For the last two years with a Rev. in front of my name. On internship I was occasionally called Pastor Josh, but during this stay at Trinity that has been my name most of the time. What does that mean? Did I earn that title when I was ordained two years ago? Is it going to be a part of my name for the rest of my life? I don’t know for sure, but I think of it more as something I stepped into a little more each day and week I spent at Trinity. Or maybe this experience at Trinity just helped me understand what the title meant a little more.
We are all ministers. Martin Luther coined the phrase “the priesthood of all believers” about 500 years ago, but we often forget this central, or rather decentralizing, component of our faith. By understanding every vocation as equally pleasing in the eyes of God, Luther democratized a ministry that had separated people into categories and put distance between a priest and their flock. This distance often led to an understanding that clergy were holier and closer to God because of their special calling. But Luther changed that Catholic understanding by holding up pastoral ministry as set apart, but not better than any other calling within the body of Christ.
So what does it mean to be a pastor? What did my time at Trinity teach me about that? Was I transitioning into something that was radically different than my calling as a Christian, or was it an extension of that calling? For me, being a pastor has meant being in a great position to invite people into this powerful story of Jesus Christ and God’s love for us again and again. And I’d like to think I lived out that opportunity to preach the gospel here at Trinity in many ways…some obvious ways, like leading worship and preaching from behind a pulpit (a really big pulpit!), and some not so obvious ones. Those are the ones I will probably remember the most. I have a feeling those memories will come back to me the rest of my life, because they represent such intimate connections with the lives of people here in this community.
I will remember visiting people in the hospital, counseling families after a death or accident, and sharing tears. I will remember scrambling during the flood trying to figure out who to call and what to do, before accepting that some days as a pastor you fill sand bags. I will look back with a smile when I think of the parking lot campfire with college students from different camp staffs leading songs together and making smores. I’ll remember camping in the Boundary Waters with guys from the young adult group, the storms and the sunshine, and the nicknames we came up with for each other. I will remember seeing Stephanie and Nate, through the miracle of technology, looking down at church members, “live” on the big screen, answering questions and talking about their lives as missionaries in
A speaker at one of our TiM events said that what makes being a pastor unique is that we are invited into other people lives in a way that no one else is. That is truly the privilege that rises to the top of all these experiences. I am a pastor because I was called to be a pastor by all of you at Trinity—to walk with you and be invited into your lives in a unique way. I want to thank you for that privilege and these two years as a part of your ministry in this unique place. As I continue to transition into new ministries I pray that each of you might find your role here as part of the priesthood of all believers in a new way, because that is also a unique and special call for each of you. It is those calls that make this church what it is and it is those calls that will take this church where God wants it to go next! Blessings on that continuing transition into new ministries and new callings that help us follow the one who has been so faithful to us through all our transitions!
