It’s official, I (Brian) just left the District Committee Board of Ordained Ministry (United Methodist) and I am officially a certified candidate. You cannot even begin to imagine how exciting this if for me! For those of you familiar with the UM process you understand how much blood, sweat, and tears have brought me this far! Literally, I have experienced all three in the process. The blood was given in a health physical. For those not as familiar with “the process”, allow me to share.
The process to ordination as a UM pastor is quite long and tedious. The UM church takes seriously those whom will be placed as pastors in their congregations. I am thankful for the process and its many hurdles because it has reaffirmed my calling to ministry, and connected me with a group who really cares about God’s work in my life. Over the past year I have spent a good deal of time working with a mentor, reading and reflecting on ordained ministry, taking psychological tests, and more. All this is on top of my work in seminary. By reaching this level, the board recognized my call and gifts (from God) while setting me on a track to continue to grow. The next steps are to begin working on my paperwork for the state level ordination, which will come after graduation. This will basically be a thesis, as the total page count should be in the 90s.
I still have a ways to go, but feel very affirmed in the journey. I was worried the committee would be a bunch of grouchy old preachers who were looking to trip me up on theology and question my intentions. But I knew the people of the Florida Conference would not be this way. I found a group of warm individuals who wanted to see me succeed. They were grace-filled, encouraging, and loved me enough to share some perceived areas for continued growth over the next year.
The Methodist church may not be perfect, but they are solid in the process of ordaining their ministers and pastors. I have some many people to thank for their help and work in my life to walk with me to this point. However, I have to mention my wife, Melanie. She has been a constant support when it would have been easier to walk away from the frustrations of the process. God has, and is still, using her in many ways to speak His truth, encouragement, and guidance into my life. God sure made a good match here. :)
October News
With another Preview Weekend behind me I feel I can now re-focus on this semester and focus in the next couple weeks. First, I (Brian) felt compelled to blog.
- Surfing Lesson: If you remember back to a blog around May, Melanie purchased me surfing lessons at Ron Jon in Cocoa Beach. We had not had a chance to use them until we carved our some time last weekend. The weather could not have been more perfect. Flordia was in a heat wave so it was just like summer again. I had surfed a few times in Virginia Beach, but never taken any formal classes. I was given a surfboard by a friend several years a ago. It was a 5'3" stunt board. The instructor said it was the worst possible board to learn on. We used an 8' longboard to start with. Much easier to get up on and balance. I was able to catch several waves in the hour. If you want a great workout, try surfing, my arms were burning for days! I hope to pick up surfing as a hobby. Melanie loves to lay out on the beach, and I enjoyed riding the waves.
- Current Courses: I am taking three classes (8 hours) this semester. I tricked myself. You see, Asbury considers 9 hours to be a full time load. I know I cannot do full time work and school. So I said, 8 hours is still part time. Well, turns out my Mentored Ministry class is only 2 hours, but workload is considered 3 hours. Despite the heavy workload, I am really enjoying all my classes. The Mentored Ministry class has me interning with our church, Aloma UMC and mentoring with our pastor, Dr. Wayne Williams. The class works like the labs we used to have to do in science. I have spent the last several years doing a lot of theory, now I get to "mix some chemicals" in the church. My mentor has been especially helpful and encouraging. I am also taking Basic Christian Doctrine with Thomas Buchan. It's a systematic theology class which touches on a broad spectrum of concepts. My last class is Foundations of Campus Ministry. My call to ministry has always danced around the idea of Campus Ministry. However, I just assumed it would fade in time. The problem, is the desire to work with young adults keeps growing stronger. 18-25ish seems to be the dark ages in development. Lots of work on children and adolescents, and a good deal of information on adulthood. However, we seem content to send our adolescents to college and hope they return to the church when have a kid or get married. This is not good enough. There is no need to be afraid of the "age of exploration." I don't intend to quell the inquisitiveness of college students, but be a voice interested in their spiritual formation through these years. I am excited to see what shakes out come graduation.
- JohnsonBrian.com: I started this blog more for myself than anything else. I am experimenting this semester with a form of notetaking/journaling. It will consist of quotes, short blogs, interesting tidbits, and more. I also think this will free up this site (melaniebrian.com) to be our regular life and adventure blog. So please, if your interested, bookmark both sites.
September Updates
Wow! So much has happened since we last bogged back in August! The picture above is Brian and I celebrating my 28th Birthday last month. We went out with some friends to the Japaneses Steak House I really like. The week before that (Labor Day) we moved into our new house, and only two weeks before that I started my new job at Pershing Elementary School as the Director for ASP, Inc.This past weekend we spent in Savannah with all of my family for Lucinda's wedding! She and Chip finally tied the knot. We had a great time with everyone and enjoyed hanging out and dancing together. It was a fast weekend, yet very relaxing and enjoyable. There will be more pictures to come of the wedding and our new house.
It is hard to believe it is already October. Brian is ridiculously busy with school and recruiting. He is taking a full load, plus doing his mentored ministry. He just finished his paperwork for candiacy and now we wait until the end of October when he goes before the board. Keep him in your prayers as I am sure his nerves will kick in. We just pray that everything works out as it should.
We won't be having an official house warming party, but instead will have a few people over for a Halloween party.... I am hoping I will finish and have everything set up in the house by then. We have come along ways!
Check back for pictures in the next couple of days. I should have some posted soon!
Writing a New Psalm
Have you ever noticed the vast difference from one psalm to the next? The writers go from up to down, and everywhere in between. From shouts of praise to cries of abandonment. I always accepted the order without further thought. However, there is a great truth in this seemingly unstructured group.
Recently, Melanie and I have grown increasingly frustrated with situations in life. We felt a call to locate to Orlando from Wilmore, KY sometime around the new year of 2008. We prayed, consulted with friends and family, and finally made the move last summer. We understood certain elements of the move. We would live and work at the RM House, I would attend classes at the Orlando campus of Asbury, and Melanie could pursue a career in a more fertile job market. We never expected God to make everything work out perfect, but we did expect Him to continue to work in our lives. Fast forward a year later, summer 09. We are extremely frustrated with a range of circumstance in our lives which are just not right. I would rather not go into all the details, except to say we felt let down by God and alone in our struggles. Specially, we felt trapped spiritually and unable to connect with other Christians through church or small groups. Believe me, we tried! Sunday, a few weeks ago, after another in a series of letdowns, I was finally done. I was done trying to pretend by putting on a happy face when inside I was hurting. What followed was a 20-minute rant about everything that was going wrong. I really felt God had opened doors for us to come to Orlando, and when we got here, things just started falling apart. We were acting as faithfully as we knew how. Was He just not living up to his end of the deal? I felt relieved after I vented all my frustration with God. I guess I expected God might be offended, hurt, or just be done with me too. Most people would be done with me after my little “expression of emotion.”
The successive days unfolded a little different that I anticipated. For some reason I actually felt closer to God. I shared this confusing experience with my small group. They pointed out God was not upset with me at all. In fact, He liked that I finally stopped pretending everything in life was fine, when it really was not. My venting was an honest expression of how I was really feeling. God saw our hurt I was trying to cover over. One of the guys said my story sounded a lot like the psalms. The interesting thing about the collection is how a psalm of praise can exist next to a psalm that says, “God where are you when I need you?” The beauty of the psalms is they express raw human emotion. Emotion, which at times, is upset with God. But, God is not offended or pushed off by our frustration. The book would be quite different if all we ever heard was moaning and complaining. But, for every psalm of frustration, there is a psalm of response. As the writers pour out their hearts to God, He turns around and writes a psalm back to his people. An example:
Honest Prayer: Psalm 13:1-2
Long enough, God— you've ignored me long enough.
I've looked at the back of your head long enough. Long enough
I've carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies have looked down their noses at me.
In Light of God’s Response: Psalm 30:1-3
I give you all the credit, GOD—
you got me out of that mess, you didn't let my foes gloat.
GOD, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together.
GOD, you pulled me out of the grave,
gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.
Psalm 30 pictures God as one acting on the behalf of those who cry out to Him. I am not implying God always makes things perfect in this life. But we look to Him to redeem, bring something good out of, the worst of situations. Situations, which may not seem bad to outsiders, but are quite overwhelming to us. It seems God is fine with our deepest emotions. He already knows we how we feel, why not be honest with ourselves?
Pour our your heart to the Lord, honest and raw.
Listen for His psalm of response.
*All scriptures are from The Message Bible
Recently, Melanie and I have grown increasingly frustrated with situations in life. We felt a call to locate to Orlando from Wilmore, KY sometime around the new year of 2008. We prayed, consulted with friends and family, and finally made the move last summer. We understood certain elements of the move. We would live and work at the RM House, I would attend classes at the Orlando campus of Asbury, and Melanie could pursue a career in a more fertile job market. We never expected God to make everything work out perfect, but we did expect Him to continue to work in our lives. Fast forward a year later, summer 09. We are extremely frustrated with a range of circumstance in our lives which are just not right. I would rather not go into all the details, except to say we felt let down by God and alone in our struggles. Specially, we felt trapped spiritually and unable to connect with other Christians through church or small groups. Believe me, we tried! Sunday, a few weeks ago, after another in a series of letdowns, I was finally done. I was done trying to pretend by putting on a happy face when inside I was hurting. What followed was a 20-minute rant about everything that was going wrong. I really felt God had opened doors for us to come to Orlando, and when we got here, things just started falling apart. We were acting as faithfully as we knew how. Was He just not living up to his end of the deal? I felt relieved after I vented all my frustration with God. I guess I expected God might be offended, hurt, or just be done with me too. Most people would be done with me after my little “expression of emotion.”
The successive days unfolded a little different that I anticipated. For some reason I actually felt closer to God. I shared this confusing experience with my small group. They pointed out God was not upset with me at all. In fact, He liked that I finally stopped pretending everything in life was fine, when it really was not. My venting was an honest expression of how I was really feeling. God saw our hurt I was trying to cover over. One of the guys said my story sounded a lot like the psalms. The interesting thing about the collection is how a psalm of praise can exist next to a psalm that says, “God where are you when I need you?” The beauty of the psalms is they express raw human emotion. Emotion, which at times, is upset with God. But, God is not offended or pushed off by our frustration. The book would be quite different if all we ever heard was moaning and complaining. But, for every psalm of frustration, there is a psalm of response. As the writers pour out their hearts to God, He turns around and writes a psalm back to his people. An example:
Honest Prayer: Psalm 13:1-2
Long enough, God— you've ignored me long enough.
I've looked at the back of your head long enough. Long enough
I've carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies have looked down their noses at me.
In Light of God’s Response: Psalm 30:1-3
I give you all the credit, GOD—
you got me out of that mess, you didn't let my foes gloat.
GOD, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together.
GOD, you pulled me out of the grave,
gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.
Psalm 30 pictures God as one acting on the behalf of those who cry out to Him. I am not implying God always makes things perfect in this life. But we look to Him to redeem, bring something good out of, the worst of situations. Situations, which may not seem bad to outsiders, but are quite overwhelming to us. It seems God is fine with our deepest emotions. He already knows we how we feel, why not be honest with ourselves?
Pour our your heart to the Lord, honest and raw.
Listen for His psalm of response.
*All scriptures are from The Message Bible
One Seminary in Multiple Locations
I was asked to write a few paragraphs around the topic of Asbury as one seminary in multiple locations. These are my thoughts and observations on the subject and not necessarily an official statement. Enjoy:
One Seminary in Multiple Locations:
A Trinitarian View
A Trinitarian View
As a recruiter for Asbury, I am often asked to speak about the differences and similarities of Asbury’s three campuses. In wrestling with this question I found the concept of God as Trinity to be an effective analogy. Three unique and distinct persons represent our God. Yet, with great mystery, we affirm the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be one, God Almighty. Though each person has and does express themselves differently, they are not divided. Dr. Steve Seamands authored a very helpful book, “Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service” which I find indispensable. He explains the Trinity is in a constant relationship of mutual submission to each other. No one member is greater than the others. The Father, Son, and Spirit each defer to the other as an expression of their equally extravagant love and fellowship.
Asbury Theological Seminary is one entity. Yet we have three expressions; Kentucky, Virtual, and Florida. Each campus holds certain truths, beliefs, and practices which define Asbury overall. We are a seminary in the Wesleyan-Armenian tradition with a shared statement of faith and education mission. However, that commonality is expressed in three unique and distinct ways. Each campus has a personality. The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Spirit, and yet they are all God. Kentucky is not Virtual, and Virtual is not Florida, and yet they are each Asbury.
The necessity of a Trinitarian model means one needs to elaborate on each person to accurately reflect the whole. What I share of each campus will come from personal experience as a student and staff member. I began my Master of Divinity on the Wilmore campus in Feb 2007. After 6 full-time, residential, semesters in Wilmore, my wife and I felt a growing call to Orlando. I transferred to the Orlando campus in the Summer of 2008. I am currently taking classes primarily on the Orlando campus with one to two classes per semester on the Virtual Campus. I truly have an “Asbury Experience” which has been influenced in wonderful ways on each Asbury campus.
The “Kentucky Expression” of Asbury boasts a wealth of resources, tradition, and opportunity for students. My “Asbury Experience” in Wilmore was shaped by professors, chapel, fellow students, and the city itself. My wife and I enjoyed the retreat type setting and the small-town feel. My time in Wilmore allowed me to be shaped by God in all areas of life.
The “Virtual Expression” of Asbury is quite an experience. One serendipity of the campus is the ability to have longer, more in-depth conversations with fellow students. This semester I am taking “John Wesley’s Theology for Today,” and the extensive and informed conversations around the course lecture and readings are simply not possible in the limited class time on campus.
The “Florida Expression” of Asbury allows for classical theological education in a global city. Asbury in Orlando allows students from a wide variety of backgrounds to pursue theological training. I am constantly amazed at the rich diversity of gender, ethnicity, age, and experience present on campus and in the classroom. The campus is truly coming to reflect the world as our parish. There is no doubt that my experience as a student in Orlando is different than my time in Wilmore and the Virtual campus. There is a different feel due to the spectrum of students. It is hard to believe, but I have found close-knit, authentic, community can exist on a commuter campus. Students bond during class, break times, and chapel. The unique aspect of Orlando is at the end of the day, we each return to our life and ministry ready to practice what we have studied. Though my “Asbury Experience” in Orlando is different than Wilmore, I feel Orlando and Virtual to be valid expressions of Asbury Seminary. In no way is the educational component less than what I experienced in Wilmore or Online. My hope as both a student and staff member is for Florida to reach its full potential locally and globally. Asbury’s location in a major metropolitan city presents the opportunity to serve our 2+ million neighbors and an estimated 52 million annual tourists through leadership initiatives, lay-education, social-justice, and conferences. I envision a campus which not only allows the traditional residential/local student to attend seminary, but establishes a hub for people from all over to receive theological education while maintaining their work and ministry in distant locations.
Peter experienced the person of Jesus, Moses the person of the Father, and Phillip, the person of the Spirit in Acts 8:39. And yet we rightly say they each “Experienced God!” The well-known “Asbury Experience” is not a thing located in one expression of Asbury. Instead, students experience Asbury in similar, and different, ways depending on their campus. The experience a student has will vary based on their campus of choice. Studying on all three campuses has only reinforced my belief that there are certain core elements of Asbury Seminary that can and are shared no matter my geophysical location.
