Candidacy, Seminary, Ordination Oh My!

Jess: Wes and I have been lame on doing our blog, and we couldn't really think about what to write. Our lives are pretty similar to the beginning of the summer. One of our wonderful friends suggested we write about, "Truth and meaning in vocations outside/beyond the church...or just how the process sucks...just some random ideas..." So here goes.

I believe that any vocation has meaning both in and out of the church. Paul says in Corinthians, "To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."

There are some who are called to do God's work in the church, and there are others who are called to do God's work outside of the church. Wes and I have both discerned our call to to God's work in the church as ordained ministers. Some of our friends have discerned their call to be teachers, musicians, parents, and police officers (you know who you are). Each one is going to live out the call God has placed upon their heart, regardless of where they work.

That said, the process Protestant denominations (or demoninations, like I almost wrote) put their candidates through is long and sometimes painful. At points during my candidacy, I have felt attacked, as if my candidacy committee is my enemy. Instead of feeling uplifted through emails and meetings, I sometimes feel like I have to fight for the right to follow God's call on my life. The same is true of the process itself. The candidacy process started when single or married men whose wives didn't work were the vast majority, if not all, of candidates for ministry. They were free to move cross-country at a moment's notice, then move back again the next year. For those candidates who are married, women, older, parents, etc. the process is difficult and seemingly impossible.

Despite all these difficulties, God has placed a very strong call on our lives. When times get difficult, we are reminded to pray, and then to listen. There is nothing about being Christian that promises that our lives with easy. Even following God's call means nothing in that area. Abraham followed God's call, and he almost had to sacrifice his own son. Joseph was thrown in a well, sold into slavery, and put in prison. Jesus died on a cross...but God was with each of these people. This seems like a small comfort at times, and that's why God has given us wonderful people to cheer us on along the way. They support us, love us, pray for us, and remind us that our lives have a God-given purpose. So thanks to everyone who does that for us!

Wes: So, I have this friend who started out at TLU as an education major. After a number of classes in theology and after getting heavily involved in campus ministry, she finally got tired of people asking her the same question over and over again: "Have you thought about being a theology major?" She changed her major and is now pursuing a vocational career as a youth minister. Another friend of mine started out as a science major, but after hearing that same question over and over again, he too changed his major to theology and is now trying to figure out if he is being called to go to seminary to become an ordained pastor.

Another friend of mine is a math major right now, and even though she is heavily involved in the ministries of both her church and college, she does not at all feel called to change majors or pursue a vocation in ministry. Yet another friend changed majors from theology to dramatic media while at TLU, deciding that though he thought his call was in full-time ministry, it was probably not the best fit for him at that time.

I grew up being told that there was no higher calling in life than to do the work of the Lord. Being a pastor was the best thing that I could be, because it was the holiest of all jobs.

Honestly, I think this is a pile of bull poo.

My dad was in the Air Force for most of my life. He made the decision to enter into service because he knew it would bring stability to our family and job security for the future. Since he enlisted, he has been on a number of temporary duty assignments all over the globe, has moved his family across an ocean twice, spent my entire Jr High and High School career commuting 2 hours from home to work so we could live in a safe community, and has completed 3 tours into hostile countries. There is no higher calling than to choose the wellfare of your family over the ease of civilian life.

My mom is a high school English teacher who over the past 8 years has supplemented her bare-bones teaching salary with up to three other jobs on the side just so that she could provide for her children the best way she could. We didn't have everything we could have ever wanted, but we also never missed out on opportunities, never went hungry, and always had a comfortable bed to sleep in. She puts up with the laziness, apathy, and sometimes outright hostility of her students because she loves imparting knowledge and she wants to see the young people of today flourish when they are adults. There is no higher calling than to care for not only your children, but the children of your community as well, doing everything you can to equip them for life.

I don't say this to make it seem like my parents are superdad and supermom. They are, but that's a different blog post. I say this to show that that anyone's vocation--that thing which God calls us to do full-time to earn our living and give back to the community around us--is the absolute highest calling one can have. Pursuing a career as a doctor, teacher, or salesperson is just as important and divinely inspired as me pursuing my career as a pastor. The trick is to make sure that whatever you are doing, you are doing it for the Lord. My math major friend that I talked about above wants to be the best mathematician she can be and be the best youth ministry volunteer she can be. That is what she feels God is calling her to be, and there is no higher calling for her, because that is God's calling for her.

Most of those who are called into ministry as a vocation must go through a process called candidacy. Each denomination has a different process, and each one is geared toward helping candidates for ministry discern whether or not God really is calling them to this vocation. It is much easier on a person to find out they are not truly called to be a pastor if they find out before they are working full-time in a church, and it is much easier on the church as well. This can lead to some frustration on the part of the candidate, because it can easily seem like the church is making us jump through hoops to make it to ordination.

I have been lucky in that I have not dealt with many of the struggles that Jess has faced, but I know of many in the United Methodist Church who have not had an easy time with it. There are a number of steps, and it can be a very complicated process. Like the cogs in a clock, if one person or party drops the ball on something or isn't lining up with everyone else, the entire process can ground to a halt. It can be very frustrating, and I know a few people who have actually felt that their call to ministry was attacked by their candidacy committee, which should never be the case.

I think that we as a church need to seriously evaluate our candidacy process and refine it as much as possible. Yes, we should have something in place that helps people truly discern a call to ministry to make sure that ordained ministry is right for them, but it should never come at the cost of the work of the Kingdom. I also think that candidates need to be able to recognize that sometimes, the collective wisdom of other pastors is worth listening to, especially in a case like this where the final outcome impacts not only the person, but whole congregations of people.

So, yeah. Vocation. Candidacy. Awesome.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on these things! What is your calling in life, and how can you do it in such a way to bless God? How would you handle the candidacy process if you were in charge?

Good night (or good morning or good day, depending on when you read this), and God bless! You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-Jess and Wes