Trust the Journey

Provide a brief summary of the central argument(s) of the book (one paragraph).

In You Are What You Love by James Smith, the reader is immersed into the insight that we are shaped most by what we love most, more so than by what we think or do. We must recognize we live in a world full of liturgies. The author wants one to see liturgies as cultural practices that happen every day in our lives. He explains that liturgical actions have meaning even when our minds do not comprehend or understand the meaning. He believes there is value in participating in worship even if you are not totally into it because it can shape one’s outlook of the world. From going to the mall to getting married, liturgies tell one who and what we love and what is worth loving in life. The book gives examples of how embracing people shapes us as lovers at home, at work and within the Church. Christianity not only informs but reforms how we love others in our life. 

List at least (3) key takeaways for you personally, and explain why each one is significant. (Quote as needed.)

One of the key takeaways for me was to constantly examine what motivates me to behave in love rather than in knowledge, to take a hard look at my own habits and realize that love takes practice.

Another takeaway is how to help my family develop a liturgy of the home through storytelling, poetry, music, symbols, and images. Smith states, “Children are ritual animals who absorb the gospel in practices that speak to their imaginations” (Smith, 2016, pg. 129). Theology begins againand again with wonder.

Another takeaway for me is that theology has no justification but faith, hope and charity. Only on the basis of faith, hope and love do we have anything. In theology, our faith, hope and charity seek to receive understanding, assurance, and wisdom, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit. “Formative Christian worship has an intentional, biblical shape about it has a nexus of practices that recalibrate our hearts toward God and His kingdom,” explains Smith (Smith, 2016, pg.78).

Propose at least (2) practical ways this book will impact your ministry. (Be specific!)

My family will observe the rhythms of the Christian Year by celebrating the seasons through music, reading age-appropriate books, and teaching and instilling the meaning of the season.

In any wedding ceremonies I perform, I will help the couple look through a liturgical lens by offering three to five counseling sessions focused on marriage after the big day. Additionally, I will add the rite of the Service of Crowning to the ceremony itself by making sure all in attendance know that the couple is crowned as witnesses, called to sacrifice. Smith says, “our household – our ‘little kingdoms’ – need to be nourished by constant re-centering in the body of Christ,” (Smith, 2016, pg.125). The ceremony will end with the Eucharist to remind everyone present that this is the wedding feast and every time the Table is open it is a renewing of marriage vows.

References

Smith, James (2016) You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.

As a Cause-Driven leader, it is my work to provide visionary leadership by ensuring all resources are mobilized to adapt to new challenges. I must build relationships by connecting people to the Y’s cause by developing inclusive relationships, partnerships and collaborations to address pressing social needs. I must lead operations to ensure relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of the ministry so that we can continue to fulfill community promises. I must cultivate and inspire new leaders by supporting the holistic development of self and others so that everyone can embrace and sustain the Y’s culture while motivating others to take individual and collective action to further our impact and ministry.

One of the affective goals I must possess is change leadership, which is the ability to facilitate, co-create and implement equitable change for the good of the ministry and/or the community. By engaging community, I will build bridges with others to ensure the Y’s work is community-focused and welcoming to all, thus providing community benefit. Communication and influence are also important core affective competencies.  I must listen and express myself effectively and in a way that engages, inspires, and builds commitment to the Y’s cause. Additionally, I must be inclusive and value all people for their unique talents and take an active role in promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and global work, as well as cultural competency. To lead operations effectively, I must possess the cognitive competence to utilize critical thinking and decision making. I must make informed decisions based on logic, data, and sound judgment. Fiscal management is critical; I must manage the Y’s resources responsibly and sustain the Y’s nonprofit business model. In order to develop and inspire people, one of the behavioral goals I must have is the ability to develop myself and others in order to achieve our highest potential. Emotional maturity is critical in my ministry and I must always demonstrate my ability to understand and manage my emotions effectively in all situations.

As a Cause-Driven leader, it is my work to provide visionary leadership by ensuring all resources are mobilized to adapt to new challenges. I must build relationships by connecting people to the Y’s cause by developing inclusive relationships, partnerships and collaborations to address pressing social needs. I must lead operations to ensure relevance, effectiveness and sustainability of the ministry so that we can continue to fulfill community promises. I must cultivate and inspire new leaders by supporting the holistic development of self and others so that everyone can embrace and sustain the Y’s culture while motivating others to take individual and collective action to further our impact and ministry.

Reflections of Elective and Specialization Courses in my MA of Ministry Journey

Power, Change and Conflict Management -LEAD 560

Dr. Charles Arn had me examine my personal improvement plan based on a 360-Degree Leadership tool.  After this course, I made sure my team always knows we must continue to hold each other accountable. The key takeaway was working on a better communication plan that gets the message out to all staff.  It is my desire to be an effective leader that rallies a broader group of people towards the organization’s goals, mission and objectives. The Personal Change Survey Assessment was enlightening and a great evaluation process. My challenge is to slow down, listen, and seek more feedback from my staff. I need to make sure every team member knows they are held accountable to the team. The resources in this course were excellent and useful to a leader.

Intergenerational Leadership- LEAD 550

From Dr. Charles Arn, I learned the value of intergenerational programming and applied it to my Y ministry. For more than 160 years, the Y has been listening to and responding to the needs of our neighbors from all generations. My takeaway is now it is time to bring those generations together, serving as a catalyst for positive change. The challenge is to effectively monitor progress and the success of engagement of intentional intergenerational programs. The bigger hurdle is to note engagement strategies that work effectively with strengthening intergenerationality in one Y may not work effectively with another Y, and it is critical to recognize all generations, especially those that may be demographically and/or historically underrepresented, may be unwilling to be seen as a generation with one specific set of needs. Bringing people together positions the YMCA across America to be purposely and fully intergenerational, to continue building bridges, filling the gaps, and finding common ground. We bring people together because unity requires everyone.

Communication and Leadership- LEAD 520

This course focused on communication strategies and the various ways people communicate. Dr. Joe Harmon challenged me to evaluate my existing personal communication strategies. The challenge in this course was to tackle the communication skills needed for leadership to work in today’s parachurch organizations and churches. The takeaway for me was developing a personal communication strategy and plan to optimize my personal communication skills and effectively improve the organizational communication within my ministry.

Strategic Leadership and Management -LEAD 545

The key takeaway from this course was the CliftonStrengths 34 profile, which helped me understand who I am and how to influence others, build relationships, process information, and make things happen. Teamwork in my organization is maximized when I understand and leverage my own strengths and others’ strengths on the team. This awareness empowers team members to stay engaged, productive, and cohesive. The challenge was building a personal leadership and management growth plan that enabled me to capitalize on my strengths, maximize team members, understand followers’ needs, stay connected and serve the needy, focus on diversification and unity, adaption and be innovation in programming, learn about God and personal participation in missio Dei in an effort to move forward in life. Dr. Connie J. Erpelding was an outstanding professor and resource for this course.

Christmas: Mystery of the Incarnation- THEO 520

This is the only on-site intensive course I took at IWU, and Dr. John Drury did not disappoint. To say I flexed my theological muscle would be an understatement. Challenged on unity and diversity, social and cultural, national and global as well as kingdom contexts in which my ministry takes place was quite the undertaking in five days. The key takeaway I learned was about the roots of American denominationalism, especially related to North America. Additionally, I learned the art of completing a quick exegesis on a text and a deep dive into the infancy narratives.

Space and Time in Worship- WSHP 520

Dr. Brannon Hancock helped me explore Christian worship, its rhythms, rituals, spaces and sacred actions through the thematic lens of space and time. I explored worship practices through historical, biblical and theological perspectives. This was a great complimentary course to “Christmas: The Mystery of the Incarnation” because the theology of the sacraments, the seasons of the Christian year, church architecture and sacred spaces were discussed in depth over the eight weeks. This journey ends with completed coursework that has prepared me to continue my ministry.

Impactful Text

In the book Becoming a Strategic Leader, the authors define strategic leadership as  “individuals and teams enact strategic leadership when they create the direction, alignment, and commitment needed to achieve the enduring performance potential of the organization” (Hughes, Beatty, Dinwoodie, 2014,  pg. 11). This impactful book helped me call on Y leaders to create more purposeful relationships with young people. It encouraged me to continue to put Christian principles into practice to create a healthy spirit, mind and body for all.  If an organization’s leaders are able to help each person capitalize on this cumulative advantage, it is likely to create more rapid individual and organizational growth. When a leader knows their personal strengths, they can act to maximize  their potential and learn to recognize blind spots. My top five strengths are Strategic, Achiever, Arranger, Activator and Belief according to the CliftonStrengths 34 results. The work at the Y is energizing for me as it is fast-paced and constantly changing. In Becoming a Strategic Leader, it states “Not only are thinking, acting, and influencing interdependent, they also work in tandem to produce the leadership outcome of direction, alignment, and commitment” (Hughes, Beatty, Dinwoodie, 2014, Pg. 50). I realized to improve upon this strength and maximize its effectiveness in my work, I needed a written record of my ideas that need to come to fruition.  At times, I have too many projects in the works, and recording action steps for each as the ideas helps me continue to activate and achieve rather than be pulled in too many directions.

References

Hughes, Richard l., Beatty, Katherine Colarelli and Dinwoodie, David L. (2014). (2nd Ed.). Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization’s Enduring Success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Significant take-aways: Elective courses in my MA in Ministry

The elective and specialization courses inspired me in several different ways. The weekly discussion posts were the most beneficial to me because it gave me an opportunity to learn from others and explore different perspectives. Most of the materials in these courses were not new to me. Most of them I had either read before or utilized them in my work at the Y as a leadership development trainer over the years. These courses did stretch me and encouraged me to value the importance of diversity, inclusion, and global engagement in my ministry. For example, in the Intergenerational Leadership coursework the focus was not only on inclusion of people from all ages but how to blend the different generations into your ministry while capitalizing on all the generations’ strengths.

Today’s Challenges and into the Future – Need New Words

Ministry today requires a pastor to continuously evaluate and implement behavior changes. One behavior change is learning to intentionally use change itself as a strategy to expand options and opportunities to better leverage ministry resources and capabilities. Other behavior changes include creating ministry opportunities and partnerships by aligning structures, systems, and processes that are linked to the change and creating processes to implement successful changes while maintaining organizational effectiveness.

There are critical challenges facing ministries today. A few challenges I faced while in the seminary program were centered around change leadership. One demand was to grow as a leader by learning to facilitate and implement equitable change for the good of the ministry and/or community. An additional need is engaging community by learning to build bridges with others to ensure my ministries work is community-focused and welcoming of all who enter our doors. In light of the global COVID-19 crisis, future challenges will include critical thinking and decision making. Ministry will require one to make informed decisions based on logic, data, and sound judgment in order to rebound from this current climate. Fiscal management will be another critical challenge in the future. One must manage and monitor the ministry’s resources intentionally and responsibly in order to sustain the ministry. An additional opportunity will center around inclusion. One must value all people for their unique talents and take an active role in promoting practices that support diversity, inclusion, and global work, as well as cultural competence in order to grow ministries.

Spiritual Life and Leadership-SPIR 550

My journey started in October of 2017 with Professor Jim Lo. I experienced a spiritual transformation. The key takeaway I learned was to recognize how to slow down and savor life’s everyday moments. The spiritual disciplines are an important part of my daily walk. The challenge for me is to develop a sustainable way to practice the disciplines. Another takeaway was the personality assessment and exploration of the different spiritual pathways, which help me understand others and myself on a deeper level. I know that my first thought needs to be, “Do you love me?”  This helps define my role as a servant leader and was the most impactful to me.  The development of a ten-step plan redefined my goals and objectives for the next five years. It will become a resource for me to refer to when I am struggling with life.

Global Christian History-CHST 500

Tracing baptism and the Lord’s Supper throughout the centuries helped me establish a wide diversity of practice and theological understanding of these two sacraments amongst different Christian denominations. One takeaway I learned is that some view the sacraments as reminders or symbols of what has gone before us, while others see both sacraments as a more literal means by which God strengthens our faith and bestows grace. As a Christian, I cannot image living my life without these two sacraments. The Protestant’s view is “faith alone” (solo fide) as the means by which we receive salvation, expressed by partaking in these two sacraments. Yet, Catholics view all seven sacraments as necessary for salvation. Regardless of whether you are Catholic or Protestant, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper provide spiritual rewards to those who receive them and respect the relationship between God and His people. The most impactful challenge is to utilize what I learned about Christian history from Professor Zachary Derr in my ministry to learn from the past, to gain perspective, making me more confident in my ability as a Christian leader.

Introduction to Christian Theology-THEO 500

This was my first course with Dr. John Drury, and Migliore’s Faith Seeking Understanding is a resource that impacted me and I will utilize for years to come. Working in this ministry field with a diverse, and even secular, population allows me to focus on the universal truths of Christian theology rather than the minutiae of denominational differences.  To me, it is simplified in the truth of God as eternal creator, Christ as eternal sacrifice, and Holy Spirit as eternal presence available to all believers.  In addition to this understanding of who God is, my theology falls back on the importance of divine grace offered to all.  This coursed allowed me to create a resource for my future ministry, to establish a baseline for my theological understanding, and to practice the communication of Christian doctrine in a compelling way.

The Bible as Christian Scripture-BIBL 500

One of the biggest and most impactful skill-sets I learned in this course from Dr. Daniel Freemyer was how to complete an exegesis of Scripture. Additionally, I realized that in the midst of the trials and tribulations in my life, I must remain faithful and be open to growth and unexpected change. The challenge is to study from both Old and New Testament passages, so I learn how I fit into the story instead of fitting the story into my own life. Scriptures like Job 34:10-15 help form my identity and empower me to allow the Scripture to show me who I am and what I need to do to live and grow as a Christian leader (New International Version).

Cultural Contexts of Ministry-MISS 500

The hermeneutics of the biblical texts and the literature in this course helped me understand perceptions within the Latino communities, identify existing service or resource gaps, identify the unique interests, verbal and non-verbal communication strategies, needs and assets of Latinos in my community and start building credibility and trust with Latino communities and families.  From a theological standpoint, inclusive service to the community reflects the nature of God, who offers grace, forgiveness, acceptance, and full adoption to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, immigration status, socioeconomic status, and other labels that our society has used to marginalize and exclude.  Dr. Jeff Fussner lead me to understand my work at the Y aims to mirror this accepting nature of God; in fact, the Y’s mission statement ends with the words, “for all,” a point that I continually challenge myself to demonstrate in my leadership and remind my staff team to live out each day in our community.

Significant Takeaways: MA in Ministry Core Courses

As I began this journey working full-time and having a full life, I realized this practical program challenged me to improve my ministry skills and learn effective new ways to serve God and others. The spiritual and relational bonds I made with my fellow classmates and the professors along this journey empowered me and prepared me for the future. The significant take-aways for me include feeling prepared for ministry in congregational leadership, pastoral care, intergenerational ministry and spirituality. I am knowledgeable in core Biblical and theological reflection, which helps me contextualize my ministry in this ever-changing global world. I was integrated in history, ethics, theology, and leadership and feel equipped for ministry in the 21^st century.

Today’s Challenges and into the Future

The changing landscape in the global world must be considered in ministry today and in the future. There is the challenge today of spiritual indifference. Eternal issues seem to have no significance at all. Non-believers feel the idea of God is irrelevant in their lives. Additionally, today there seems to be a religious ignorance at least among people in North America. People do not know what the Bible is about, and children today are not exposed to Sunday School or Church youth programs like they were in the past. Even people in churches today have little Biblical knowledge; therefore, it is a challenge for ministry today. Biblical preaching is needed across the generations. Personal Bible reading and prayer along with programs must be encouraged by pastors.

The challenges in the future are widespread, but the three I think are critical in my ministry are reaching diverse communities, the fact that church is not the chief source of social time or money for people, and generational challenges. Churches today seem so internally focused and are not reaching the diverse communities surrounding the church. There seems to be a lot of “lip service” about reaching people outside the walls of a local church but not much movement towards creating attractive programs and services for all people. Coupled with the lack of community outreach, people are constantly on the go or working to make ends meet. When people do have discretionary time and money, the church is no longer the chief source of where people spend them. In today’s world, social enjoyment is spent axe throwing, participating in extreme sports or challenges. These activities offer escapism from real world issues; therefore, church membership is declining both financially and in attendance. The generational challenges continue to hinder ministries. Learning to recognize differences with the people we serve and lead can greatly aid us in being effective ministers. By acknowledging key areas where multi-generational ministries can improve and people can learn from one another, we will enrich or ministries in the future.

The Pastor As Public Theologian Part Two

The author stated, “To think theologically means understanding God, the world, and ourselves in relation to what is in Christ” (Vanhoozer, 2015, pg.111). This statement really resonated with me because it sums up one of the main themes I have learned in my seminary journey. I learned the importance of what it means to dig deep for an understand of God. I learned Christian history and the role the global world must play into the decisions I make in my ministry. And I learned that by thinking theologically about myself in relation to what is in Christ, then and only then will I be able to contextualize the Word of God in my ministry. I must be able to think theologically and be able to instill the importance of this thinking in all aspects of my own work and life and others’ daily lives.

This book solidifies my belief that ministries need more leaders to work hard to be both a pastor and a scholar. What disturbed me was reflecting on how incredibly difficult this calling is for a church or parachurch leader. The reading made me reflect back on pastors I had experienced in my life. Regardless of how hard they tried to be both, they either ended up being neither or leaned more strongly one way or the other in their ministries. Vanhoozer used great biblical illustrations of this throughout the book.

Discussion Question

Kevin Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan argue that the pastorate has been and should be fundamentally a theological office. How do pastors have more confidence that Scripture that is carefully taught and applied will help the congregation focus on theology rather than the cultural currents of the day? And how does a pastor instill theology and apply it to the cultural climate of the day in light of COVID-19?

What did you find most insightful/impactful?

One of the stories in this book I enjoyed was how the grandfather’s eccentricities are recalled from his youth and how John learns lessons because of his grandfather’s actions. Examples include the practice of the grandfather giving all and any of the family’s possessions to others or preaching with a gun in a bloodied shirt. Over the course of the novel, the true character and intimate details of the father are revealed in context with anecdotes regarding the grandfather. The main details were revealed in the search for the grave of the grandfather. One event that really struck me as prevalent was Ames recount of the memory of receiving “communion” from his father at the remains of a Baptist church that was burned by lightning. Ames recalls this as a made-up memory adapted from his father breaking and sharing an ashy biscuit for lunch with Ames. Maybe the ashes are a symbolic metaphor of the fire as anger and ashes as the regret that results from anger. Fire and ashes are components in the process of grace. He realizes that the lesson is that humans exist as eternal souls. I thought this was impactful because Ames expresses a viewpoint that the purpose of life is to look for things to be thankful for and appreciate what you have in life by living in the moment.
What did you find most troubling?

The idea in the story that disturbed me the most was Ames theological struggles about his relationship with his grandfather. He seemed to have much emotional turmoil due to his grandfather’s engagement in the Civil War. John’s grandfather was prone to visions and got involved with violent abolitionists during the Civil War effort, but in doing so became estranged from his own son. John’s father and his grandfather never reconciled, and once the grandfather died, he and his father even went looking for his grave. Even though Ames’s father prays at the gravesite, John never felt a sense of peace about their troubled relationship. John also had an estranged relationship with his grandfather, yet, he did take him to see a baseball game that was a rainout. John took this to have divine meaning but he just couldn’t comprehend the meaning. He did however respect his grandfather’s need to be useful to the world.

Discussion Question for class

In light of the responses and reactions about COVID19 from ministries, I reflected on how the narrator tells of his grandfather’s fiery sermons urging his congregation to take up arms in the fight to free the slaves. “He did preach those young men into the war.  And his church was hit hard.” The narrator’s father, on the other hand, preached pacifism.  Which one was right?  What is the appropriate role of the clergy in times of war and a crisis like COVID19? 

One of the things that resonated with me is how Vanhoozer and Strachan define the pastor as a public theologian. For Vanhoozer, a pastor is a public theologian because the pastor preaches and has other ecclesial responsibilities. By declaring God’s work in Christ, the pastor must prepare the congregation by preaching the gospel, therefore growing believers who help spread the gospel in their daily walk. The standard meaning of public theology is “theology in and for the public square”(Vanhoozer, 2015, pg.17). A pastor is a pubic theologian because one is involved with people in a community.  For Strachan, a pastor is a public theologian because there is a connection between the tri-fold office of Jesus – the prophet, priest, and king – and the connection to pastoral theology. These three forms of ministry are theological and the work of an ecclesial public theologian. One interesting point he makes is that until very recently the local congregational leader aka the pastor has served as a theological shepherd of the church. He draws on the historical role of the pastor to make his point about a pastor being a public theologian.

Resonant disagreement

While I agree with the authors that one has to capture the vision of pastoral ministry by embracing the role of public theologian in order to continue to grow and serve the churches, the pastor also needs to embrace the present culture in light of Scripture because this leads the congregation toward the glory of God. It is important that the pastor maintain the roles of disciple-maker, catechist, evangelist, apologist and liturgist; therefore the study of Scripture and theology is imperative to a pastor. However, after reading these first hundred pages, I feel this vision may be lost today. Many pastors today do not have the training or the desire to engage in theology. Being a pastor today is so much more than preaching a few sermons on Sunday, hospital visits, marriage ceremonies, and counseling. The idea of the pastor doing theological work to disciple their congregation has been loss. For example, about ten years ago, I attended a church where the pastor was a professor in a seminary. He was great at historical and systemic theology but his sermons did not build up the body of Christ, nor did he present clear theological truths to those of us who lacked the academic training. To put it bluntly, most people were lost and confused. He was great at connecting societal issues to historical theology by somehow missed reaching his target audience sitting in the sanctuary. This pastor’s practices and theology did not reach people through his ministries of Word and deed. As Strachan proclaimed, this congregational leader did not serve as a theological shepherd of his church (Strachan, 2015, pg.80). This idea of the theological pastor being lost really disturbed me.

Discussion question

Today, pastors must present biblical truths to people who have become resistant to it. It is important to understand the history of ideas and the cultural narratives of today’s climate and be able to reach people from different cultures. Do you feel it is important to have a solid theological education and deliver a high level of theologically informed leadership in your ministry? Additionally, the work of being a public theologian is life-altering and challenging to always think theologically, intellectually, and practically in public ministry. How do you see this being true in your ministry today?

References

Vanhoozer, K. J., & Strachan, O. (2015). The pastor as public theologian: Reclaiming a lost vision. Grand Rapids,MI: Baker.

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