"Why not become an actual minister? Or is that a silly question?"
Kevin asked this recently in response to one of my posts. I guess it's not necessarily a silly question, but yeah, ok. Why not become a minister?
For awhile, I was an ordained minster in the Universal Life Church, as I believe you still are. But then I thought to myself... perhaps it's not a good idea to be the minister of a religion that's not in sync with the religion I have put my faith in. To me, that's like working for Ford and driving a Dodge. To some, you might be saying "What's the big deal?" To me, if I'm going to believe in something, it's gotta be the full commitment. If I were to move to Detroit and start assembling F-150's, the Intrepid would have to go on Craigslist. If I were to work for a church, I would need to attend that church. If were to work for a studio, I'd have to believe in the product. (Hence my love of Disney.) But, we're not talking about that.
Why not become an actual minister?
Frankly, that's a pretty easy one. That's not what I'm gifted at. That requires a certain kind of skill, a certain type of empathy, a certain type of way of dealing with people I do not possess. In the lingo of the church, the gifts of ministers tend to fall into the discipling, shepherding, teaching type roles. That is not me. I wouldn't have a passion for it, possibly not the patience for it. And when it comes to people, there are a lot of ways that they can be hurt, and I'm not quite sure I can stomach that, or be rationale if my advice were solicited. Granted, I've become much more of a softie/wus since Rachel was born, but that could end up working against me. Lack of training could also be a stumbling block.
No, I am a systems guy. And I don't mean I fix your PC. I mean in a world of logic, logistics, things involving a systematic approach. And I'm also a strategy, big picture kind of guy. I feel that I have the somewhat unique ability to get inside somewhere, but still remain an outsider. I can look at the big picture, I can see what's working, what's not working, and come up with solutions, often ones that people have not necessarily considered before.
And therein lies the crux of my current employment... those that are in charge are not interested in changing, improving or innovating. They're not soliciting my input and I'm learning it's not in my best interest to offer it. Sometimes it's outright dismissed, sometimes it's patiently heard and then completely disregarded. I realize that I'm not some uber-genius and that there is history, politics, egos, etc., that I am not privvy to knowing about, but I desperately crave to be in a position where I have the ability to affect change, to innovate, to improve, to make greater.
I wonder if that really answers the original question or not.
2 comments:
I don't know. To me, a minister isn't really a leader... he's a servant. You stated you wanted to serve God. I'm not suggesting you should rush out and start a new church and wrangle yourself a congregation (though your debut sermon would be one for the history books, I'm sure). You've expressed quite a bit of frustration lately because of your superiors. Well, maybe you should show them how it's done. I don't know how specifically, but you've got enough experience under your belt that you know how things should be, so the next step is to find yourself a situation where you can use your knowledge and talents. To me, someone who can do that is more of a minister than some guy who wears a white robe and passes around an offering plate after 10 minutes or so of blustering.
All this is my roundabout way of saying whatever you decide to do with your life... you've got my support. Now, may I humbly suggest you get off your posterior and do it?
response in its own post
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