One week from today, Joleen and I will be in Lewistown, PA for ordination interviews with the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. If we pass, we will be on track for ordination at annual conference in June. With interviews just around the corner, here are four thoughts on our ordination journey …
1. What a long journey this has been!
You can read about about our ordination journey in previous posts, such as, Becoming Provisional Elders, Our Journey Toward Ordination, and Ordination Process, The Final Year (you might also be interested in an earlier post, Why We Are United Methodists).
2. We are grateful for the adventure of this journey!
It’s been a long and eventful journey, but God has been with us every step of the way. We wouldn’t have chosen for it to happen the way it did, but I can’t say we’d change any of it, either.
3. We’ve been thoroughly examined already!
Recently, I reflected on how thoroughly we’ve been poked and prodded, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, including: three or four physical exams (required for both ordination and adoption), two batteries of psychological tests and sessions with psychologists (for ordination), a number of interviews with various committees, and for adoption, we were fingerprinted three times, including two times by the FBI. The good thing about this is, there’s not much else that can be done to us that hasn’t already been done! 🙂
4. Looking back, the thing that I’m most happy about is that we never delayed the process!
It struck me a few weeks ago that as long as our journey has been (13 years in the UMC, 20+ years since each of our calls to ministry) that we never made a choice to delay the process. There was never a time when one of us said, “You know, I don’t feel like doing this now; it can wait till next year.” We did everything at the time it needed to be done. And through it all, we actually only had one delay (albeit a six-year delay as described in Our Journey Toward Ordination).
Well, as we prepare for ordination interviews, we are grateful for our journey and that God has been with us every step of the way. We are excited about what we hope is the final (big) step of this process!
Yes! Prayers will be with you on Interview Day. You are right: There is nothing that has not already been done to you! I am confident and excited to celebrate the big step of ordination, which is really another great new beginning! I am so grateful that you are colleagues on this journey!
As you go for your interviews I will be praying for you. Last week in the Missouri conference I went through my interviews and have been recommemd for Ordination in June at our AC.
I enjoy reading your post as my journey, and that of my families mirrors that of yours. I am a UM pastor while my wife works for the church where we serve, and we have two boys that we have adopted.
Barron, thanks for your prayers and for sharing your story. And congratulations on being approved for ordination!
And thanks, Pam, for your prayers and support, particularly over the last few years in the district!