A rediscovered treasure ...

This article was one I wrote in 2000 when I was looking for a call. This past week, a friend here in Minnedosa found it and suggested that I should share it on my blogs ... I reread it, and it helped me rememeber what it is that is important to me in my life and ministry.

It was published in the fall 2001 edition of the now defunct publication PMC (Practise of Ministry in Canada). On the suggestion of the friend, I dug out a copy and re-read it ... As I read it, I couldn't help but consider that many of the stanzas here are associated with real people ... for example, the baby discovering her hand is now a wonderful almost 7 year old, the three year old living the Holy Wow is a delightful 9 year old, and the Lego loving 5 year old is still a lego loving 11 year old ... Time has passed, but the reasons I enjoy and live in ministry remain ... It's all about the JOY:

I’m currently in ministry in Minnedosa Manitoba (population bout 3200). Minnedosa is a small rural community halfway between Brandon and Riding Mountain National Park on the Yellowhead Highway. The congregation has about 390 families under pastoral care with an active roll of about 150 families.
Ordained in 1993, I found myself searching for a call in the spring of 2000. As part of the process of applying and interviewing for a call, I was asked by a search committee to summarize my theology of ministry.
The result was something that I continue to feel embraces what my ministry has been about since my student days in Ontario and as a minister to the Nuxalk First Nations people in Bella Coola B.C. where the people live out their joy despite real and challenging social problems throughout the community, as well as in community based ministry in the Lower Mainland of B.C.
In Minnedosa, I have found a community that not only embraces the notion of joy, but has been living it out for many years. Deeply involved in the rural crisis gripping much of the prairie region, the people of Minnedosa also have a deep commitment to the Canadian Food Grains Bank, helping those in need through a church sponsored Food Cupboard, numerous community programmes, and the use of Fair Trade products.
On the personal side, I am the husband and partner to Mag, a registered nurse, the father to Sam, Hannah and Rebekkah, who along with two dogs, and two cats have called Minnedosa home for a little over a year.
In the last year, I have encountered again and again, God’s infinite joy through the community, my co-workers, and my family. When I wrote this, joy was a distant goal, but since then a joyous community has made it an ever present reality.

My Theology of Ministry:
I would describe my theology of ministry in one simple word: JOY.
The definition of Joy in a dictionary refers to great happiness, or a source of great delight, but I want to be clear: I do not see joy as pasting on a happy face and pretending that everything is lovely. To me, JOY is embracing life in its fullness and proclaiming with certainty that we are never separated from God’s love.
Among many things:
Joy is being a child of God.

Joy is being a husband and a dad.

Joy is being welcomed into the most intimate moments of life and being asked to pray, of just be present with family and friends.

Joy is the opportunity to hold someone’s hand in a moment of tragedy.

Joy is holding a new born baby, or baptizing an adopted child.

Joy is weeping with the hurting and laughing with a Bible Study group.

Joy is watching a baby discover, for the third time today, her hand.

Joy is seeing the world through the Holy Wow of a three year old child, who is discovering what a wonder creation is.

Joy is building Lego sets with a five year old, and wiping away his tears when he scrapes his knee falling off a bike.

Joy is crying over injustice and rejoicing that we have a community that truly cares about us.

Joy is having tea with an elder who shares her memories of a world seven decades away.

Joy is having a pop with a group of teens who think everything is “cool” or “awesome.”

Joy is struggling to find our way, and enjoying the journey as much as the destination.

Joy is leading a worship service erupting with the noise of children and quiet with the reflective wisdom of seniors.

Joy is the quiet presence of the cognitively impaired in a care home.

Joy is knowing that sometimes life just isn’t fair.

Joy is the enthusiasm of welcoming in the visitor or the newcomer.

Joy is asking the tough questions and sometimes agreeing only to disagree, but knowing that we love each other anyway.

Joy is sharing the Gospel with the help of my puppet friends.

Joy is love eternal and everlasting.

Joy is knowing God’s love and being able to share it every day in some little way.

Joy is breaking bread and sharing the cup, then having a cup of coffee and a good chat afterwards.

Joy is planning a memorial service of a cancer victim, and sharing laughter and tears as a life is celebrated.

Joy is trusting one another enough to share life’s joys and sorrows, knowing that together we share God’s love.

Joy is embracing the homeless.

Joy is loving the unlovable.

Joy is praying for the sick and visiting the hospitalized.

Joy is making worship relevant, exciting and fun.

Joy is communication and community.

Joy is facing controversy and conflict and journeying to reflection, resolution and healing.

Joy is the ministry of all of God’s people.

Joy is being a servant of God journeying with God’s children and sharing the ups and downs of everyday life with openness, with honesty, and most of all with love.

Joy is making a difference in one life everyday.

Joy is the church, the children of God in action.

Joy is the journey of faith through all the twists and turns of life.

I could go on. But suffice to say, to me the theology of ministry is about doing, not taking. It is about using the gifts and talents which God provides to care for those around us and to welcome in all of God’s children.
A friend recently described my approach to ministry as “hospitality” and observed that I move to the periphery and work very hard to draw the circle in. He may be right. I value the outreach of the church, but sometimes we need to look close by and embrace those who are hurting right beside us in the pews, and that may be the toughest challenge we face, but it is a challenge I embrace and value.
To me, ministry is about action. It is doing, not theorizing. I’m not afraid of facing issues head-on, but at the end of the day, we must, as God’s children, be able to break bread and share the cup in faith, and if conflict prevents this, then we have to roll up our sleeves and work. I am not afraid of that.
It is not easy to summarize my theology of ministry on a couple of pieces of paper. Instead I am most comfortable going out into the world and living out my faith and ministry with JOY.
My understanding of ministry is living out the word JOY in all its infinite fullness.