tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post583598015135478203..comments2024-03-21T03:45:48.679-05:00Comments on Enter the Rainbow: Thoughts on the Ordination ProcessAndy B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-6404686877047352732008-01-24T09:59:00.000-06:002008-01-24T09:59:00.000-06:00You know I love you and think the world of your da...You know I love you and think the world of your dad, but I've got to disagree with "can you picture yourself doing anything else." Of course I can! I'm a process theologian. We don't close the door on possibilities. There is at least one day a week where I would be completely content (for awhile) working at a bookstore. Everyday there are moments where I contemplate being a stay at home mom. PhD? Maybe. Half of the journey companions I respect have taken leaves from parish ministry. They've come back stronger clergy because of it.<BR/><BR/>And is Brad in the Missouri conference? I'd say more in a less public forum. Do you miss Claudia?<BR/><BR/>I think the system works differently in different places. In Minnesota our young clergy are being appointed to new church starts, as associates at large urban/suburban/exurban churches, or a handful are being sent to rural areas that want pastors not hospice chaplains-- because that is what the clergy want.<BR/><BR/>And I agree. I'm glad I went to a four year seminary (ok, 6 for me, but I did 120 hours, a credo and a thesis. . .)Christ United Methodist Churchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09209800679915851757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-65376556098469483762008-01-21T19:18:00.000-06:002008-01-21T19:18:00.000-06:00This is a well-written and well-thought article - ...This is a well-written and well-thought article - I enjoyed reading your personal testimony. I was going to formulate a comment here, but instead, I think I'm going to link here and write out my comments on my blog.<BR/><BR/>Blessings on your continuing journey.Brian Vinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17221972114141282402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-9876013366122972162008-01-21T10:40:00.000-06:002008-01-21T10:40:00.000-06:00Mitch - And why, pray tell, must you gasp in aston...Mitch - And why, pray tell, must you gasp in astonishment upon realizing we agree about something? ;)Andy B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-18460518820734644992008-01-21T10:39:00.000-06:002008-01-21T10:39:00.000-06:00Stephanie - Thank you for your comment. I have so...Stephanie - Thank you for your comment. I have so much respect for you as a mom, a colleague in ministry, and as an all-around generally cool person!<BR/><BR/>I hear the tension between your "I cannot fathom doing anything else" and your "swimming upstream"/putting your family "on the back burner." Now see, if I was your candidacy mentor, I would say, "Hey Stephanie, whatever you do, do not put your family (or your personal health) on the back burner for the candidacy process." Invest yourself there first, and then in the candidacy requirements. And you have a voice, regardless of what the system says, and your idea of having the bulk of candidacy assessment assumend by the seminary assesment is good. Maybe we've been running two parallel tracks too long, and the Conference BOOMs could yield some of their authority (power) to the seminaries. Trouble there is convincing the people on the BOOM to yield their power, and you know how easy it is to convince powerful people to give it up!<BR/><BR/>Tell you what, when you and I are sitting on the BOOM, let's propose the idea together!Andy B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-56916167099270661432008-01-21T10:18:00.000-06:002008-01-21T10:18:00.000-06:00I’m with Andy on this one (gasp!) Though Brad mak...I’m with Andy on this one (gasp!) Though Brad makes some good points, I actually appreciate that the process is so rigorous and has so many checks and balances. I grew up in a tradition whose ordination process is nothing but a workbook and prayer; no seminary, no boards, no guidance outside of a mentor…just a calling. I’m convinced the calling they hear is legit, but there are far too many clergy in that denomination without a clue. That’s a judgment from my own experience. Still, I think it takes more than sincerity to lead God’s people. So I’m not cynical about seminary or having “hoops” to jump through, for me they have been helpful and formative, (yes, the hoops too.) I suppose I’ve changed so dramatically over the last four years of the process that I’ve grown to be grateful for it in hindsight. Maybe I’m showing my age. <BR/><BR/>-MitchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-2933875266161515632008-01-21T09:37:00.000-06:002008-01-21T09:37:00.000-06:00"Fracking" Battlestar Galactica Baby!Gotta Fracki..."Fracking" Battlestar Galactica Baby!<BR/><BR/>Gotta Frackin' Love It!Adam Caldwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04658691482502007651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-71514680265530085592008-01-21T09:33:00.000-06:002008-01-21T09:33:00.000-06:00Andy~ I appreciate your comments and am proud to b...Andy~ I appreciate your comments and am proud to be United Methodist because we require our pastors to be educated. However, being young and on my own with two boys most of my career as a local pastor (they are now 11 and 8), I have found myself unable to make it through the system. I am still trying, but most days I feel like I'm swimming upstream. There are those who make it and should be commended. There are many days I'm not sure I will. While I cannot fathom doing anything else with my life (trust me, I'd have already gone there if I could), I'm beginning to wonder if I belong here. I hear the bishop saying he wants more young clergy, but I don't believe that's what the system wants. The system wants us to be seasoned with education, experience, and life. That's why it takes ten years to get through (including undergraduate requirements). I started when I was 25. I will be at least 35 before I will be eligible for ordination. In the meantime I will have spent a decade of my children's lives putting them on the backburner so I can get through the system. I'm not convinced this is a life I won't someday regret. It is useless for me to complain because I don't have a solution and I don't have a voice as a local pastor to offer one. I also wonder why we don't trust our seminaries to do the bulk of the assessment for us. Why do we need an additional three years of assessment from others who have never known or worked with us like our professors have? Although it is always a struggle, it seems to work for those who can float straight through college and seminary on student loans, and it seems to work for those who have been able to first establish themselves and are now on their second careers. I just have this gut feeling that something is not right, like I don't belong. I am caught somewhere in the middle without the years to establish myself and a family who needs me now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10217302.post-86115572810350415052008-01-20T19:07:00.000-06:002008-01-20T19:07:00.000-06:00Andy:Great thoughts! Thanks for posting them.I am ...Andy:<BR/><BR/>Great thoughts! Thanks for posting them.<BR/><BR/>I am afraid to ask, but what in the world is "fracking."Allan R. Beverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.com