The First Sunday in the Season of DRAFT
by Anonymous
Someone recently commented on this blog asking about the draft (a.k.a. assignment) and the call process that MDiv seniors face. As the token senior writer on this blog, I suppose I’m somewhat equipped to share what the assignment process is all about.
I will shamelessly admit that I don’t totally understand assignment. Chaos and confusion are all part of the fun on campus as seniors overanalyze and pray fervently about the future. The diaspora involves a lot of paperwork and bits of comprehension clouded by legendary horror stories about where former students have been sent or who fell through the cracks of the system.
In truth, the process is only as scary as we make it. First call is a crap shoot, but that crap can become the necessary fertilizer for a future in ministry if we trust God, buck up and remember that we’re called to serve the whole church. If you ask your professors or pastors where they served, you are likely to hear about adventures and random detours that made them who they are today.
I applied for a restriction to the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Synods because my fiancé needs to finish his Masters program at the University of Minnesota before we leave the Twin Cities. Official restrictions to the cities are rare because they use up draft picks that also include the Dakotas and elsewhere in Minnesota. My request was not granted, along with a majority of applicants. We were given a few days to decide whether we wanted to go into the regular assignment process anyway, but few changed their minds. (Lifting my request for a restriction would likely mean a long distance or commuter marriage and that is not an option I’m willing to entertain. I know myself and I wouldn’t be truly serving a congregation or my marriage if I were constantly driving back and forth between the two – especially when I would be a beginner at both. No thanks, early burnout.)
In February the bishops will meet to draft students to each geographical region and my classmates will know more about where they are headed. Later this spring they will receive word about their new home synod and meet the bishop. While part of me grieves that I will not be able to take part in these rites and rituals of senior year, I’m excited for my classmates and those who will be pastors in mere months.
Spring semester without a restriction and the assignment process will be strange. God has prepared me with enthusiasm and passion for ordained ministry and waiting seems impossible. Still, I can smell the useful fertilizer in this crappy situation. I entered seminary with an outer call – other people telling me about my gifts and nudging me to ministry. On internship my outer call found harmony with an inner call that embraced the pastoral identity and God’s plan for my vocation. Now my inner call has a chance to flex her muscles, reminding me daily that I am absolutely called to pastoral ministry. Whether I’m ordained now or later and serve here or there, I sincerely trust that God has good things in store for those of us prayerfully opening synodical envelopes of destiny this spring.
I’m grieving and growing, but soon I’ll grow tired of my own dramatic response and start looking around. This process is not about me, but the hundreds of churches nationwide in need of pastors. I refuse to be manipulative or entirely desperate for a call because I want serve where I’m truly needed and useful, not where I can convince someone to take me in. I’m not disappointed because I want to secure a call in the Twin Cities, but because I can’t wait to be a pastor. That passion is a blessing in itself. Today I don’t feel like I have much freedom or many options, but there is plenty of time to start seeing things differently. The Holy Spirit will be blowing through my life and call this spring regardless of assignment.
I've had a week to reflect since my own envelope of destiny, so don't be fooled by the rose colored glasses I'm wearing. I’m trying to listen. I’m trying to be patient. But if you tell me to listen and be patient, I might explode. :)
I will shamelessly admit that I don’t totally understand assignment. Chaos and confusion are all part of the fun on campus as seniors overanalyze and pray fervently about the future. The diaspora involves a lot of paperwork and bits of comprehension clouded by legendary horror stories about where former students have been sent or who fell through the cracks of the system.
In truth, the process is only as scary as we make it. First call is a crap shoot, but that crap can become the necessary fertilizer for a future in ministry if we trust God, buck up and remember that we’re called to serve the whole church. If you ask your professors or pastors where they served, you are likely to hear about adventures and random detours that made them who they are today.
I applied for a restriction to the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Synods because my fiancé needs to finish his Masters program at the University of Minnesota before we leave the Twin Cities. Official restrictions to the cities are rare because they use up draft picks that also include the Dakotas and elsewhere in Minnesota. My request was not granted, along with a majority of applicants. We were given a few days to decide whether we wanted to go into the regular assignment process anyway, but few changed their minds. (Lifting my request for a restriction would likely mean a long distance or commuter marriage and that is not an option I’m willing to entertain. I know myself and I wouldn’t be truly serving a congregation or my marriage if I were constantly driving back and forth between the two – especially when I would be a beginner at both. No thanks, early burnout.)
In February the bishops will meet to draft students to each geographical region and my classmates will know more about where they are headed. Later this spring they will receive word about their new home synod and meet the bishop. While part of me grieves that I will not be able to take part in these rites and rituals of senior year, I’m excited for my classmates and those who will be pastors in mere months.
Spring semester without a restriction and the assignment process will be strange. God has prepared me with enthusiasm and passion for ordained ministry and waiting seems impossible. Still, I can smell the useful fertilizer in this crappy situation. I entered seminary with an outer call – other people telling me about my gifts and nudging me to ministry. On internship my outer call found harmony with an inner call that embraced the pastoral identity and God’s plan for my vocation. Now my inner call has a chance to flex her muscles, reminding me daily that I am absolutely called to pastoral ministry. Whether I’m ordained now or later and serve here or there, I sincerely trust that God has good things in store for those of us prayerfully opening synodical envelopes of destiny this spring.
I’m grieving and growing, but soon I’ll grow tired of my own dramatic response and start looking around. This process is not about me, but the hundreds of churches nationwide in need of pastors. I refuse to be manipulative or entirely desperate for a call because I want serve where I’m truly needed and useful, not where I can convince someone to take me in. I’m not disappointed because I want to secure a call in the Twin Cities, but because I can’t wait to be a pastor. That passion is a blessing in itself. Today I don’t feel like I have much freedom or many options, but there is plenty of time to start seeing things differently. The Holy Spirit will be blowing through my life and call this spring regardless of assignment.
I've had a week to reflect since my own envelope of destiny, so don't be fooled by the rose colored glasses I'm wearing. I’m trying to listen. I’m trying to be patient. But if you tell me to listen and be patient, I might explode. :)
posted by Anonymous at 9:33 AM
4 Comments:
"First call is a crap shoot, but that crap can become the necessary fertilizer for a future in ministry if we trust God, buck up and remember that we’re called to serve the whole church."
Brilliant sentence! Blessings to you. Thanking God for your gifts to the church. Your self awareness is such a gift--you will be such a mature and wise pastor.
Agreed with anonymous above. Sometimes I think the Spirit works in spite of the process - we get placed where we can give of ourselves in ministry to others, even though we never thought we could survive where we were sent.
And sometimes it's just a period in the desert. And that's okay, too - I seem to remember some old church guys who learned a lot from their time in the desert.
You and all the seniors are in the church's prayers.
Mange Takk to both of you - thanks for your support and prayers for our time in the desert this spring. I will continue to make posts with updates about my process and the vibe from seniors on campus. Blessings!
Nice post. Thanks.
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