Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
I can describe the couple of months since we were approved for ordination with a few terms: relief, adrenaline crash, and limbo. Of course, reaching the end of this journey has been a huge relief, but after working toward ordination for so long (including D.Min. programs)—many times we were driven by adrenaline—we simply feel depleted … Read more
Christian perfection was a core value for John Wesley and the early Methodists. Christian perfection was ultimately about loving God and neighbors. Joel Green points out in Reading Scripture as Wesleyans, which I blogged about yesterday, that … Wesley read Scripture with this aim in mind: to nurture love of God and love of neighbor. … Read more
In my recent post, 75 Days of Preparation for Ordination, I stated that I planned to review Bishop William Willimon’s Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry. Here, I will simply post some quotes from the first chapter, which specifically deals with ordination. As we prepare for ordination (in less than two months), these … Read more
I recently finished reading one of the books on my list of things to read/do before ordination (see 150 Days of Preparation for Ordination and 75 Days of Preparation for Ordination). The book is John Wesley: A Preaching Life by Michael Pasquarello, who teaches at Asbury Theological Seminary. I was interested in the book because … Read more
After submitting our work for ordination in mid-January, I wrote 150 Days of Preparation for Ordination in which I listed some things I’d like to do in the months leading up to ordination in June. I put the list together because I want to make the most of this time in our lives. The list … Read more
We’ve been doing a lot of reflection as we near the end of our ordination journey. One of the areas I’ve been thinking about is calling—God’s call to ministry. My understanding of God’s call have evolved over the years. When I was in Kindergarten, I knew that God called people to “preach” (my grandfather was … Read more
Today, we learned that we both have been approved by the Board of Ordained Ministry for ordination in The United Methodist Church. This marks the end of one (long) chapter in our lives—and begins a new chapter! The Board’s action will need the approval of the clergy session at annual conference in June. After final … Read more
When I wrote The Historic Questions 2.0 last week, I noticed that one question referenced the “Rules of a Preacher” and specifically highlighted rule numbers 1, 10, and 12 (numbers 1 and 10 are included in the current list of questions). For those who may be curious, here’s the list of rules for a preacher … Read more
Last night, I created a song playlist—songs to listen to on our way to Lewistown, PA where we will have our ordination interviews Tuesday morning, from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. I included a couple songs from the Songs for Leaders post I wrote a few years ago, and I added a few new ones. … Read more
Tomorrow, Joleen and I are going to Lewistown, PA for interviews with the Board of Ordained Ministry—beginning at 8:45 a.m., ending at 12:45 p.m. The morning will consist of four interviews, each with a different team, probably 3-4 people. Each interview will focus on a different area of work that we submitted in January (see … Read more