Ordination Questions
Ordination in the UMC takes a bit of time. I am not complaining, I think there are strengths and weaknesses to this process. However, one thing I have encountered while I go through this process is that lay members do not have much of a clue as to what the process involves. I want to take a few posts and share some of the questions that all those ordained in the UMC must answer in written from to a credentialing body for review. Upon submission of these responses, one is interviewed to go over the responses given. The questions that I will post in the next few posts are questions for those people later in the ordination process than those who are just beginning.
Even if you do not read the response I think the questions are interesting to consider. How would you respond to these questions if you were asked by someone?
So here is the first question and my actual response (unedited) that I submitted to the Board of Ordained Ministry:
What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?
The more I have the opportunity to talk with people outside the seminary context, the more I have become aware of the cycles of blame and scapegoating we are all held hostage to. We seek to blame people for the situations we find ourselves in and all the while justify the search as ‘just’ and ‘right’. For instance, the outrage over the pipeline leak in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer of 2010 was a global effort to blame BP for the massive environmental damage. Of course BP has their part to play but it is interesting to me to notice that BP did not become one of the largest energy providers without the demand of people for cheap energy. We are quick to blame BP for their lack of response or emergency plan, we are quick to blame governments for acting too late or interfering with a private company, we are quick to even blame the CEO as he attends a sailing race, but I have yet to hear anyone raise their hand and say, “I helped contribute to the spill because I helped raise the demand for oil and encouraged companies to seek risky drilling.” We are all quick to see the fault of the other and blame them for causing the problem while maintaining our own innocence in the situation. I see all of us move though life throwing so many stones that we do not even see the damage we are doing when we throw those stones. We are not a very forgiving species on a whole, and we quickly forget the past in order to seek an immediate desire. Humanity desperately needs Grace for we are all involved in creating the problems in this world. It is interesting to me that the stories which are the most profound and deeply moving are the stories which are rooted in Grace, Forgiveness and Peace, not the stories rooted in hate, blame, and violence. When we encounter that divine Grace we are moved in ways that are beyond our primal responses of seeking a scapegoat.
Even if you do not read the response I think the questions are interesting to consider. How would you respond to these questions if you were asked by someone?
So here is the first question and my actual response (unedited) that I submitted to the Board of Ordained Ministry:
What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?
The more I have the opportunity to talk with people outside the seminary context, the more I have become aware of the cycles of blame and scapegoating we are all held hostage to. We seek to blame people for the situations we find ourselves in and all the while justify the search as ‘just’ and ‘right’. For instance, the outrage over the pipeline leak in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer of 2010 was a global effort to blame BP for the massive environmental damage. Of course BP has their part to play but it is interesting to me to notice that BP did not become one of the largest energy providers without the demand of people for cheap energy. We are quick to blame BP for their lack of response or emergency plan, we are quick to blame governments for acting too late or interfering with a private company, we are quick to even blame the CEO as he attends a sailing race, but I have yet to hear anyone raise their hand and say, “I helped contribute to the spill because I helped raise the demand for oil and encouraged companies to seek risky drilling.” We are all quick to see the fault of the other and blame them for causing the problem while maintaining our own innocence in the situation. I see all of us move though life throwing so many stones that we do not even see the damage we are doing when we throw those stones. We are not a very forgiving species on a whole, and we quickly forget the past in order to seek an immediate desire. Humanity desperately needs Grace for we are all involved in creating the problems in this world. It is interesting to me that the stories which are the most profound and deeply moving are the stories which are rooted in Grace, Forgiveness and Peace, not the stories rooted in hate, blame, and violence. When we encounter that divine Grace we are moved in ways that are beyond our primal responses of seeking a scapegoat.
It saddens me in a way that some of the most vicious blaming that goes on in the world is located in the Church - Lay members blame pastors for the problems of the local church; ministers blame the cabinet for the problems of the conference; the conference blames heath insurance or pensions to the problems of the denomination. We all are involved in blaming someone or something and it is rare to find anyone in that chain of blame standing up to say, “it is partly all of our fault and I contributed to the problem as much as the next person.” Grace is made visible when we are willing to stand up and take some of the blame and recognize that we all are interconnected and intertwined – that our survival is dependant upon one another. When we have more individuals willing to own their part of the problem then we will begin to see the further manifestation of the Kingdom of God. I believe, in part, this is why humanity is in need of divine Grace. In order to help usher in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Peace, reconciliation, justice and mercy, we need to be willing to help make manifest Grace and stop blaming and seeking out scapegoats. It is my prayer that God will continue to guide and uphold the United Methodist Church as a place in which we all can have the courage to stand in the midst of the mob and declare the end of blaming and scapegoating. It is my prayer that the Grace of God will be made manifest in the UMC for it is desperately needed to break us out of the cycles which hold us hostage.
Snowed in, Fun, and a Three year old
Notes:
At some point around hour 60 things just start to get fun due to lack of sleep and sheer insanity.
There is nothing that is fun about The Jersey Shore.
Of course this is tongue-in-cheek. However, no matter how much you love people, everyone needs a little space.
Selfish Gene
I am not a Richard Dawkins scholar nor do I even pretend to understand the mathematics and philosophy underpinning his arguments. In part because I do not make time to engage his work but also in part because I believe his understanding of Faith is locked in a modern understanding of Faith that is more of a belief system than a lifestyle of trust, fidelity and world-view.
Recently I encountered the theory of the "Selfish Gene". In that each one of us is fighting for survival and as such much of what we do is motivated by promoting our own genes. So if you save the life of your child it is not a total loss because 50% of your kids genes are yours so sacrificing yourself for your life so your child does not die is still acting in a way that preserves your own genes and thus that act is selfish. (I think this is the idea behind this theory, but correct me if I am wrong.)
This theory, I suppose, is used to "defeat" theology and advocate for the "death of religion". However I see this selfish gene theory as something for which is a powerful asset for the Christian faith to consider.
Christians are called to die to self and to live for Christ. Paul said that he no longer lives but Christ that lives in him. We are called to die to the self and live for the Triune God.
If we take that charge seriously, that is die to self and live for Christ, then the selfish gene becomes a powerful tool to promote the values of the Kingdom of God. If it is God that lives within us, if it is Christ that informs us, if it is the Holy Spirit that guides us then our actions will no longer be "selfish". Rather our actions will be promoting the values of God.
In part, this is what makes the death of Jesus powerful as well. We are not genetically connect to Jesus (such that as in siblings or cousins) and yet Jesus died to expose the cycles of violence (and selfishness) humanity is wrapped up in. Christ died for the promotion of the Kingdom of God. If he acted selfishly I would suppose he would have had children or even defended himself before the authorities.
But...
Jesus had no children.
Jesus was silent before the authorities.
Jesus declared forgiveness instead of revenge on the cross.
Jesus' selfless act promoted the values of the God of Grace, Peace, Forgiveness, Justice, Hope and Love.
I guess my hope is that I would be willing to act for the values of the Kingdom of God rather than be dominated by actions that benefit myself.
Recently I encountered the theory of the "Selfish Gene". In that each one of us is fighting for survival and as such much of what we do is motivated by promoting our own genes. So if you save the life of your child it is not a total loss because 50% of your kids genes are yours so sacrificing yourself for your life so your child does not die is still acting in a way that preserves your own genes and thus that act is selfish. (I think this is the idea behind this theory, but correct me if I am wrong.)
This theory, I suppose, is used to "defeat" theology and advocate for the "death of religion". However I see this selfish gene theory as something for which is a powerful asset for the Christian faith to consider.
Christians are called to die to self and to live for Christ. Paul said that he no longer lives but Christ that lives in him. We are called to die to the self and live for the Triune God.
If we take that charge seriously, that is die to self and live for Christ, then the selfish gene becomes a powerful tool to promote the values of the Kingdom of God. If it is God that lives within us, if it is Christ that informs us, if it is the Holy Spirit that guides us then our actions will no longer be "selfish". Rather our actions will be promoting the values of God.
In part, this is what makes the death of Jesus powerful as well. We are not genetically connect to Jesus (such that as in siblings or cousins) and yet Jesus died to expose the cycles of violence (and selfishness) humanity is wrapped up in. Christ died for the promotion of the Kingdom of God. If he acted selfishly I would suppose he would have had children or even defended himself before the authorities.
But...
Jesus had no children.
Jesus was silent before the authorities.
Jesus declared forgiveness instead of revenge on the cross.
Jesus' selfless act promoted the values of the God of Grace, Peace, Forgiveness, Justice, Hope and Love.
I guess my hope is that I would be willing to act for the values of the Kingdom of God rather than be dominated by actions that benefit myself.
Be the change by Jason Valendy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.