I am always grateful when elders and deacons are getting ordained and installed (as recently happened at BMPC), and we all get to hear the vows they take. But there is one question that always brings me up short, because it was also a question for me when I got ordained as a pastor over four decades ago. “Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?” Okay, on my personal to-do list: an oil change for the car – check; cleaning out the gutters on the house – check; and working for the reconciliation of the world – checkmate! It is a good thing to recognize that we, by ourselves, are lacking the capacity to carry out the expansive ministry to which God calls us.
And yet, in spite of all the problems with a model of ministry in which God partners with folks like you and me, and with congregations like ours, God seems to be committed to carrying out ministry within and through regular (and even irregular) disciples of Jesus Christ. I guess a spirit can’t actually be called hard-headed – maybe God is just deeply committed to such a model of ministry. Evidently, God wants to take things to the next level. We sense God’s loving presence now and then, but God desires for us to embody divine love. We have experienced heavenly grace, but God wants us to become a means of grace. We have been touched so often by God’s generosity that we ought to be able to trust in the God who will lead us into the future. This heavenly method, which utilizes human partners, appears to be part of the mission – transforming others while also transforming us in the process.
Such a theology sounds better as an abstract idea than it does in reality, particularly when a very gifted, dedicated, and effective senior pastor has announced her plans to retire at the end of October. I look forward to the opportunity to share gratitude for Agnes’ ministry. However, I do want BMPC folks to understand that, by God’s grace, this congregation, with great continuing lay and staff leadership, along with a broad and profoundly effective ministry currently in place, is very well-positioned for a coming transition. With what I have experienced with God, I am confident that BMPC will not only make it through the transition, but that God will work within and through this congregation during the transition in ways that lead to our spiritual growth.
For the changes that lay ahead, BMPC is going to need a generous dose of the Holy Spirit to empower and unify us as the body of Christ. We’re going to need boldness and commitment. We’re going to need God to help us focus less on our reservations and more on our prayers. If we might be so bold, we might suggest all of that as God’s to-do list. Somehow, I can imagine God going over such a to-do list – check, check, check, checkmate. That doesn’t mean we lose. Somehow, God’s win is our congregation’s win, even when it feels like we are getting closer to losing someone whom God has used so well in our midst. I am confident God will provide the faith and all the other gifts we need for the coming journey. God does better with a to-do list than we do.
