As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. -2 Timothy 4:5
Dear Disciple of Christ,
In Paul’s second letter to his co-worker, Timothy, he spent some time clarifying how the church would continue. It was an amazing idea. God would watch over His church and provide for disciples, pastors (shepherds) who would guide the flock (community) to places and people of care. Previously I shared the reflections on my life in Queens at Atonement Lutheran Church, starting in June of 1982. I briefly mentioned it was the Bishop who suggested my allowing my name to be considered for the “call” to that congregation. I’d like to describe that call process a little more. I had not really considered the need for a different ministry setting but, after all, a bishop is a bishop and they have a “bigger and broader” picture of ministry and pastoral needs and congregational needs than those of us in a local church and simple pastor. But there were other aspects to the process that allowed me to relax. I was really sure I would not get the call to serve in Queens. I was pretty sure I’d be remaining in Brooklyn.
Why was that? When Lutheran congregations are without a pastor, a process begins to identify their next pastor. Usually a congregation will go through a time of reflection, considering what their strengths, weaknesses and challenges are. They submit that to the bishop. He then looks through the pastors in his area of supervision and usually suggested (in those days) 3 or 4 possible “candidates” that would be appropriate to serve. Then the congregation’s call committee (made of members of the church) interview the pastors and suggest one to be called to the congregation.
What made me confident I would be remaining in Brooklyn is that even I didn’t think I was as qualified and “appropriate” as the other pastors. (I knew who these pastors were since I worked in the synod office and was typing up their information when the bishop asked if he could add my name to the list). The first pastor listed was amazingly gifted. As Wikipedia describes him even now, he was “a prominent Christian cleric and writer. From 1961 to 1978 he served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church, a poor, predominantly black and Hispanic church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He worked with Daniel Berrigan in creating “Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam”. He was a longtime editor of Lutheran Forum magazine. He authored 36 books… I could go on, but you get the idea of his gifts.
The second pastor, offered to the congregation to consider, prayerfully suggested by the bishop, had been a missionary in Korea. The congregation in Queens had nearly 20 Korean families that had joined the Anglo congregation when their pastor was reprimanded by the synod for requiring students entering their Lutheran school to be members of his congregation. So, this previous Korean missionary would seem to be a perfect fit, able to serve in specific ways, the Korean membership of the church. He would be a gift and Godsend to that congregation in Queens, for sure.
The third pastor was actually a classmate of mine. All in all, even between the two of us, his experience was somewhat broader than mine. He had served a larger church on Long Island with more resources and therefore more activities and programs than we could have in Brooklyn. AND, what could be better than having a pastor named, Pastor Priest? (His last name was “Priest”).
Then, there was me. Little ol’ me. What would you think the possibility would be that I would be called by that church to go to Queens? There is, however, this part of our understanding of “call” in the Lutheran church that says “God” is not only involved but is the Leader of all of this. Our understanding is, the members pray mightily about extending a call (and pastors pray about accepting (or rejecting) one as a pastor) since God is the One extending the call. The congregation works on behalf of the members but also on behalf of God. They pray that God would guide their deliberations and their vote. So, if you’re sure you know what will happen, it won’t. (It’s a little like thinking you know the day and time Christ is returning. The one thing that’s sure is that is not the time and day since only God knows that time and day).
And God knows what is best to bless His people in community (if we listen and follow His lead). So, what happened? “God happened!” Pastor Neuhaus removed his name from the call, deciding he was not ready to return to congregational service. The Korean missionary was asked by the Korean member on the call committee if he would help the newly arriving Korean members. He responded, “Of course but, I wouldn’t do anything illegal for them. The offended Korean member of the call committee rejected him outright. The choice was down to a pastor from (the seemingly “ritzy”) Long Island and (a pastor coming from a down to earth church in Brooklyn. They did not call Pastor Priest but Pastor Johnson.
Once I received that call, officially, I had two calls (one to Brooklyn and one to Queens). Pastors then prayerfully consider where God was calling them to serve and return the other call. In this case, with real sorrow in my heart, I returned the call to the people of Trinity in Brooklyn. Some had sorrow in their hearts but some also had anger. It is hard to leave without people feeling as if they have been rejected or abandoned or they had done something wrong. Neither of those was the case for me. I still love those members in Brooklyn and am still in contact with some of them though many have died. It was not a push away from them but a draw to the people and ministry in Queens. I felt I had offered much of what I could to the people of Trinity and now had gifts I could offer to Atonement in Queens. Time would tell and confirm or deny my decision.
Have you reflected on what God may be calling you to do to fulfill your ministry? Reflections on that next week.
Peace in His Service,
Pastor Johnson