Dear Disciple of Christ,
This coming weekend, we will be bringing forward a disciple of Christ who has heard a call to serve as a pastor in the church. Vicar Watts has his own stories to tell and I’m hoping he’ll be able to do that over the next months he is with us. Sheperd of the Woods will serve as his vicarage church and provide support for this time of reflection and service. Shepherd of the Woods has served as a resource for future pastors in the Church since 1997 when we got our first vicar. Some (most) churches have had few if any pastors rise from the ranks of disciples to become a pastor. Shepherd of the Woods has been blessed by receiving many vicars over these past 30 years. We have an extraordinary amount of mission and ministry going on and vicars who serve here have an opportunity to see first hand how these ministries occur.
If you were in charge or part of a group designing a program for preparing disciples of Christ to become pastors, what would you include? Each year a group of disciples gather at churches and seminaries to listen to leaders describe what would be required if they were to become a pastor in the church. Each group of Christians (international church bodies, denominations, etc.) decide for themselves what is needed for one disciple to have a special place of leadership, to guide a group (like of sheep) like a shepherd does. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who offers Himself as a sacrifice for all the sheep. Those who serve as “underling” shepherds follow the example of that One Perfect Shepherd. How do we decide what will be provided to those who move into that position (from sheep to shepherd, each becoming a “pastor”) often in a place they knew not before, in a new day and age when the gospel is still to be preached to all nations. How long would studies take? When and how would they be declared, “ready” or “certified”?
Most church bodies make those important decisions based on the focus and understanding of the church body and how those groups made their witness in the past. When I went to my pastor (often the starting point for disciples feeling called to be a shepherd), he gave me a brochure that described the process. (Way) Back then, in 1966, the Missouri Synod design for preparation was fairly extensive. Though I had spent 17 years in community (the same church all those years), it is not a Lutheran practice for a community to decide if someone who “heard” the call themselves, could simply describe that to the rest of the community and begin serving as a pastor (though some church denominations do). There was a real focus on education and study to prepare future pastors. They had nine Junior Colleges scattered around the United States who had two years of classes waiting for those who felt they heard a call and were ready to respond.
So it made sense for me to simply begin. I was responding to that call I heard in the balcony of my church in Albany. I knew more would be required of a pastor of a church and the booklet described it simply and directly. I would go to a junior college, in my case the closest was in Bronxville (just north of New York city). I would have two years of “Pre-theological” education (learning Greek for reading the New Testament, German to connect to our German theological roots, Biblical studies, etc.). There were also a variety of opportunities for doing ministry (like the Saturday youth program we ran in Bushwick, Brooklyn and two summer long programs we developed in 5 locations in the city the second summer). Some of the students learned sign language (as I did) to teach kids at a deaf congregation in Queens and serve as assisting minister in worship there on Sundays. I was also a leader of the chapel services held weekly on campus. I joined more than 30 other students in a Tour Choir who traveled to different areas of the country to sing the faith and share it with our hosts who gave us lodging. That choir ended its season in Carnegie Hall which raised donations for ministries of the school. The funds that year went to our summer youth program (called, “Hach” – standing for “Help-a-child”). So, we studied about the mission and ministry and practiced it.
At the end of the first year of college, we had an “end of the year” class trip. It was a Circle Line cruise around Manhattan (costing $1 per student). I had seen my future wife, Chris, in our Biology class (the only class we shared over the two years) and I had not “dated her” but, well, there was something “magnetic” in her eyes. They were deep and full and well, since classes were over, I thought perhaps I needed to delve into those eyes. The second year we were together in mission and ministry (Saturdays inner-city work, Sunday worship in Queens and back to a full year of studies).
Missouri Synod also developed a “Senior” College in Fort Wayne Indiana specifically for those studying for the ministry. They gathered theologians who were all pastors who delved with us into semester after semester of theological studies. We had two more years of studying Greek as well as two years of Hebrew (for reading the Old Testament) as well as classes in death and dying and all those needed for my dual major, sociology and psychology. That community of study and education was extraordinary and provided for those seeking to serve as a pastor.
Are you aware that our process for training of pastors requires an internship year? Actually, in the synod of which I was a part in 1973, that third year of seminary was not called “internship” but “vicarage.” Regardless of what it was called, it was a time to put into practice what we had learned over the previous 6 years and to experience more first-hand what is included in pastoral care and service. Seminarians were doing that in small ways each year as we were assigned a “field work” church, but that was certainly limited in our responsibilities and almost wholly done on Sundays (since we were in school and at work the rest of the time). But after 4 years of deep theological and academic studies, and 2 years of seminary study, the normal “practice” was to be sent to serve full time for 9 to 12 months of a Vicarage. Like a doctor on internship gets hands on experience on how to provide health and healing, Vicars put into action what brings the faith alive in others. We learned and practiced preaching and teaching and counseling and planning and development. The vicarage congregation agreed to give the vicars the opportunity to preach at least once a month My practice was to increase the amount of preaching based on how proficient a vicar was (the more challenged, the more they preached. Once vicarage had been completed (the supervising pastor at the vicarage church was responsible for providing opportunities to serve in pastoral care and ministry and preaching and indicated “pass” or “fail” for that vicarage).
We have been extraordinarily blessed at our church in Jacksonville, Florida, as, over the years of ministry here, we have had half a dozen future pastors (vicars) bring their gifts and abilities to our mission. Shepherd of the Woods was an ideal place for those preparing for future life as a pastor. We had many different ministries that could be great experiences for them in which they could participate. In the past 37 years we have received more than 3,000 new members (3,032 to be exact) of new members coming into our area and joining our church.
Churches (and pastors) not dealing with such growth, might expect that such growth would make things “better” or “easier” and with fewer challenges. When we pastors are working feverishly to assimilate that number of people (one year there were 168 new members), we know that there are challenges with the gift of those new people. Each disciple should have the opportunity to use their gifts as stewards of God’s gifts. Though a large Bible study or groups for women or children are a blessing, coordinating those varied ministries is no easy task. And we know the ministry needs to be global, not focusing only on our own local mission, but also on the co-mission we have received to bring the faith to all nations. So those vicars who have served with us at Shepherd of the Woods have extensive opportunity to learn about outreach and welcome and assimilation of new members. They learned how the process of the reception of new members can be productive and helpful or cause some to leave the church they joined..
I’d like to continue for a while using these Faith Matters to reflect on how God can use all of us in modern church building and outreach. It is my prayer that Vicar and his wife will be blessed as well as bringing blessings to us over his months of vicarage.
Peace in His service
Pastor Johnson