Notes from the Wayside: Introspection: More of the Story

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More of the Story

And let us consider each other carefully for the purpose of sparking love and good deeds. Don't stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (CEB)

Love will hold us together
Make us a shelter to weather the storm
And I'll be my brother's keeper
So the whole world will know that we're not alone

From "Hold Us Together" by Matt Maher

One week ago, I preached a sermon at my church in which I tell part of the story of my journey into Christian ministry as a layperson. The point I wanted to make, as I told my story, was that all of us who have committed ourselves to following Christ are called into ministry in some way, whether or not we are ever officially ordained as ministers. My sermon was actually a heavily revised version of a sermon I preached nearly nine years ago on Laity Sunday at the church I grew up attending. I thought it would be a good message to share at the church I now attend, because we are currently going through a pastoral transition.

My hope was that people in my church who have been sitting on the proverbial sidelines might be inspired to get into the game and that our new senior pastor might be greeted by a lot of people who are eager to start serving the church in new ways.

The story of my journey into lay ministry, as I told it last week, began when I found myself working at a job I hated and desperately wanting to leave. I obviously could not share my whole story in a sermon, but the truth is that there are a lot of things that shaped my journey before I accepted that job. For example, I would have never had an interest in going into Christian ministry if I was not already a Christian, and I probably would not be a Christian if I did not have a mother and grandparents who took me to church with them every Sunday while I was growing up.

That said, the small Methodist church I grew up attending wasn't always the dominant spiritual influence in my life. For eleven years, starting with the second grade, I attended a Christian school that was attached to a fundamentalist church. At this school, I learned a lot of things besides reading, writing, and arithmetic. I learned that I was a sinner and that if I didn't believe wholeheartedly the right things about Jesus, I would burn in hell forever after I died. I also learned that I would effectively have to make a choice between being a Christian and enjoying my life. I had to follow a lot of strict rules that were supposedly biblically based, and my teachers spoke as if anything remotely fun, from enjoyable music to fashionable clothing, was inherently sinful.

I've had to work through a lot of the things I learned at school. I once told my Sunday school class that, when they watch me preach, they're watching me work through my religious trauma. Something I learned at school that would eventually serve me greatly as I journeyed into lay ministry was what I learned about the Bible. Though a lot has changed in regards to how I read the Bible, I do not think I would know as much as I know now if I had not learned what I learned in school.

When I graduated, I knew that I needed to be a Christian, but I wasn't quite sure that I actually wanted to be a Christian. Truth be told, my fear of going to hell was a lot greater than my love for Jesus. I continued to attend the Methodist church I grew up attending, and, though I knew almost nothing about my Methodist tradition, I knew that I would not be threatened with eternal damnation on a regular basis. My church was basically a safe place for me to figure things out.

My college years were a transformative time for me. I suggested in my sermon that, though I studied computer science and mathematics, I might have studied either religion or philosophy if I had truly followed my heart. I was speculating of course, as I did not delve too deeply into either of these disciplines while I was in college, but the religion and philosophy courses I took during my freshman year for my general education requirements were impactful for me. Philosophy professors are often accused of trying to destroy their students' faith, but the philosophy course I took actually had a positive effect on mine, because it taught me to look at things in different ways. The religion course I took had a similar effect on my faith. In fact, I actually found myself a bit perturbed that I hadn't learned sooner the things I learned in that course.

Most of the members of my church were a lot older than I was, and the Christian school I attended was from a different branch of Christianity, so I hadn't met many Methodists my age. At the beginning of my junior year of college, I learned about the Wesley Fellowship, the United Methodist campus ministry at my university. I joined the group in the hopes that I might find a girlfriend, but what I found was the community I had always needed. At one time, I thought I could not be a Christian and also enjoy my life. In the Wesley Fellowship, we worshiped God together, served people in various ways, and had a lot of fun. I also finally had the opportunity to learn about my Methodist tradition, and I learned a lot of things I love about it.

I preached my first sermon around a year and a half after I graduated from college. Not too long afterward, I started taking turns teaching my Sunday school class. What is utterly hilarious about my preaching and teaching Sunday school at my church was that, at that time, I was by a wide margin the youngest member of my church. With that in mind, I'm grateful that, when I requested these opportunities, my pastor and my fellow church members believed in me, gave me a chance, and listened to what I had to say. I was lucky to have such people in my life.

In my sermon, I noted that, in late 2015, I found it necessary to part ways with the church I grew up attending. As I've already noted, I was the youngest member of my church, so I had to find ways to connect with Christian peers. Due to changes at my church and other changes in my life, I started to fear that I was going to become more and more isolated from my peers, so I started looking for another United Methodist church with more members my age. About six months later, I found my way to the church I now attend.

For the last few years, I had been taking courses so that I could be certified as a Lay Speaker, someone who fills in for pastors when needed. When I left my church, I figured that journey was over or at least on hold until I officially transferred my membership to another church. Not long after I left, the church's new pastor, who had started just a few months before I left, called me and told me that I needed to submit my annual Lay Servant reports. When I expressed surprise that he would even ask for them, he told me that I had been called by God to preach, regardless of what church I attended. He even asked me to fill in for him a couple of times afterward. The church I left continued to support me, and I was finally certified as a Lay Speaker less than two years later.

As I continue to look back on my story, I am reminded of how important it is to have a community of faith. Christians often stress the importance of "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ," leaving some to wonder if it is really necessary to be part of a church. If we're truly going to follow Jesus, as He has called us, then we need people in our lives who will believe in us, invest in us spiritually, and encourage us to grow. God has brought me a long way on my journey, and I know that I would not be where I am today without the people who believed in me and supported me. We need each other on the journey of faith, and, as my pastor pointed out last week after I finished my sermon, "Ministry is the most beautiful when it's mutual."¹

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