Dana and I are in Portland, Oregon this week for the Evangelical Covenant Church Annual Meeting and my ordination on Saturday night at 7pm PST (10pm EST). It has been a long, but useful process leading to this week and I am grateful that others have affirmed God’s call upon my life. When the Covenant ordains, it "sets apart" persons with the authority to preach and teach the Word, administer the sacraments and rites of the church, and exercise pastoral care and leadership. The ordained pastor functions as theologian in residence and missional leader, overseeing, empowering, and enabling all forms of a local church’s ministry. If interested, you can watch the ordination service live online here.
It is hard to believe where God has taken us over the past few years. When Dana and I met in 1998 and began dating in 2000, we both expected that I would be practicing law at this stage in our lives. Neither of us would have dreamed that I would be serving a congregation as a full-time pastor in 2009. God’s plans are regularly different than our plans. And though the journey has required long and difficult discussions over the years, we have been honored to partner with God in the work He has done around us. We can honestly say that we have found joy in each stage of our lives.
"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11)
More than anything, I am exceptionally humbled by God’s movement in my life. I am not special, but I am called. I am called to speak truth, to serve all, to sacrifice much, to love unconditionally . . . to laugh, to cry . . . to be silent, to speak up . . . to run, to wait . . . to move as God moves. And guess what? You are called to these things too. You may not be called to live them out as a pastor, but you are called to live them out in some way. You must discern in prayer and community the call that God has on your life. Let me know if I can help you discover your calling! It’s a good time to be where God wants you to be.