August 23-29 - Theology of Ministry

On Wednesday, August 23 we began our Theology of Ministry class with Dr. Stephen Seamands. Dr. Seamands is the child of a missionary to India; his grandfather and father are also United Methodist ministers. His father even served as senior minister at Wilmore United Methodist Church. Dr. Seamands and his wife has us over for an dessert social on Friday, August 25. They are just the best kind of folks! I gave links to his books in my presvious entry. I recommnd that you read them both. They are very easy to understand; a kind of stick to your ribs theology. It stays with you a while.

The class has been very practical. We talked about different theologies of minsitry (how people understand God and how that effects their call to vocation). We met from 8:30-4:30 every day, so we were tired at the end of each day.

The first 60-90 minutes of class were worship service or devotional times. Nolan Donald and Scott Layer led the singing. The class ended with communion.

I really learned a lot about myself in this class. With a title like "theology of ministry" it may sound a little head-y. It was really practical. Here are some notes that Rev. Aaron "The Might Asron" Wymer took for the class.

• Ministry is the ministry of Christ, to the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• The ministry of Christ - Seamnds contends that we don't just minister through the example of Christ, we continue (in the church) the actual ministry of Christ.
• To the Father - He makes the point that in John 5, when Jesus healed the man at the pool, he was responding to the call of the Father--not the crowd and not the religious people. If Jesus had let the crowd be the motivation behind healing, he would have healed everyone there. Because it was the Sabbath, if he had listened to the religious people, nobody would have been healed.
• By the power of the Holy Spirit - Dr. Seamands is fully committed to the importance of the Holy Spirit to be the animator of real ministry through our weaknesses--not in spite of them.

Ultimately, God call us first to himself and then into ministry. We are all called to ministry: clergy and laity. This has dangerous implications for clergy job security. Suppose a person is called to preach: should they become clergy? Since when is preaching a sacrament that only clergy can preach? The Methodist tradition is riddled with lay preachers. In fact, we would not exist without them. Suppose a lay-person is called to Christian caregiving: should they become clergy? Since when is pastoral care a sacrament that only clergy can give it? All are called to ministry. It is the clergy that are fearful of this ... and the laity who may be freed by this good news. "It is for freedom that we have been set free" ... right?

"And fear is a path to the dark side" ... right?

Friends, we are both human-beings and human-doings. Our being leads to our doing. Our doing leads to our being. Standing still is spiritual death and the descent of a great shadow on our hearts. There is no dichotomy between the two.

Grace and peace,
Trav Wilson