I am temporary

I had a bit of an epiphany tonight. I love sociology, specifically macro-sociology. I love looking at an organization, examining how it functions, and how its practices and procedures work for or against its mission. One of the first things that I do when I encounter a new organization is think about how I could make it better. None of that was the epiphany.

I think I figured out why all of that stuff is so important to me. For the last ten years, I have been a rather transient figure in the organizations with which I am affiliated. High school and college are each 4 year deals, and in 7 years there will not be anyone there who you have ever met. Now I am working in a church where from the outset, I knew that I only had 18 months there, tops. How then can I be of lasting service to someplace that I will soon be leaving? I can be of lasting service by working on the structure of the organization.

Right now, I am in the process of helping my church form some child protection procedures. I was surprised to find that even in the wake of all of the sexual abuse scandals in the last few years, this church has not taken step one to protect itself and its children. When I am finished with this project, I hope that it will be something which is useful for the church for a long time to come.

Every Ash Wednesday I hear the words, "Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return." I am temporary. My calling is to a temporary position. I do not believe that it is good for a pastor to make any single congregation his life's work. It is not unreasonable to expect to work for six different congregations in a career. I suppose that, once again, the Bible got it right. One plants, another sews, still another harvests.

This has a large impact on how I understand ministry. The church were I currently serve has people in it who can trace their family tree back 6 generations within the life of THAT PARTICULAR CHURCH. The community that they comprise is far more permanent than I could ever aspire to be. Granted, if I had the luxury of a longer stay within the congregation, our stories would begin to meld. My life would become a part of theirs and theirs a part of mine. I guess that brings me to the other half of today's epiphany.

It isn't about me. I need to get out of the way; out of the way of the ministry of the church, out of the way of the text, out of the way of God. My story is only important as a way of enabling these other things. I cannot be God, but I can take God to people. I cannot be the ministry of the church, but I can be one who shows people the ministry to be done in their very own lives. I cannot give grace, but I can share it.

This is not about what skills I have, how well I can preach, my administrative style, or how well I understand scripture. It is about God working in, with and through me, regardless of whatever other plans or ideas I may have