Below I will list ten statements that I think are true about my ministry. Depending where you are in your journey and vocation, your list will have different emphasis. You can look at my list as a sample for a person who has spent 40 years in the ministry. The value of your doing your list is that it is a way to reflect on your call and the patterns that have been present.
1. My ministry has always involved both interfaith and ecumenical relationships.
2. In both sermons and activities, my ministry has always been concerned about justice and mercy.
3. I enjoy that my faith has always been an open ended journey in which I continue to learn and be surprised.
4. Central to my faith is that God is sovereign and therefore no matter what happens, my first question is where is God and what is God saying to me through this experience.
5. I enjoy and have learned a lot through teaching the faith to others.
6. Listening deeply has been a key to the strength of my ministry. The other person, no matter how different, always has something to say to me.
7. Everyone has value in God’s heart.
8. Scripture is central to my understanding of my journey and my ministry.
9. God knew what God was doing when God chose to establish and work through the church with all its human limitations.
10. I have always felt the call of God in my life, even as the circumstances changed. That has been a source of strength and dignity for me.
That’s my list. After you have made your list, ask yourself what the patterns and and dynamics are that stand out for you. There might be value in sharing it with a trusted colleague to deepen your reflection. Perhaps that colleague could make his or her own list ahead of time and it would be a time of mutual reflection.
