True Ministry

In my brief ministerial career, I have had many pastoral roles. Some of them are functions that people normally associate with clergy work. Specifically, I have been a caregiver, preacher, shepherd, social justice advocate, etc. If I had to estimate, I would say these things take up about 85% of my time. The other 15% consist of random roles that pop up from time to time in the life of a congregation. These situations, however, usually baffle me with their sheer bizarreness. For example, I have been a taxi driver, taking elderly people to various places. Then there were the moments when I had to put on my traders hat during a church garage sale to deal with a person who was trying to get $100 worth of merchandise for .10 cents. And, of course, there were the many times when got up early to help people move; often multiple times in the one year! At one point I did so many (I was the young, youth pastor after all, so I was the first line of defense in the church!) that my back is throbbing at the very thought! It was hectic!

Nevertheless, these random roles pale in comparison to what I am doing this week. For today, I am starting a five-day stint as a puppeteer. Namely, I am "Godwin Merrifeather" the pun making, big-bird wannabe, carnival-calling master of ceremonies from Wellington United Methodist Fellowship's "Fun Fair" Vacation Bible School program.  I am sure all you children's ministry vets out there are laughing at me right now. You are no doubt used to the craziness of a VBS and the many odd things the leaders do. After all, to be an effective VBS leader you have to get down to a kids level, which involve doing some crazy things! I was never one of those people. I was always able to work in the background and watch as my wife or other church members engaged in the madness. But not this year, no, no, no. This year, I am the bird of birds right out there on center stage. Oh boy.

I must say, my opening performance was far from academy award worthy. The voice I chose for Godwin sounds like Don Knotts on acid and I audibly crack when I go too high (I can actually hear my wife making fun of me outside my office right now, which does not help my case). Plus, I operate from behind our small pulpit, which is disguised as a ticket booth for this week. It does not give me much room to operate with, so I end up crouched, using this faux voice and feeling like an idiot afterwards.

However, seeing the kids reactions and hear many excited voices asking "where is Godwin????" as I walk by has caused me to rethink my initial reaction. Acting like a fool has helped them better connect with this Godwin character and the God that Godwin is so excited about. And if God is reaching these wonderful kids with the gospel message through such a silly messenger, who am I to stop it? In fact, I think I need to ham it up even more! In this, I am learning a Kind David-esque lesson. In 2 Samuel 6, King David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem after a long absence. It was a celebration to be sure (VBS like maybe???) but David made it more so by beginning to dance. Apparently, he was a big hit and he danced even more wildly, bringing the people with him into a state of passionate worship. However, when he got home, his wife was angry at him for acting so unbecoming as the people's king. His chiding response to her echoes through history and reminds people like me not to let our own assumed roles stand in the way of God's work:

“I celebrate[d] before the Lord. ²² Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!  --- 2 Samuel 6:21-22 NLT

In other words, David was willing to be even more undignified if meant better connecting with God  and helping others to see the Divine.  This certainly happened in my premiere performance as Godwin. Furthermore, as I think about it, this sort of feeling happens  any time I have experienced a role from the random 15% of my ministry life. Every time I drove someone, moved them, or dealt with them; I experienced God in a new way because I abandoned my comfort zone and embraced God in the moment. During these times, I connected with people without the polite "he-won't-understand-he-is-the-pastor" barrier that usually arises in clergy-lay relationships. Experiencing this is always a brief blast of authentic experience in which God works so powerfully. That experience is available to us all. So what would happen if all of us were "more undignified" for God in the random moments that pop up in our own lives? We love to experience God in such formulaic ways, so what would God teach us if we sought God out in new passionate ways in the moments that are not so familiar? Maybe then we can see that true ministry can occur anywhere and at anytime and that we need to be prepared to engage it.

On that note, I need to go wash up. My palm has been itchy ever since the opening act and I don't want to think about how many little hands have been playing with Godwin since then. . .