It was announced on March 14, 2010, that Bishop Coyner has appointed me to serve as pastor of Congress Street United Methodist Church effective July 1. I find myself today very much looking forward to the opportunity to begin this phase of my ministry with you. I, most of all, look forward to knowing you. As I anticipate the start of our time together, I appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself to you.
My hometown is nearby Attica. Short of being appointed to the Attica Church, moving to Lafayette is very much a homecoming for me. I was born at Home Hospital and spent much of my childhood and youth in Lafayette for medical appointments, restaurants, movies, orthodontist and numerous school events. Lafayette always seemed to be an extension of “home” for me.
After graduating from Attica High School, I began my undergraduate degree at DePauw University. Not knowing what was in store for me during my DePauw years, I transferred my church membership to the campus United Methodist church in Greencastle. During my final year of college, I found my life moving in the direction of Ordained Ministry. By the time I graduated I had started the candidacy process toward ordination in The United Methodist Church.
During the past eleven years I completed seminary at Christian Theological Seminary, was ordained an Elder in the first ordination class of the new Indiana Conference and served the Church in various ministerial settings. I have been a pastor on staff for youth and young adult ministries, a student pastor to a rural congregation and an associate pastor. At the present time I serve as Associate Pastor at Bradley United Methodist Church in Greenfield. In addition to local church ministry I have served on a college campus in an outreach program to students through campus ministry and as Chaplain at one of our United Methodist Retirement Communities.
My deepest passion in ministry is seeking innovative ways of reaching out to all God’s creation in quest of living out my favorite scripture, “…what does God require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
The foundation for my passion is found in the name I use for myself: Muddling Paradox. (Some of you may have already discovered some of the material I have on the internet through the marvels of Google.) “Muddling Paradox” best explains for me my understanding of our journey into the Mystery of God through Jesus of Nazareth. I prefer Muddling – more abstract and usually more practical – to something concrete and, while practical, does not really enhance the beauty of life in this world.
I understand the Christian faith journey as one in which we embrace the totality of life. We each have moments of sunshine…moments of rain…moments of joy…and moments of pain. However, when we pay attention to our moments we discover a deeper truth. There is in the midst of all our life experiences a perpetual fog that is the Mystery of God. Lest we put ourselves in the place of God, Christianity is about figuring out which way to muddle in the midst of the fog of God’s mystery. A paradox is when an apparently true statement leads to a contradiction or a situation that defies logic or intuition. Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, “If you have a place where everyone is Christian, then it is a place where no one is Christian.”
What all of this means for me in my spiritual Journey with Jesus – and how this shapes my ministry – is that I find myself often searching, and supporting others’ searching, the questions of life and faith. Beyond that, I believe the searching of questions should lead to action through which we discover, layer by layer, that the Mystery of God serves a very practical purpose: the faithful living of our lives after the example of Jesus. As we seek understanding and as we journey together, I will not be a pastor who will give you all the answers. I will seek to be a pastor who will search for the answers with you. I will not be a pastor who will do the work of the Church for you. I will seek to be a pastor who will do the work of the Church with you. I invite you to “muddle” with me as we discover what the Mystery of God is about to lead us to do together.
Being a Christian, being a community of faith, can be a most difficult thing. But being those things is the reason for our existence as a community. While I believe that muddling is necessary and paradox happens, it is when we live out our “being” – as understood through Jesus – that the Mystery of God becomes something we can understand and serves something very practical for our lives and our spiritual journeys. Living out our being simply means doing the faith. It is in doing the faith that we discover the joy of being followers of Jesus. It is in doing the faith that we better understand the Mystery of God through practical experience. It is in doing the faith that we embrace life with God in Jesus in ways that enrich our journey in remarkable ways.
In the months to come you and I have much to do. We will say our respective good-byes and prepare ourselves for a new and vibrant ministry in the heart of Lafayette. The mystery of the unfolding of life has brought us together – its purpose not yet revealed. Yet, I am experiencing a sense of excitement and I find myself today eager to meet you. I want to hear your stories. I will tell you more of mine. Let us prepare to share with one another what motivates us and together search for a common vision for Congress Street United Methodist Church. This is the journey we are about to undertake together. God is with us. Let us discover what that means in this new chapter about to be written.
I look forward to beginning our journey together this summer.
