April 11, 2011--The Next Mile Marker

On April 11, 2011 I will come to an important mile marker on a very long journey. This journey began when I was a child. As a little boy I would often tell people that I wanted to grow up and become a preacher. One day somebody took a moment to ask me, “Why?” I was quick to reply, “Preachers get to eat a lot of fried chicken.”
As the years went by I continued to hear God’s call and claim on my life. On my first summer youth camp trip I began to clearly understand what God wanted me to do with my gifts and graces. I began to believe God really wanted me to become a preacher.
In High School God to continued calling me to full time Christian service; but the halls of Heritage High School really wasn’t the place I wanted to tell people what God was calling me to become. In college the call continued. I thought I knew what God really wanted me to do, but it turned out that I was wrong. God was still calling me to full time pastoral ministry, so my journey to the pulpit became official.
You might be wondering how does somebody become a United Methodist clergy person, let me tell you the rest of my journey. I had been hearing God’s call for a long time so I began the journey by talking to my pastor. I remember telling my call story to Rev. Dr. Stuart Greene. After telling my story to my pastor I met with my District Superintendent and told my call story again.
The District Superintendent instructed me to read “The Christian as a Minister.” After reading the book I wrote down my call story. After a few weeks the District Superintendent assigned me a mentor. We spent several weeks working through another book and talking about what it meant to be in full time christian service. While working on this book I was encouraged not to tell people if I had made a decision to follow God’s call and claim. This was a time of discernment. I was to intentionally focus on hearing and understanding what God had been telling me all these years.
After a few months of discernment and working with my mentor I was given another book to work through. At the end of that time I had come to the conclusion that God still wanted me to become a preacher. I met with my pastor and talked about what I had learned so far on my journey. I then met with the Staff Parish Relations Committee. I told my call story again and shared with them what I had learned on my journey so far. The SPR Committee affirmed God’s call on my life. Conyers First United Methodist Church held a special Charge Conference and my home church affirmed God’s call on my life.
As you can tell, somebody wrestling with a call to full time christian service spends a lot of reading, talking, and discerning. When I received the approval of my local church I became a Declared Candidate for pastoral ministry. I then had to answer several questions in a written exam. I also underwent a psychological and health evaluation. I was also interviewed by the District Board of Ordained Ministry. At this interview a group of laity and clergy ask questions about God’s call and claim on your life.
The story continues. The District Board of Ordained Ministry affirmed God’s call and claim on my life. I was now a Certified Candidate. With my certification in hand I made my way to Asbury Theological Seminary. I spent four years in graduate religious studies. I went before the District Committee each year to answer questions about seminary and what God was doing in my life. When I became a student pastor I spent an intensive week at License to Preach School. Just so happens that Dr. Whetstone was the lead teacher.
During my final semester of seminary I prepared to go before the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. I answered several questions that addressed Theology and Doctrine, The Practice of Ministry, and Called and Disciplined Life. I also provided letters of reference, background check, and credit check.
A few months before graduation I was interviewed by the Board of Ordained Ministry. At this interview the Board of Ordained Ministry affirmed God’s call and claim on my life, but wanted me to spend another year preparing for the next step in the ordination process. The next year I was interviewed and examined by the Board of Ordained Ministry. This time I passed. At Annual Conference 2008 Bishop Davis commissioned me as a Probationary (now Provisional) member of the Annual Conference.
Over the next three years I continued the journey to ordination. I was assigned a Covenant or Residency Group. This group provided accountability and support as I adjusted to life in full time Christian service. Over the past year I have been preparing to go before the Board of Ordained Ministry for Full Connection interviews.
At the Full Connection interviews the Board of Ordained Ministry, a group of clergy and laity from across the Annual Conference, will review the paperwork I have been working on for the last eight months. The Board will ask me questions about Theology and Doctrine, Practice of Ministry, and Called and Disciplined Life. In particular the Board will consider and examine my effectiveness in ministry.
This interview will take place during the afternoon of April 11, 2011. The Board will make one of three decisions. The Board approve me for ordination. The Board might see a need for me to work some issues out and come before them next year. The Board could possibly say, “Hugh we believe God is working in your life, but we discern that it isn’t within the United Methodist Church.”
The decision that will be made on April 11 will be final. Like I said this is going to be an important mile marker on a very long journey. I have been officially following God’s call and claim on my life since 2002. For nearly 10 years I have been trying to be obedient to what I believe God is calling me to do. Will you pray for me and the Board of Ordained Ministry on April 11? Over April 10, 11, and 12 the Board will be interviewing nearly three dozen candidates. Each candidate has been on a similar journey. Each candidate and each board member will be grateful for your prayers. I know I will be.

The Lesson of the Buttercup

Spring time is busting out all over. Almost over night trees are budding and in bloom, dead grass is green again, and flowers are blooming in strange places. I have a kind affection for yellow buttercups that bloom in random locations. I often wonder how those flowers got there.
In the countryside there are usually one of two reasons why a buttercup is blooming in the middle of a field. First, it could be a reminder each year of the old house that once stood there long ago. The house might be gone by momma's flower bed still blooms. Second, an animal could have ate the flower and pooped the bulb out in the middle of the field.
It doesn't matter how it got there, but the buttercup blooming in the middle of the field does teach those who choose to look at it a lesson. It doesn't matter if you were planted there or you landed there after a series of strange events you got to bloom where you are planted!