“Not many of you should become teachers, my siblings in Christ, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” – James 3:1
“Don’t be a pastor unless you can’t do anything else!”
When I heard these words from a member of the Long Beach District Committee on Ordained Ministry I was taken aback. I was in high school and had been feeling the call to ministry. I went through the required steps to meet with the committee, and they helped me to understand all the next steps I would need to take. (It was this same committee whose members told me that I should leave the state to go to Seminary). There were plenty of things they felt I could do instead of ministry! I felt that this person must have had an awfully low view of ministry and ministers if the job was reserved for people who were incompetent or who had failed at everything else!
Over the years I have come to understand what this person meant. If you are looking to make a impact in the world, if you are seeking to change hearts and minds, if you are wanting to put your Christian faith into practice in meaningful ways, ordained ministry can be the least effective way of doing this. Real change is made by real people doing real jobs in the real world. Yes, I feel effective as a pastor, but my effectiveness is in preparing, supporting, guiding, coaching, and organizing the people to be engaged in ministry.
I was thinking about this as I heard the stories of the life of Rep. John Lewis. With you, I smiled at the image of the young man so on fire with the love of God that he preached to chickens. And with you I am thrilled that he answered the call to be in ministry by taking his passion for justice it to the streets, to the busses, to the trains, to the lunch counters, to that bridge, and to congress. Yes, John Lewis was an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church. But he is remembered as Rep. Lewis, not Rev. Lewis. I was overwhelmed with joy and pride that the Rev. Jim Lawson (of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church) got to tell some of the story of Rep. Lewis’ life; and that President Obama noted that both Dr. King and John Lewis were taught Gandhian non-violent civil disobedience by the same Jim Lawson. Did you know that?
I was recently texting with a person who told me that their child had once announced a desire to be a pastor, but had later decided not to. I shared that the child had probably made a wise choice because they could be more outspoken and directly impact lives by doing the work they now performed – both on the job and avocationally as an outspoken layperson.
We have made a point that the church is not closed. The church community continues even in this time of quarantine. Your staff continue to reach out to comfort, guide, and support. In the same way, the ministry continues – perhaps even more strongly – in you. You are able to have the face to face meetings with your families. You are able to check in on your neighbors and offer help, even at an appropriate distance. You are the church. You are the ministers. You are demonstrating that now.
Lead us, Oh God, into the ministry of Jesus. For such a time as this we need your guidance and we need each other. Form us into the body of Christ in the world today. Through Him we pray. Amen.