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BOOM! I am a Provisional Elder
Today I met with the Board of Ordained Ministry of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. I was recommended as a Provisional Elder with the conference. This is the point to which I have been working toward since beginning the process to ordination with the United Methodist Church in 2008. This is a big step. But, I know that many are not very familiar with how the process of becoming a pastor works in the UMC.
The first step, when someone feels calls to ministry, meets with their pastor. The pastor hears there call, and also directs them to meet with their district superintendent. For us in Orlando, Dr. Wayne Wiatt (best D.S. ever) helps to start the process of candidacy. The candidacy process is formatted to help someone better understand their call through reflection and conversation with others. For my process, I meet with a candidacy mentor (Randy Strickland – Conway UMC) for about a year to discern and understand the details of calling and ordained ministry. This process involves reading, writing, psychological and personality tests, and even a session with a licensed counselor. All of this is designed to help the individual feel confident in their call.
After meeting with my mentor for about a year, I applied to the District Committee on Ordained Ministry. This group is tasked with confirming the call of the individual. It is made up of local lay and clergy reps. I was blessed to have some great people on my DCOM, like Emily Ann Zimmerman. She is the wife of Gene Zimmerman, a retired clergy member from Florida, and former pastor (and current member) of First UMC Orlando. Emily Ann serves a lay member of the board. I think it is great that we have members of our local churches helping to make new pastors for our church. I became a certified candidate through his committee. This stage recognizes that God is calling me to ordained ministry. They DCOM gives “contingencies” to candidates as ways for growth. These can include reading, meeting in a directed study, counseling, retreats, etc. One of my contingencies was a semester as a Chaplain, working in the hospital.
Seminary is only one part, though a big part, of the overall process. As I came to the end of seminary, I had to write my “paperwork” to present to the DCOM. This involves expanding on topics such as leadership, theology, personal growth, and proclamation/preaching. My paperwork came to about 100 pages. It is like a Master’s thesis. From this paperwork, I interviewed with the DCOM. They are looking to see if I am reading to apply to the state level conference for ordination. They want to see I can articulate my call, and my understanding of God, and that these fit within the UM theology and practice. At my DCOM meeting in September, I was recommend to apply to the Board of Ordained Ministry, or BOOM, for short.
The BOOM is made up of clergy and lay people from across the conference. Ages range from young adult to retirees, and demographics vary as a way to allow the diversity of the conference to be represented. My senior pastor, Tom McCloskey serves on the board. Though, he cannot sit in during my interview, to ensure there is no bias. A key part of this group’s responsibility is interviewing candidates (like myself) who are pursuing ordained ministry.
The BOOM reads all the same paperwork, and then has the choice to set up an interview. This brings us back to today. I meet with a small group, about 8-10 people, who ask follow up questions to the paperwork submitted. This lasted about an hour. Then, the full BOOM, about 50 members, meets and has a chance to ask me questions. They can ask about theology, personal growth, preaching, and leadership. I leave the room, and the group discusses and takes a vote. The best way I have heard it described, is the BOOM is looking for ways to pass the candidate. They want to see the church grow, not keep people out. The BOOM has the option of three responses; a recommend which is what I received, a continuation which says everything is in order but more experience is needed, or a discontinue, which means they person may not be called to the UMC. They recommended that the conference make me a Provisional Elder, which receives a final vote at the upcoming annual conference this summer.
Over the next three years, I will continue to grow in my gifts and talents in ministry. I will then have a chance to apply to the BOOM again to become a Full Elder. I explain it to people like this. Professors are hired at schools, but on a probationary basis (Provisional Elder). After several years, and demonstration of the long-terms gifts, receive tenure (Full Elder).
I found the process, over the past few years to be quite long and often challenging. There were times when I thought it would be easier to find a different denomination to do ministry in. But, I sensed God was calling me to the UMC. This call was constantly re-affirmed in my meetings with my mentor, the district committee, and finally, the BOOM. The process we have in place is challenging. I literally gave blood, sweat, and tears. We have to do a health physical, so there was a blood test. But, this ensures that the churches of the UMC, and especially the Florida Conference, are sent the well trained, called, and thoroughly prepared ministers who know they are in the place God would have them be.
I hope this helps to explain how pastors come to be in the UMC. I am grateful to God for his presence with me through it. I am thankful to the family, friends, and countless church members who committed to praying for me today. I felt God’s peace and presence with me during the interview, and I could ask for no more than that.
Resources:
- ExploreCalling.org A site for calling in the UMC
- Who are some of the people on the FL Board of Ordained Ministry? Link
Frustrations on the Journey
I preached on Genesis 12:1-9 this past weekend. It is the story of Abraham’s call by God to leave his country, kindred, and father’s house. He was to set out for a land God would show Him, to build a nation, and to gain a new name and reputation. Abram (as he was called at this time), was 75 when God called him, and it would take him the rest of his life to see the promises of God accomplished. His journey with God would cover the span of his life, but could only be accomplished one day at a time. But just because we are walking with God does not mean everything goes perfect. We are in a process of growing.
I presented a case study from my hospital ministry this past week to my supervisor and fellow chaplain interns. By my estimation, I had made significant progress since first starting in March, and I was anxious to demonstrate my growth to the group. While they affirmed what I was doing well, they found a big issue that I missed in my conversation with the patient. It was under the surface, and thus, not evident to the patient, but it came through in our conversation. My group helped me to see that I missed a key issue. I was really frustrated and had to fight back defensiveness so I could hear them out. I wondered, was I really making progress?
Abram’s journey provided a frame for my own journey with Christ. Abram did not do it perfectly, we can read Genesis further and see where he got some things right, and others wrong. There are times in our Christian walk, usually with the best of intentions, we wander of the trail, say the wrong thing, or mess something up. We look back in hindsight and get frustrated and angry. But adults learn by doing and experience, and we can trust that God knows this about us. He is proud when we put what we are learning into practice in order to grow. The point of discipleship is building a relationship with Jesus, not about being perfect always. Abraham makes it into the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 because he kept following God by faith, not because he followed perfectly.
So let’s keep going on the journey with God. He has called you and me, and knows our strengths and weaknesses. Adults learn by putting concepts into experience first, and then by processing afterward. So we will likely get frustrated when things don’t go just right. They key is that we are on a journey to know God more and more.
What experiences have taught you the most in hindsight?
“To-Do” or “To-Be” List
Part of my morning routine is to sit down and review my ongoing to-do list. There is always a running list of at least 10, though usually closer to 20 tasks that need attention. I realize I cannot accomplish everything in one day. So, I try to find three most important tasks that I want to accomplish today. These three are my “must get done today items.” I will use extra time in the day to accomplish other tasks on the list. This process has worked for me for some time now. I am able to prioritize my day and minimize distractions. So I often ask myself at the beginning of the day, “what do I want to do today?”
But, God challenged me recently. In my heart, I felt the question come back. “Who do I want to be today?” In my push to get things done, I was not asking who God desired to me to become. I looked back at my to do list and found many of the items that seemed most important were only priority for others. Now, if I had unlimited time, talent, and resources I could accomplish everything. But I don’t, and neither do you. So with our time, talent, and resources how do you and I figure out what is most important?
We determine what to do based on who God desires us to be.
The ministry, work, individual, and community God has called us to grow into defines how we can best use our limited time, talent, and resources. Whether the to-do list item is preparing a corporate budget to writing “thank you” cards, we must ask, who are these tasks making me into? I want to be a person who expresses gratefulness for others, so “thank you” cards are important. I also want to be faithful of the fiscal resources God has provided in my work, so I will labor over a budget for accountability, among other reasons.
What do the things we do say about who we are? What do they say about who God has made and called us to be? In Matthew 5, Jesus tells the crowds, “You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world.” Before telling the crowds what they should do, Jesus told them who they are. Then He goes on to say, “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” First be, then do. We accomplish this through prayer, and over time, as God reveals His plans within our own life.
How do you prioritize your to-do list? Leave a comment, I am interested to know your thoughts. Thanks!
Our Deepest Insecurity
The things that bother us most about people tend to be their own deepest insecurities.
One of the Chaplains at the hospital shared this quote with me. She thought it originally came from Phillip Yancy.
I have been thinking on this for about two weeks, and my verdict is…TRUE. I called to mind a person who was getting under my skin and what they did which really pushed my buttons. Putting myself in their shoes, I realized these annoyances could be deep insecurities of their own. If I confronted them, I would reaching down into their core struggles, pain, and growing edges. These areas, the inner most soul, are places to tread lightly. Deep wounds inflicted here take lots of time heal. Sure, I would have felt justified thinking, “I expressed my feelings and helped them to see how their actions frustrated me.” But I wonder, at what cost?
It really helped me to frame this other in light of my own insecurities. I understand how I would want someone to treat me whom I annoy or frustrate. It would not be the way I wanted to respond, that is for sure! Surprisingly, I have come to a new appreciation for this person. Moving past my own frustration, I am able to see them for their gifts, rather than their rough edges.
