June 1st
was the one-year anniversary of my call to public ministry as pastor of Good
Shepherd Lutheran Church. As I was attending our annual Synod Assembly this
past weekend, I was reminded that last year at Assembly, I was nervous about
starting my First Call. This year I was more relaxed as I participated in the election of our
synod bishop and lead one of the forums. Over the weekend and as we heard from our guests like ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth
Eaton, I was reminded about our oneness in Christ. I began to think about and
reflect on my first year in public ministry.
My
journey of preparation for public ministry was longer than most. It was 10 years from the time when
my pastor said, “I think you’re being called into ministry” and I was ordained
to the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Because I originally discerned the call
to ministry as a lay professional, I spent extra time in school and have both a
Master of Arts and a Master of Divinity degree. What I learned in the classroom
from my church history, bible, theology, preaching, pastoral care and Christian
education courses were important in helping to prepare me for public ministry.
But what I rely on most is not something that was taught in the classroom, read
in a book or even learned during my internship. What I rely on most is my own
relationship with God.
It is my
trust in the Triune God that allows me to proclaim God’s grace to others. It is
God’s strength that I draw upon while ministering to a family who is saying
good-bye to their loved one. It is God’s wisdom that has given me the words that
others need to hear as I sit at my dining room table on Saturday night
desperate to finish Sunday’s sermon. It is God’s abiding presence that comforts
me when lonely and calms me when anxiety arises. It is knowing God’s promise in
my own baptism that gives me the courage to speak with boldness to another, “As
God’s beloved child, you are loved and forgiven.”
During
the Synod Assembly, what I noticed was the Holy Spirit at work in and through
those assembled. We sensed the Holy Spirit’s presence in worship, in the re-election of Bishop Michael Burk and in Bishop Eaton’s voice as she
passionately presented and preached. As we prepare to celebrate Pentecost this
Sunday, I am reminded of the Holy Spirit uniting us into one body. During my
year at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, I had a couple of memorable
encounters with the Holy Spirit. One of those encounters occurred while doing
exegetical work on Ephesians 1:15-23. As I reflect on my 1st year as
a pastor, I again hear Paul’s words of thanksgiving and prayer in this passage as the church’s
corporate prayer for not only me, called and ordained as pastor, but for all of Jesus’ disciples who are called to
proclaim and worship the crucified and risen Christ. “The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he
fills everything with his presence.” Ephesians 1:23 taken from The Message.
