Onward
25/08/12 05:23
There have been many different ways of analyzing the Bible over the centuries. People have read the book over and over and searched for meanings that are deeper than the surface. Some have analyzed the use of language and compared it with other literature in order to discover patterns of history and meanings commonly associated with terms in particular times and places. Some have looked to other sources of historical information, comparing the discoveries of archeology and the events recorded in the Bible. Some have become experts in institutional traditions and structures, looking to see how the church has applied the Bible to its mission and work over the centuries. Some have prayed the Bible, using it as a structure for devotional life and spiritual growth.
Over the years there have been some methods of studying the Bible that have been more popular in certain times than in others. One technique that is not as popular in contemporary times as it was in previous centuries is the study of numerology. Essentially this study was an analysis of all of the numbers in the Bible and a search for mathematical patterns. There are plenty of numbers in the Bible: 7 days of creation, 40 days of the flood and 40 days of temptation in the wilderness for Jesus. The concept of jubilee is based on a 50-year cycle that is defined in terms of seven. Seven times seven is 49 and the following year is 50. Numerologists have found lots of other significant numbers and patterns in the Bible. Some of their conclusions are, frankly, stretches of the imagination and not all are helpful to the understanding of the sacred texts.
There are times, however, when it is at least entertaining to think in terms of numbers. Something about this particular August has gotten me to thinking about numbers. Because we began our first call to the professional ministry in August and we began our call to this particular congregation in August, the month seems to be a time of thinking about anniversaries.
The number for us this year is 17. We have completed 17 years of service as pastors and teachers of 1st Congregational United Church of Christ in Rapid City, South Dakota. That number fits into a kind of a pattern in my life. For Susan and me, it represents half of our careers as ministers. We have served as ministers for 34 years: 7 years in Hettinger and Reeder, North Dakota; 10 years in Boise and now 17 years in Rapid City. 17 years is also the number of years that I lived in the home of my parents growing up. If you add those years up, you get 51, which leaves four years of college and four years of graduate school. That is my life so far.
Another way of looking at the numbers is that I start to explore new territory with the next year of my life. I’ve never before lived in the same home for more than 17 years. Each year for the past five years, I have set a new record for length of service as pastor of this congregation. Prior to my pastorate, the longest that a single pastor had served this congregation was 12 years. Each year that we continue our shared ministry is a new adventure for us both. Covering new ground and exploring new dimensions of ministry has been a way of life for us for all of those seventeen years, really, because we have together faced new circumstances and new challenges each year of our time together.
I don’t think that there are any hidden meanings in the numbers of my life. The length of time that I have served as pastor of this congregation is a testament to the power of faithfulness. The congregation pledged, at our installation, to walk with us in a journey of faith. They have been faithful to those promises, even though the congregation has changed significantly over the years. So many of the people who were a part of the congregation 17 years ago are no longer with us! So many new people have come into the congregation over those years! The church is not the same church that we were called to serve in 1995.
Of course we have changed, too. I’d like to think that I have, in some ways at least, matured. I’d like to think that I am a better pastor than I was when I was called to this congregation. But humility requires that I admit that part of the length of the pastorate is just stubbornness. Older isn’t always wiser. Longer isn’t always better. Sometimes things just go on and on because of inertia – no one has the energy to make the change. The longevity of the pastorate might be more of a statement about stubbornness than it is about competency.
Still, the occasion is worthy of some reflection. A bit of simple math points out that change is coming. In 17 more years I will be 75 years old – well beyond the span of the working career of most people. It is highly unlikely that I will be serving this congregation in the same capacity 17 years from now. A new team of pastors will have come along to replace those of us who are currently serving. There will be new ideas, new directions and new possibilities revealed as the changes occur.
Part of the agenda for the coming years, for us and for the congregation, is going to be preparation for the changes that are coming. In order to have a successful transition of leadership, the congregation is going to have to learn to be flexible with changes in leadership style. In order for the future to unfold, we will need to learn to be less directive in the congregation’s decisions, allowing other personalities to shine and other leaders to emerge. Together we and the congregation will need to become open to the movement of the Holy Spirit as we seek to be faithful to God’s call.
Adding up the numbers of the past is an interesting adventure, but the truth is that in the church the future is always calling. We declare that God is still speaking and indeed it is true. God is calling this congregation into a new future with new ministries yet to be revealed. The adventure is worthy of the next few years of our lives and certainly much bigger than the span of any lifetime.
Onward!