Come and See

To describe myself as "inquisitive" is an understatement. I vividly remember sitting on my mother's bed as a small child, while she was getting ready for work, and would ask question after question. However, this interrogation did not only happen in the morning; it also happened while we were driving or (coincidentally) when it was time for bed. And my mother wasn't the only victim to my questions; as I grew older, my friends, teachers, mentors, other family members, even strangers were put through the ringer of my endless inquires about any and all subjects. I believe this natural tendency to ask a lot of questions is because I have always been eager to learn new things and about other people (but more on that in another post). However, I find that by asking one question, it usually leads to more follow up questions. 

One of my favorite "Jesus stories" is the calling of the first disciples. It is so simple! The first chapter of John's Gospel explains that Jesus was minding his own business and his cousin, John the Baptist, points out Jesus to two of his friends exclaiming, "Look here is the Lamb of God!" The two friends immediately had to know more, so they followed Jesus. I imagine that after awhile Jesus realized that he had some friendly stalkers and turned around to ask what the two were looking for? The two acknowledged that they wanted to learn from Jesus and asked where he was staying. Instead of answering, Jesus simply says "Come and see." The two spent the day with Jesus, and the day after, and the day after, and...you get the point. Jesus continued to gain a following much in the same, simple manner with the phrase "Follow me" or by word of mouth because people were convinced that others just had to "come and see" for themselves. The disciples continued to ask Jesus questions, but they were also able to see firsthand the answers to some of their inquires simply by being with Jesus.

When it was announced that I was being reappointed by Bishop Palmer as a Resident Pastor at Faith Community United Methodist Church, it was my turn to answer questions...and of course keep a running list of my own. Seriously, I had a list! Being a relatively new initiative of the West Ohio Conference, people were not familiar with what this entailed or meant. I even had to assure a friend that I was not going to be performing brain surgery like a medical resident, and that if there was a medical emergency, they should still be sure to call a doctor. The best way I've learned to describe the Residency program is that it allows young clergy to "come and see" what it means to lead a larger congregation. During the next two years, I have the unique opportunity to learn from (and ask a lot of question of) the people of Faith Community United Methodist Church as they work to mentor and teach me the ropes of what it means to be a senior pastor.

So while my inquisitive nature will lend itself well to this learning process and experience, I believe it will simply be the act of being with others throughout this time that will more effectively answer my questions. My hope is that this blog will allow others to "come and see" what it is like to be a young clergy, what is going on in the life of the church, and learn more about the Resident program as I navigate life and ministry at Faith Community.