work out the rubics, troubleshoot AV issues, and make sure every aspect of the service pointed back to the youth-chosen theme. Several times I was asked – since there were all-important lock-in games like Sardines and Mafia to get to – “Do I have to read my whole part? I know what I’m supposed to do.” And each time I replied, “Practice like you play.” (I guess that old desire to coach basketball still lurks in the back of my brain.)

There are some worship leaders who think that writing out liturgy and sermon manuscripts (if that suits your preaching style) and rehearsing worship prevents the Holy Spirit from moving in the moment. But I believe that good preparation is a sign that a worship leader takes seriously his/her responsibility to God and to the gathered body. It’s a mark of hospitality when a worship leader ensures important details are highlighted and good transitions are made, because otherwise visitors won’t know what to expect. Preparation and rehearsal also create muscle memory in a worship leader so that if he/she is having an off day, the advance work can fill in some gaps.

But perhaps most importantly – and ironically – practicing creates more space for the Holy Spirit to operate. The Spirit isn’t limited to influencing the worship hour but instead can guide all the planning, study, writing, rehearsing, physical space arranging, and recruiting of liturgists, musicians, and greeters.

Practice like you play…and invite the Holy Spirit to redirect you in the moment and to translate all that happens into the message(s) the people in the pews need to hear.

No one – well, no healthy person – loves conflict. But since we are neither clones nor automatons, conflict happens.

Actually, I’ll take it a step further. We need conflict to grow as individuals and as communities. That tension prompts us to reflect on and clarify what we’re passionate about and why. It (ideally) makes us more carefully consider our positions and interactions and keeps us engaged with those who believe differently than we do. Conflict also shakes us out of complacency by spicing things up.

But conflict is still uncomfortable and potentially destructive if it’s not managed well. Here are some questions to ponder when dealing with conflict in a ministry setting:

What is really driving the conflict? Often the presenting issue is not the real issue.

What does your role need to be in managing the conflict? Know where your involvement should begin and end. Don’t enable others’ bad behavior by stepping in out of your own anxiety.

How can the passions at play be redirected? Apathy is a much bigger problem than conflict. So what are some positive outlets for the care being shown?

What culture changes need to occur so that future conflict is productive? Be proactive about teaching your people how to fight well. It will be worth your effort!

The endgame is not to eliminate conflict but to do conflict well. If you know people or churches who model this, find out what their conflict hacks are and try them on for size.

Resilience is perhaps the most underrated but necessary trait of a pastoral leader. Think about it. We’re supposed to shepherd our people as the world becomes both more connected and fractious, as expectations for clergy grow but respect for ministers ebbs, and as the bar for “active” church involvement keeps getting lowered. Resilience is what keeps us plugging along in the name of Christ when we’d rather binge-watch Netflix and eat our feelings.

An article from Faith & Leadership describes resilience as “a kind of lived hope, a way to keep getting up again that has its roots in God’s permanent faithfulness” (C. Kavin Rowe, “Cultivating resilience in Christ-shaped leaders,” 4/23/12). It is not synonymous with toughness, which often results in bottling up our feelings and cutting ourselves off from others. It is also not a denial of difficulty. Instead, resilience is a recognition that God is at always at work, bringing us ever closer in ways that are both now and not yet realities.

So what prompts greater resilience? Consider these questions:

• What does resilience look like for you?

• What do you need to let go of to become more resilient?

• What resources do you need – skills, support, etc. – to be more resilient? Where do you find these resources?

• How do you point others toward resilience, since resilience is a community endeavor?

When we are more resilient, we are healthier emotionally, spiritually, and physically. We are also more able to tell and hear truth, making relationships stronger and congregations more prepared and eager to engage with the world beyond the parking lot.

One of my son’s favorite books is Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story by Astronaut Mark Kelly. It is the story of Meteor, a diminutive mouse chosen for a spot on the space shuttle based on his hard work and confidence. Meteor is happy to be along for the ride, but he’s not sure what his role in the mission is supposed to be. When the key to the control panel drops into a crevice unreachable by the astronauts, though, Meteor uses his size to squeeze into the space and dislodge the key. For his efforts Meteor is heralded as a mousetronaut, and he relishes this new identity and proudly proclaims the power of small.

There’s a lot of focus on size in church life. How many people are in the pews on Sunday mornings? How big is the offering? These questions come internally when corporate self-esteem is based on nickels and noses or when the membership has reason to wonder if God has left the building. They also come from outside sources, such as judicatories that ask churches to keep score of professions of faith, membership transfers, and the exact number of sweet peas donated to the food bank each year.

This numbers emphasis could mislead us to believe that there is something wrong with small churches. Yes, congregations can remain small because they are cliquish or uninterested in discipleship and mission. But sometimes churches are small because that is the size they need to be to fulfill the task God has for them. A 75-member congregation can’t offer all the life groups, children’s programming, or worship time choices that a megachurch can. But it can throw open its doors to the community with less red tape, welcome people looking for a faith community without the intimidation factor, and build lasting relationships with service organizations since lay leader turnover is less frequent.

Sometimes impact is inversely proportional to size. If your church has earnestly discerned the mission God has for it and that assignment lends itself to a smaller membership, wear your corporate identity with pride. The goal, after all, is not nickels and noses. It’s going forth to share the love of God with people who need to hear it.

As the NCAA tournament has played out the past few weeks, I’ve spent some time reflecting on what makes a good teammate. Ministry is a vocation that can lend itself to Lone Rangerdom, but it bears the longest-lasting fruit when it is done collaboratively. (Hey, even God needs three aspects working together to get the job done.) Whether you are part of a big staff or a solo pastor who recruits laypeople for some of the tasks covered by ordained ministers in larger churches, the following observations apply.

Good teammates:

Cooperate. This seems obvious, but it doesn’t always happen.

Coordinate. The most effective ministry requires some measure of advance planning – together – not just in our individual areas of responsibility.

Communicate. Learning teammates’ verbal and non-verbal cues cuts down on costly misunderstandings and allows the team to roll more easily with the unexpected.

Practice and play hard. The whole team looks good when everyone has prepared. On the other hand, one person’s lack of preparedness can make the whole team look like it hasn’t taken the task at hand seriously.

Share credit. Spread the word about how others contributed to a good outcome. Your teammates will become more deeply invested in your relationship and in your shared mission.

Encourage one another. We all get down. And when we get down, we rarely do our best ministry.

Know how and when to confront one another… Teams run into personality conflicts and differences of opinion. Don’t let them fester.

…but also maintain a unified front. Nothing tears a team apart faster than teammates talking behind one another’s backs.

Being a teammate is about working with others toward a common goal and making those around us better. And there are few things as exhilarating and productive as being part of a team that has really gelled.

Let’s be honest. Clergy cannot live on pulpit supply honoraria alone. Even in judicatories that dictate generous minimums, the return on a guest minister’s investment of time usually works out to less than minimum wage. (Don’t do the math. Just…don’t.)

But, pulpit supply pays other dividends that could be even more valuable than cold, hard cash.

Do you need to get your name out because you’re between positions? Do you have a new freelance ministry that could be advertised in your guest minister bio? Guest preaching, done well, can raise your profile and give you good word-of-mouth buzz.

Do you love learning how other congregations or denominations worship? Guest preaching provides you the opportunity to try on someone else’s way of doing things.

Do you enjoy meeting new people and traveling to new places? Guest preaching allows you to encounter folks and visit towns you wouldn’t otherwise.

Do you want to learn more about how to and how not to treat guests, whether clergy or laity? Guest preaching gives you a glimpse into others’ hospitality practices.

Best of all, though, guest preaching gives you a forum to tell the Good News and fulfill part of your call in the process.

If you’re wondering how to fill the pulpit without losing your mind, check out some tips here.

Recently I added my take on being half of a clergy couple to the online series #Yoked. (Thank you to Mihee Kim-Kort for the chance to write!) While my main intention was to provide a peek inside one dual ministry marriage, I also hoped to articulate some on-the-job gleanings that have shaped my vocational life:

It can take a while to settle into a ministry groove. This is partly true in my case because I had to learn how to apply seminary knowledge in the Real World. More than that, though, it took time to grow into the clothes of a pastor.

Calls to ministry evolve over time. When I started looking for my first ministry position, I had a clear idea of what my professional trajectory would be. God laughed, then shredded my map. Thank goodness, because this winding journey has been much more fulfilling.

One bad experience doesn’t have to be the end of the vocational line. I still feel the sting when I think about my stint in a toxic setting. But the pain crystallized my purpose and fired me up for what I do now.

Pre-fab positions aren’t the only ministry outlets. I finally figured out I could be creative within my constraints. At times I have pieced together different ministry jobs to equal full-time work. At others I have accepted positions that were likely created with someone else in mind. (Most interim minister job descriptions are not written to draw young, female candidates!) And now I have started my own sideline, which may someday be my main ministry.

Ministry can’t be done well – at least for long – in isolation. I have my wonderful husband, who understands the joys and challenges of being a pastor. But I also have a network of local partners in ministry and an international community of young clergy women who teach and support me on a daily basis.

I hope my still-unfolding story is an encouragement to you, especially if you are a current or future minister wondering if this crazy, beautiful vocational life is for you. The church needs you!

Ah, the first semester of seminary. That magical time when I formed my still-strong circle of friends, I finally heard women preach (from the pulpit, and their messages were called sermons rather than “talks”), and people in authority really wanted me to ask my many questions about the Church and the Bible.

My world was rapidly expanding. And I was introduced to an image in my History of Christian Thought class that helped me make sense of it. This image still serves as the lens through which I interpret my ministry, politics, and personal relationships:

“Suppose we were to take a compass and insert the point and draw the outline of a circle. The center point is the same distance from any point on the circumference. Let us suppose that this circle is the world and that God himself is the center….To move toward God, then, human beings move from the circumference along the various radii of the circle to the center…The closer they are to God, the closer they become to one another; and the closer they are to one another, the closer they become to God.” (Sixth-century monk Dorotheos of Gaza, quoted on p. 25 of To Love As God Loves by Roberta Bondi)

As a visual person, I realized I needed an artistic representation of this picture in words both to tell other people what my ministry is about and to keep me inspired. There was no question where I would turn for this rendering – Silver Tree Art, a ministry provided by my friend Suzanne L. Vinson. Suzanne took the Dorotheos quote and used watercolors and ink to interpret it. I love her creation, which includes leaves, hearts, arrows, and an equal sign along the radii. I hope and trust you will appreciate it as well, because I will be using it every chance I get!