The Next Step on the Journey

I really related to the last post on answering God's call. Like that author, I have been on a long (10 year) journey of answering the call to Deacon. I have completed this journey in fits and starts with times of great progress and others of stagnation...and yet God has been able to use all these experiences in the past 10 years to form me into the person I have been called to be.


As I face the culmination of one part of my journey--commissioning as a Deacon on June 15th--I realized that I am just taking the first steps on the next leg of this journey. I am blessed to have work both within the local church and in a job as a healthcare provider. I say blessed because I feel convicted that, for me, it is necessary to keep my feet in both worlds. This comes with its downsides, however. Sometimes I feel that I will be pulled into splits as I wrestle with the competing demands of two jobs with two very different agendas. And yet, I see how they are connected and united.


My call, I believe, is to help others see the unifying thread. I find myself explaining to the Board of Ordained Ministry and Bishop why my job as a healthcare provider is ministry and explaining to my healthcare co-workers why I will still be working as a healthcare provider instead of working full time in the church. I believe this is a great exercise for me to articulate my ministry as a Deacon, as well as an opportunity to educate people on the ministry of the Deacon.


I also feel so blessed to have a job as Minister of Spiritual Formation where I can use my gifts to journey with people in my congregation as they struggle to name how it is that they are called to live lives of discipleship. I hear so often how people want to have a discipleship that permeates their whole lives but they are unsure where to start. As someone who remains grounded in the "secular" world of work, I pray that I will model for them one way to live this out.


So here I am at the crossroads...I have completed the first part of this next step--graduation from seminary. Now it is Ready, Set, GO...for the next part of the journey. I pray that I will be a faithful disciple and Deacon as I move forward. Amen.