Ordination/Identity

            Not many pastors start their ministry in a parade.  A few weeks before my collage graduation, I found myself sitting on the back of a green, 1970’s MG convertible waving to a parkway full of people.  The sign on the side of the car announced to the world of tourists and locals in Pigeon Forge, TN waiting for Dolly Parton’s float, “Dollywood Chaplain.”  I have a blurred picture of this moment.  I look hurried and unsettled, uncomfortable in my own skin, and anxious for the end.  Establishing a pastoral identity takes more than a parade announcing to the world a job title.

            Just a week before this uncomfortable parade, I found myself kneeling before the altar of my college church in Birmingham, Alabama, eyes red and wet, listening to the words of family, friends and church as they ordained me to the Gospel ministry.  In the Baptist, free-church tradition – churches ordain candidates, setting them apart for ministry – not denominations or bishops or priests.  Before a church confers ordination, the church invites ordained ministers in the church and community to gather for an ordination council.  The council reviews the candidate’s spiritual journey and their call to ministry.  They listen for the passion and conviction of the Spirit of God drawing them, pulling them into a life of ministry and service.  They question their maturity and theology.  Above all – they discern, “Is God calling this person into the world to serve, love and proclaim the Good News of Jesus?”  When this question is answered in the affirmative, like Paul and Barnabas being sent the Antioch Church, the church lays hands on the candidate and sends them into the world. 

            My ordination stands as one of the most spiritually powerful moments of my life.  After eight years of exploring and discerning God’s call into ministry as an adolescent, I knelt in wonder at the mystery of God, overwhelmed by the grace and gift of vocation.  For me, ordination represented – and still does - a marriage between God and myself – a lifelong commitment of love and service. 

            As I drove to Pigeon Forge the next weekend, I carried this profound experience with me.  I quickly learned, though, carrying the title “Reverend” and living into my identity as pastor, chaplain or minister would require a lifetime of service.  While the poster on the car proclaimed me as chaplain and individuals soon began to call me “Preacher,” it was not until I began to walk with employees and visitors through the trials of suffering and the joys of salvation that the title grew into an identity. 

            Identity is a spiritual issue for all of us.  Who are we in the light of God’s love?  Jesus says, “I chose you,” “I call you friend” (John 15:15-16).  Peter proclaims, “You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (I Peter 2:9).  Being a disciple of Jesus happens when we discover our true identity as the children of God and receive the grace that comes through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  We cannot simply paste a bumper sticker or sign that labels us “Christian” and drive through town.  Instead, we commit our lives to a growing life around the One who calls us “friend.”