What I (Re)Learnt this summer

I can't believe it was the last day of summer camp...already. It has felt long, but short, at the same time. It was fun, but tiring; easy, but hard.

We went out in true style with a pancake breakfast with toppings that only a kid could come up with. Everything from apples, strawberries, whipped topping, cookies, jujubes, (yep, you read that right), gummy bears, chocolate chips...and syrup on top of all of that. (Really, I'm just sending them home on a complete sugar high to thank the parents for all the energy I got this summer.)

But I am thankful for a number of things that I (re)-learned this summer: (in no order, and with expansion to come in further posts)

1) Life is fun, especially when you expect it to be fun.
2) Celebrate the small stuff. It's important. And many small things make big things
3) The Gospel should NEVER get lost in our attempts to theologize...the pain of the cross can speak for itself, without us having to create four syllable words to describe it. The excitement of the resurrection shouldn't be forgotten. It was (is) the game changer
4) Never underestimate the importance of having your own time with God before you spend time with others.
5) Singing never goes out of style
6) Neither does a good game of Capture of the Flag
7) It's important that we learn to listen to each other and that everyone gets a chance to be heard.
8) Prayer. I had the goal of teaching the kids to pray out loud by the end of the summer. (Some did not even know what prayer was.) I saw this goal come to pass, thanks be to God.
9) The phrase "I love you" is not said often enough.
10) Don't forget to say "thanks" to those who impact you. It goes a long way to encouraging them to keep doing what they are doing.

My sister thinks...

What my sister sent me when I finished my course work for my Masters of Divinity. Thanks Hetty, thanks a lot.

I am not ashamed of...or am I?

 But it still isn't easy. Along with Paul, I can say that I am not ashamed of the Gospel. And what I loved about learning to preach was how to bring the Gospel, how to bring hope, into the world. In no way do I want to be an obstacle for the Gospel, and yet...And yet I find that my physical presence, which is obviously female, may, in and of itself, be an obstacle.

I struggled with this, so much so, that after I would preach I'd have to go take a walk on the shore and wrestle this out with God. Until He reminded  me of the words from Psalm 139 - "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Which includes everything about me! Spiritual and physical. And the obstacle that I was so worried about, (which sounds weird to say), the obstacle of my body, really wasn't about me. If others were not open to hearing a female preach, that obstacle had  more to do with them then it did with me. (Now of course I do want to clarify that I still have my responsibility to play in this - so lest you be worried that I'm going to start preaching in short skirts and skimpy tops - I still want to be considerate and modest.;)

This also doesn't mean that I am going to start marching around holding signs, demanding my "rights" to preach. No. In the words of one wise lady "I am not going to go where I am not invited." I don't preach because I have a point to prove, for the moment that starts happening, preaching stops and presumption starts. I preach because, quite selfishly, I get to spend time in the Word, learning up close and personal, how the world looks from God's perspective and what He intends to do about it. And then I get to share that, hopefully getting out of the way enough to point to God alone, but realizing that because I am made the way that I am, I get out of the way, in my own unique way.

\manda

The juxtaposed journey: a female...and in leadership. PART 1

I grew up in a church where the concept of female leadership did not exist outside Sunday school or the nursery. There were no female deacons, elders, and certainly - no female pastors. Women participated in the worship service with the use of their musical gifts, but that was as far as it went. I am not saying this as a judgement. It is just the simple truth. And I know that some of you reading this, still hold strongly to that belief. I would say that even some of my friends hold this belief. Others reading this may have always had female leaders in their churches, and have never thought twice about it. However, I feel compelled to write on this topic because I have been lead to service in, what I believed five years ago, was not a biblical vocation for a woman. The following, my reflection on women in leadership, is not meant to be judgmental, but is a honest discussion of my own journey.

Entering my final year of seminary, I strongly was convicted that if I was graduating with a Masters of Divinity (though my focus is in Pastoral Care and Counseling), at the very least, I needed to learn how to preach. "If you are getting a degree that says you are trained for ministry, then you need to be trained for ministry in every way possible" I thought to myself. And so I signed up for an introduction to preaching class, still unconvinced that it was something I should be doing.Certainly I was expecting my professor, a former pastor with 25 years of experience, to end the semester by saying something to the effect of "Well, Amanda, preaching is not your thing, but maybe try your gifting here."  ("Here" being anywhere but preaching.)

But that didn't happen. Instead I received immensely positive feedback from classmates and teacher alike. And surprisingly, I HAD SO MUCH FUN during the preparation and the giving of the sermon itself. Now I am not here to toot my own horn, because I have ALOT to learn about preaching, but the fact could not be avoided that: I was able to preach. And.... I enjoyed it.

SO NOW WHAT?

stay tuned....




\manda

My summer job....which also just so happens to be at the beach

Yep, I was really blessed this summer. Believe it or not I got employment, which just happens to mean I have to live on the beach, but the best part is I GET TO PUT TO PRACTICAL USE MY M.DIV!

This means:

-  I learned how to preach, and now I have an opportunity to practice it. For six Sundays. (And before you get any ideas of this being a huge church, let me say I think I maxed out last Sunday at 15+ people, and will likely have less than 10 this week.) But I like that, because it allows me to start small.
- I get to put together an entire order of worship - from the call to worship, right until the benediction. This puts to use a bunch of skills I have learned in the classroom and outside, from leading worship, song selection, text selection, prayer, etc.
- I get to interact and visit with people here in the community. I LOVE this. Just getting to know people in a relaxing environment, because people come here on vacation.
- For July and August my priority is to plan and run a kid's club. Spent three years studying theology? Now's a good time to be reminded that the Gospel is very simple; we make it complex.
- Get to interact with guest speakers from different denominational background. Its a little of Tyndale, minus the study part;)

Oh, and I get a bit of R & R. I mean, I am after all, at the beach

\manda