All Revved up and Ready to Go
This Summer, on Saturday 9th August, I'm being ordained. The formal
training is over (although I still have plenty to learn!) and the Baptist Union
are happy to recognise me as one of their accredited ministers. But it's
going to be a bit strange having a 'Rev.'in front of my name.. I
don't know about you, but when I think about what it means to be a
Reverend, someone like David Lewis comes to mind. His wisdom and maturity, his
calmness and serenity - these characteristics all seem to fit so well with the
dog collar and the 'Rev.'label. But me.. ?
There are about a dozen or so young people of secondary school age at Lode Chapel who make up our 'TGI Friday'group (Thank God It's Friday). We recently purchased some hoodies with the group's logo on the front and a nickname on the back. I help at the group (it meets fortnightly on a Friday night as well as weekly on Sunday mornings) and, since watching the film 'Evan Almighty'together one week, I have become affectionately known as 'The Weirdo with the Beardo'. So guess what they got emblazoned on the back of mine!
The truth is that I'm much more comfortable wearing my TGI hoodie than wearing my dog collar - somehow I'm more at ease with what it says about me. The collar seems to point to conformity and tradition - but I feel like someone who doesn't quite fit the mould. You could say I'm a good Baptist as our heritage is about non-conformity, but like most types of church, even Baptists have developed their own traditions and particular ways of doing things. And I'm not so sure that I want to conform to them either!
Thankfully the Regional Minister (sort of the Baptist equivalent of a bishop) who will be ordaining me has agreed to use the phrase 'pioneer pastor' to describe the type of ministry that I am being called into. Leaders in all denominations are recognising that although the values and truths underlying the Christian faith do not change, the way we do church in the twenty-first century has to find fresh and relevant ways of communicating the gospel message. That's the thinking behind things like 'Sunday Club' and 'Re:new', and it's great to be able to work with Jonathan Dowman (the Anglican curate) in these and other 'pioneering'activities.
This Summer we're working together on the 'Waste Watchers'holiday club, and it is during the celebration event at the end of the week that I will be ordained. Along with the loud and lively children's songs there will be face painting, a bouncy castle and all sorts of fun not normally linked with an ordination. It is my intention that this formal start to my ministry will, in fact, have quite an informal and relaxed feel to it - indeed, I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to being 'all revved up and ready to go'!