I am feeling very Carrie-esque as I sit down to write this first entry (minus the cigarette and relationship drama). Carrie Bradshaw, beloved journalist on Sex and the City is always asking open-ended questions to the greater masses as she tries to make meaning in her own life.
At our presbytery meeting over the weekend our General Presbyter talked about the presbytery's mission statement which includes the language of being "bold servants of transformation."And she begged the question, "how can servants be bold?" Indeed this sounds like a contradiction in terms.
I am learning in my first year of being a solo pastor and moving now into my second year, just how to be a bold servant. My college sisters would tell you that I am not bold, but rather just a little woman with a big mouth. And they would not be lying to you. But there is a balance to being bold and being a servant.
Being a servant to the Triune God is a call to humility. It reminds me of the bumper stickers I often see around here that say, "Not I, but Christ". The truth is that being in ministry means that it isn't about me and if parishioners begin to hang all of their hopes and dreams on me, then we are in trouble. I am to be a servant of God alongside of them, not in front of them. Furthermore, if I decide that I like the sound of my own voice, rather than stopping to listen to their voices, if i start to call it my church, instead of our church, I am no longer being the servant I confessed to be when I took my ordination vows.
So how do we walk the fine line of being bold in our ministry, bold with our beliefs and yet being humble servants? Because, let us be honest, we have to be careful about what we say or how we behave to protect our jobs and our families.
The boldness has to come out of our ability to think outside the box. In Sunday's sermon I used the example of HGTV's show Design Star. The competitors were given the task of transforming a completely white room into something beautiful using only the furniture provided, paint, and restaurant supplies. The best designs were the ones in which people got out of their comfort zones and began to think beyond the white box! They used bold colors and crazy items to make something beautiful that really expressed their personalitites. They let their design speak for itself. What we can take away from this is the fact that our actions, the way we live our lives can speak louder than any words we speak from the pulpit (or shout from opposing sides of any given issue)! These designers were given a blank slate to transform into something beautiful. Isn't that what God's grace does for us?
And so, it is my hope that I can be a humble servant, allowing myself to let go of the control I desire to have and letting God steer the ship. However I can be bold in the way I live my life--to set an example of living my theology, not just pontificating beliefs. It is my hope to be bold in the way I work with my congregation on new ventures for website designs, book clubs, and interactive confirmation classes! This is where the rubber meets the road folks!
In Carrie Bradshaw fashion, I will leave you, dear reader, with a question. What does being a bold servant of transformation mean to you?
