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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
Moses, Thermostats, and Culture
Let me ask you a question. What does a thermometer do? (seriously, take time to answer mentally). If you said “measures temperature” that is right (good job!). Thermometers respond to the environment. Whether 85 or 42 degrees, that is what they report.
So, what does a thermostat do? It not only measures the temperature in the environment, but it also controls the environment. If the space is to hot, it can introduce cool air to bring it down to a more pleasing temperature, and then keep it there. Thermometers are passive, simply reacting to the surrounding environment. Thermostats are active agents of change in an environment.
After witnessing the abuse of one of his fellow Hebrews by their Egyptian slave-owner, Moses kills the Egyptian and buries him the sand. When he is confronted the next day about the crime, he decides to flee from the coming wrath of Pharaoh. The environment around Moses was heating up, and was about to come to a boiling point. You remember those cartoons where the red thermometer mercury keeps rising until it finally bursts out the top? Moses was about to burst. So he got out of Dodge…Egypt. His environment forced him to a breaking point.
But God keeps working with Moses. God meets him in the desert in Chapters 3 and 4. Moses is called to go back to Egypt, except this time he will be a thermostat. Things were going to get hot because God was preparing to pull His people out of their slavery. Each time Pharaoh refuses to let the Hebrews leave, Moses responds by setting the expectation. Pharaoh increases the work load of the people, and Moses demonstrates the power of God. No longer was Moses changing with the whim of the environment.
This analogy has been coming close to home for me this week. As I begin my new job as a pastor, and as I join the journey that my church is on, I pray that we will be a thermostat. The city may expect us to react to what the think is important. People might think we should keep to ourselves, and not meddle in their lives. Our culture may think our values are silly. God has called us to influence our environment. So I am praying about how God desires to us my gifts, in conjunction with the church, to blow cool air on the sweltering parts of our city. I am proud to be pastoring a church that eagerly desires to see God’s environment come not only downtown, but also in central Florida, and all over the world.
God wants earth to look like heaven. He uses reluctant people like Moses, a man who ran from trouble, feared human rulers, and apparently was not an eloquent speaker. Ordinary thermometers are transformed into thermostats as we encounter the living God. People like you, and me.
How has God made you into a thermostat in your environment?
Swamp Scripture
(Image from http://www.facebook.com/clydebutcher)
Photography has the ability to capture what words could never fully convey. I have enjoyed photography all my life. I am the proud recipient of the prestigious Photography Merit Badge. Furthermore, my parents invested in my creative development by putting me in after school art programs, including a photography course. While I have developed a love for life captured on film, I am no professional.
I was first introduced to Clyde Butcher and his work through Seasons of Real Florida – a fantastic read. To many, he is the official photographer of the Everglades, welcoming the world into the “river of grass” through his black-and-white large format prints. I saw my first real photo print at Florida Hospital East. Up till this point I had admired his work on the internet and in books. I came around a corner on my first shift to see, not one, but three Clyde Butcher prints hanging on the wall. I stopped and admired them for a good while. I make it a point to pass by them at least once per shift.
Art, good art, requires a deep connection between artist and subject. Butcher gets into the swamp to get his shot, lugging tripod and equipment through mud and water to find the right spot. This means he has to be aware of water current, depth, and all the wildlife (including gators) of the glades. He becomes part of the environment. The result is a photo of the swamp on the swamp’s terms.
Reading scripture is like art in that you must wade out into to it to really capture its meaning and intention. You can read the Bible as a history, wisdom literature, or creative writing through the ages. But scripture has the full intention of calling us to its level. We are shaped by our experiences with scripture. A verse is encountered which challenges the script we are given by the world. We realize we cannot wade out of this swamp and continue about life in the same way.
The Everglades has been exploited by developers, politicians, and entrepreneurs for centuries. Scripture has suffered in similar ways at the hands of those who desire to use it to prop up their opinion, justify their hate, and condone their behavior. But the Bible is God’s inspired Word to humanity. Our life becomes part of the story of God’s work in the world. This is where I am trying to live, I trust you are too. Our life, directed by God’s scripture, can be a muddy and treacherous trek. But we have each other, and we know God’s Spirit is leading our expedition into His swamp. Watch out for Alligators!
To see Butcher’s work: http://www.clydebutcher.com/ (Disclaimer: You need to experience these photos in person.)
February’s Reading
For the first time in a long time, I have choices. I love the reading assigned for seminary classes. But, I am stoked to choose some of my own books. I am also giving myself a mental break. You will see from my selections this month I am exploring new territory…Florida History and Culture.
- Seasons of Real Florida: Melanie and I typically read one or two of these short, journalistic style, stories each night. The author presents well-written snapshots of the people, places, and food that makes Florida unique.
- Florida: A Short History: I heard this book described as “all the Florida history you want, without all the boring parts.” It is easy to read while hitting the high points from the earliest settlers to modern day. I picked this book up as a primer to my interest in Florida history.
- The Tropic of Cracker: The term “cracker” was given to cattle ranchers of the early to mid 1900’s for the rifle-like noise their whips made. I was drawen to this highly rated book by this review. “Ever wonder what’s the best way to eat a rattlesnake? Puzzled over the origin of the term ‘Florida Cracker’? Have an interest in alligator wrestling or catfish? Al Burt has some answers for you.”—Forum
What’s on your reading list this month?
