My call to ministry has similarities to my first experience with a high ropes course as a young adult leader nearly 15 years ago. My great fear of heights kept my feet firmly planted on the ground as one risk-taker after another shimmied up the tree to accept the challenge. I was content and quite comfortable in my role as “encourager,” coaxing others on from the safety and security of the solid ground below. Yet in spite of the overwhelming sense of panic and fear that gripped me to think about trying it myself, there was a still small voice deep within me calling and inviting me to step out and do it. After relentless prodding by the group I reluctantly stepped into the harness and cautiously shimmied up the tree. Somehow perched high above the ground desperately clinging to anything I could hold onto I was able to see with more clarity. It was clear that I prefer to be in control and that I tend to choose the pathway to comfort and security. However, as I cautiously eased my grip it also became clear there is greater freedom, life, adventure and potential when learning to trust God by surrendering my control.My journey in ministry began innocently enough as I accepted a three year term on our congregation’s Mission Commission in 1992. I was immediately given the task of being the point person in developing a relationship with our sister church in Puebla, Mexico. Within six months I was making my first of many trips to Puebla. In the following years my world view was challenged, expanded and reshaped by my interaction and relationships with our brothers and sisters from Mexico. I became increasingly dissatisfied with the “me generation” values that influenced my life and I began to more fully open myself to God’s leading and direction. Yet even this new openness did not prepare me for where God was leading.In the fall of 1996 our church leadership began to discuss the idea of sending a family from Franconia to Puebla as a next step in our sister church relationship. Although I felt a sense of God’s call the very first time I heard the idea I resisted by tightening my grip. My excuses for not considering a move to Puebla seemed valid and logical. Neither my wife nor I spoke any Spanish. I lacked training and formal education. I thoroughly enjoyed my occupation and had invested nearly 15 years with the same company. Our stage of life as parents with young children seemed to suggest this just wasn’t the right time. Truth be told, when I honestly allowed myself to process the possibility of pulling up roots from all that was familiar for the uncertainty and unknown of Mexico it seemed more terrifying than the experience with the ropes course several years earlier. Yet at the same time, with familiar irony, there was another voice deep within me encouraging and calling me to loosen my grip.After months of prayer, discernment and seeking counsel we came to believe it was God calling us to let go and set out on a new journey in Mexico. Mexico was a place of growth, learning, exploring and having our gifts affirmed. Our faith was both stretched and strengthened as we learned to minister and be ministered to in a new context. As God graciously transformed our lives we were blessed to see other lives powerfully transformed as well. Many times throughout our eight years in Mexico God would again invite me to surrender my control and more fully trust in God’s grace and goodness.In the fall of 2005 we returned to Franconia for a time of discernment, feeling God had released us from our ministry in Mexico, but not yet knowing what was next. With much prayer and counsel from trusted leaders and our discernment team we accepted our current assignment at Franconia Mennonite Church where I serve as an Associate Pastor with a focus on Mission and Outreach. Today I get excited about ministries like Celebrate Recovery and our Spanish outreach which open doors for the church to share God’s love with our wider community. I’m convinced there are many people outside our church walls who long to know Jesus and desire to be part of a life-changing community of faith. Yet I suspect that these persons too have fears and insecurities that keep them holding tightly to what seems most familiar and comfortable. So I continue to think of myself as an encourager coaxing others on in this journey of faith. However, I too continue to learn as I go. I’m learning that God’s love and God’s path often call me to let go of the comforts and familiarity I seek so that his blessing can flow through me. I’m learning that God is still encouraging me to loosen my grip. But I’m also discovering that in the process there is greater freedom, life and potential that God always meant for us to enjoy.
formational
Stepping on rakes: Reflecting on a journey of adventure
When I was a kid I had an imaginary friend, which embarrassed me later because it seemed weird. Maybe it was, but it got me used to being slightly off, like when I have strange dreams that seem to mean something if I can only figure it out. That was the interior life of a farm boy from western PA. Looking back, it seemed like I was always leaning toward something, though I seldom knew exactly what. Somewhere along the way I got the impression that an imagination is something of a call to ministry, if not a qualification.One evening, waiting for a ride to Bible school, I stepped on a garden rake intentionally to see if what happened in cartoons would also happen in real life. That was not the last time I tried something just to see what would happen. Sometimes the result was painful but usually there was an “aha!” and I always learned something. I kept stepping on rakes through college at Eastern Mennonite and voluntary service (MVS). Fortunately there was often more joy and insight than facial injury. Joanne Brenneman and I met in MVS, married the following summer and moved to Richmond, Va., two weeks later. That too was an adventure – we knew almost no one and thought we might be there for two or three years.What fun to marry someone with a similar sense of adventure, who can walk into a rundown house and imagine what we could do. After a semester pilgrimage to Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary I finished my master’s studies at Union Seminary in Richmond. Joanne spied the rake of medical school, then stepped out.We did not need imaginary friends because we made hundreds in Richmond. I became pastor of First Mennonite, a church that accepts being Anabaptist and adventurous as the same thing. I have had the privilege of assuming an ancient Book with stories of God’s people can somehow enlighten our path, and finding that with imagination, it does.We had not envisioned that our two daughters would grow up with southern accents. After 18 years in Richmond, we looked north and spied a land across the Potomac. Joanne accepted a position as radiologist at Doylestown Hospital, where her father had practiced, and we found a place by the Indian Creek near Harleysville, Pa. This too was adventure. It is fair to say that something in our experience and outlook had us feeling both akin to and at odds with a traditional Mennonite setting. We found many people who like to laugh and dream, even though we might look around sometimes to see who is watching.I accepted a call to pastor West Swamp in Quakertown, Pa. The leaders of the congregation and I knew that I might stand alongside the mold of traditional pastor but would not fit into it. There was enough imagination that we could put together the beginnings of a new congregational structure and vision where leadership and responsibility are shared. I count it success that after six years most people would laugh at my humor. They gave me a rock from the oldest foundation of the church as a gift and the thought of that ebenezer still moves me. The foundation of a new core leadership had been laid, both fresh and deeply trusted.Soon after I went to West Swamp, the Eastern District Conference asked me to be moderator. When I was introduced as having also been moderator of Virginia Conference, one colleague murmured that I must be a slow learner. Sometimes it is more fun that way. A third term on the Penn View School board also keeps me among people who like to look beyond what is, who like to learn as much as the students do.A few months between calls brought rest and an adjustment in our family’s identity. Visiting and preaching in other congregations, travel and time to catch up on projects has been a privilege, but there was always the question of “what next?” The Bally congregation had a similar experience. They asked me late this summer to be Interim Preaching Pastor, to provide some continuity while they move through their transition. I have agreed to journey with them while we both discern the next steps. So here in yet another place we get to imagine how the ancient stories are lived today and how God can speak to us in our dreams.
With these signs from our God: Following God’s leading to Blooming Glen
Mary Nitzsche, Blooming Glen
As a child, I loved to play church with my sister. We sang songs of faith, read scripture and I “preached.” It was not in the realm of my thinking or imagination at this early age that one day God would call me to be a pastor. My parents were people of deep faith in Jesus and served many years in either a congregational setting or in a Mennonite institution. Their love for Jesus and the Mennonite church inspired me to consider how I might serve the church.I was a shy child and slowly developed confidence and leadership gifts during my college and young adult years. I graduated from Hesston and Goshen colleges, served a year in voluntary service and gained work experience as an elementary school teacher and support staff at Goshen College before taking several classes at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) to test an emerging call to ministry. When I became pregnant with our first child however, I put seminary on hold.By the time my husband, Wayne, completed his seminary training at AMBS and accepted a call to pastor Wooster (Ohio) Mennonite Church we had two young daughters and I was very content as a stay-at-home mom with a variety of opportunities to further develop my gifts as a lay person in the congregation.When my children were both enrolled in elementary school, I began sensing a call to ministry again, but I resisted, unsure that the timing to return to seminary was in the best interest of my children. The call persisted, and I decided to share it with Wayne and the elder team.One of the elders, Beulah, served as a mentor to help me further test my call and learn to own it as separate from Wayne’s call. She encouraged me to enroll at Ashland Theological Seminary as a next step in the discernment process. I experienced motivation, energy and joy through my seminary studies, accompanied by affirmation of my call. While at Ashland, I studied under professors and with students from other faith traditions which deepened my identity and theology as an Anabaptist/Mennonite.Near the end of my seminary experience, I was prepared to seek a position as a pastoral counselor when Ohio Mennonite Conference approached Wayne and I, to consider the regional pastor position. Though I did not have the proper credentials, training or experience for this role, Mark Weidner, Conference Minister, graciously encouraged me to accept the call later serving as an advocate and mentor. I stepped out in faith, believing that God would provide. For the next twelve years, I thoroughly loved ministering to pastors, lay leaders and congregations while using my counseling skills and developing other ministry skills.Another surprise came in November 2007 when the Franconia Conference consultant, working with the Blooming Glen Pastoral Transition Task Force, called to ask if I was open to a conversation regarding an associate pastor position. Again I wondered if I had the proper experience to serve on the pastoral team of a large congregation. I wondered if there would also be a ministry opportunity for Wayne. After naming my struggles to God and talking with Wayne, I felt led to step out in faith and test this new call.
After my interview, I felt cautiously optimistic, but the doubts and questions persisted. My family’s previous transitions were focused on Wayne’s call, not mine. It felt risky to move ahead without Wayne also securing a job. The invitation came for me to be a candidate. Wayne and I needed a sign to be sure of God’s direction. The following day, in a meeting, the devotional was about Abraham’s call to go, leave his security and follow God to a new land.Several mornings later I awoke earlier than normal with Proverbs 3:5-6 on my mind, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”With these signs from our God, who works in surprising and mysterious ways inviting us to risk, I accepted the pastoral position at Blooming Glen and have confidence that God will continue to provide what is needed.photo by Kreg Ulery
From Iowa to Pennsylvania: Ministering along Interstate 80
Firman Gingerich, Blooming Glen
firman@bgmc.net
In my late 20’s our pastor at Kalona Mennonite Church, Howard Keim, invited me to participle in a leadership apprentice relationship with him. Over several years, I would meet with him periodically to talk about books on ministry and leadership that we were reading. During this time, he invited me to participate in a wide range of congregational leadership experiences, such as writing Bible study guides, leading small groups, and teaching the youth baptism class. After some time he asked me if I would consider preaching on a Sunday morning.
I do not think he realized at the time how much this invitation to preach and engage in leadership exploration was confirming my internal journey. These leadership apprentice experiences were helping me respond to an inner call to some form of ministry that I had experienced as a senior in high school in the late 1960s. I credit a circle of young, dynamic high school teachers at Iowa Mennonite High School for helping me stay engaged with the church in this turbulent time. This early sense of call was very private and I shared it with no one until much later.
After college I spent eight years as an elementary school teacher in Montana and Iowa. Gratefully, Susan, my wife supported me in testing my sense of call to ministry for about five years. After several years, Kalona Mennonite Church sent us off to Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary with a solid blessing and a great deal of financial support to study and prepare for pastoral ministry.
In retrospect, I needed this sense of a public call to anchor me. I would not have had the courage to begin a journey of preparing for pastoral ministry without the support and blessing of our home church. I live with much awareness of how valuable a congregation is in influencing and shaping one’s call to ministry.
Now, 26 years later, Susan, and I find ourselves in Franconia Mennonite Conference; me as a Pastor at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church and Susan on the development staff at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. In the last few months I have been asked often if Southeastern Pennsylvania was on my radar as a potential place to pastor. My first and easy answer is no. My pastoral ministry path has been along Interstate 80 in Iowa and Indiana; I guess I didn’t understand that Interstate 80 extended into the Keystone state. I was comfortable with the Midwest.
I think it is how I am wired to do ministry. In my own discernment with Susan and personal friends, I had decided to seek a new pastoral assignment beginning in late summer of 2007. In my pastoral ministry journey, I have grown to value and am enriched by patterns of multiple staff ministry. I made a decision that I wanted to continue in ministry in a multiple staff setting. This was an important factor for consideration when I was invited to begin exploratory conversations with folks at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church. It is no secret that ministry in a multiple staff team takes hard work and discernment from all. However, the mutual synergy and common vision that I have experienced from working with collaborative teams has transformed me tremendously.
I am eager to pay attention to ways God will continue to lead me, our pastoral team, and the lay leadership of Blooming Glen Mennonite Church to respond to God’s Spirit with hope and courage as we anchor our life together in Christ.
Following the call to “dance”: Stepping out in faith to God’s leading
Lorie Hershey, West Philadelphia
lorie@wpmf.com
I enjoyed dancing in my youth and now with my children, but it is not something I do in the presence of many. And yet the image of dancing intersects my relationship with God and experience of call; the harmonizing of movements with an overarching melody and rhythm. The draw of music connects deeply, awakening God’s spirit within. The desire to express the motion stirred by a song; the give and take required for partner dancing. There is something about the image and act of dancing that describes our relationships, both divine and human.
I’ve heard professional ballet dancers describe dance as always being a part of them. They were always twirling, skipping, moving to music that others could not hear. Similarly, I too have felt like God has always been a part of life even when I did not recognize the Spirit’s presence.
There was music stirring inside me moving me to twirl, skip: to dance. Many times that music got distorted, muted, or misplaced as the events of life overpowered it. There were times that I tuned out the music, but it remained. I now realize the music was God’s Spirit, inviting me to dance, calling me to ministry.
I felt an affinity for the church early in life as I witnessed my mother’s volunteer leadership work within my home congregation. I began active involvement in the church and found energy for church leadership and outward confirmation of my gifts. I felt the inner nudging of God. Yet it took me until my early thirties to recognize this as a call to ministry, let alone pastoral ministry. I accepted God’s invitation without fully knowing where the dance would lead. I tentatively stepped out and went to Eastern Mennonite Seminary.
In seminary, I began to find God’s deep grace and healing through spiritual direction and the writing of music. My husband, Brent, and I began providing music for liturgical dances during worship times and I found another step in my faith journey. While not being the one upfront dancing, I found that I was dancing through the music and it became a life-changing experience for me.
I found my relationship with God becoming more free and life-giving; while my call to pastoral ministry deepened and was affirmed. I was beginning to truly dance. Sure, there are still times of hesitancy and clumsiness–I’m sure I’ve stepped on God’s toes many a time–but I experience grace, courage, and coordination that could only come from God.
As I discerned my call to West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, I clearly heard God say: “Dance, Lorie, just dance.” And so again, I step out in faith not knowing exactly what the dance will look like; although one that will include some hip-hop for sure.
I continue to be energized by God’s calling to find our song, recognize Christ throughout our days, and be transformed by the Holy Spirit. It is exciting as we work together to create a life-giving dance, rooted in Christ, welcoming toward our neighbors, and working towards the Shalom of the city.
Journey toward ordination: For such a time as this
Marlene Frankenfield
mfrankenfield@mosaicmennonites.org
Marlene Frankenfield was ordained as a minister within Franconia Mennonite Conference on May 5, 2007, at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. She serves as campus pastor and conference youth minister. The following is an adaptation of her words shared that morning in chapel.
I would never have imagined 18 years ago that I would be in this moment talking about my journey toward ordination. It was the invitation to be a volunteer youth leader at Salford Mennonite Church. Lori Danzenbaker is here today as the one who extended that invitation. This was the beginning of this wild ride toward ordination. I look back and I am deeply grateful for the experience that I received at Salford that prepared the ground for seeds of personal growth and ministry that are now deeply rooted in Franconia Conference and Christopher Dock ministry.
Many of you know that I love the warm wind. It is like God breathing on us! The verse in John 3:8 is powerful for me as I reflect on my journey, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.†The experiences and people who showed up in my life helped me to feel the wind that sometimes blew as a gentle breeze and other times as a whirlwind of challenges, creating chaos and doubt. At those times people appeared in my life and modeled Jesus for me. I value the many rich experiences, holy moments and a community of faith discernment as I humbly step into ordination.
Ordination seems like a big word to be me. I have been trying to unpack this word for the last few years during my time as a licensed youth minister. A few weeks ago I talked to the chapel committee about the ordination service as we were looking at the chapel schedule. As I was explaining ordination I said “It is like being sentenced to ministry for life†And Anna Ruth said, “that sure is a negative way of looking at ordination.†You got to love it, Anna, speaking the truth in love. I realized how much this word scares me and the identity and expectation that comes with ordination. I remember as I was growing up ordained ministers (and at the time they were all men) were scary and really serious. They were suppose to have all the answers to any questions and ministers were always called on to pray at meals and in public settings. I was also scared because maybe ministry wouldn’t be fun after ordination. I guess my biggest fear is being disconnected from the people on the edge of church or those who have left organized church, because some of these people are my best friends.
Or does ordination validate my call to ministry and especially youth ministry? Does this process acknowledges my passion and gifts as I continue on this journey that God has blessed? And I am deeply grateful for women and men role models and new images of ordained ministry who are ordinary people. Many of these persons are here today. Thanks to those of you who helped me unpack the ordination word that seemed so big.
Last week I was at Princeton Seminary for their youth ministry institute. The theme for the week was community. I heard sermons, and participated in discussion about what is real community and how do we create community in youth ministry. I realized how blessed I was to be apart of this faith community. To be here with faculty and staff and to be working along side other ordained ministers in Franconia Conference. You are all in my cloud of witnesses, knowing that you have encouraged and supported me on this journey these last 8 ½years.
As I continue in youth ministry here at Dock and my role with Franconia Conference I hope that youth feel God’s unconditional love, and experience God’ grace within a faith community. And that people in our congregations and here at Dock will surround youth with love, walk with them and point the way to Christ. This journey continues and it is all about God’s timing. It is a humble journey and I am blessed to be at this place, for such a time as this!
God’s transforming calling
Noah Kolb
What constitutes a “calling” and how it is recognized and nurtured has been of interest in the Church from the beginning. Why did Jesus call only 12? How was James chosen as lead apostle at Jerusalem? What criteria did Paul use to appoint leaders? These were just the beginning of the elaborate processes of choosing church leadership throughout church history.
Young educated Anabaptists appointed each other launching the radical wing of the reformation with evangelists, pastors, and lay persons moving across the countryside sharing the Good News as a gospel of peace and transformation. The focus on leadership by persecutors caused the Anabaptists to constantly refocus pastoral leadership so each flock had a shepherd. The deep concern that each congregation has quality leadership still shapes the Anabaptist tradition. We devise systems to make sure persons who hear the call are indeed called, prepared, supported, and publicly affirmed with credentials. Shifting cultural and global dynamics demand that we keep asking questions, observing how God calls ministerial leaders and how persons respond.
When I read the stories of how persons continue to respond to God’s call to ministry in this issue of Intersections, reflecting on my own journey and those many persons I have walked with, several themes focused my attention.
- The call to ministry in the church persists.
As James Lapp noted, in the past, the call was not something you talked about. What mattered most was the call of the church. Almost all who in recent years heard the call focused mostly on the personal inner call from God, which was then confirmed by an outer call. What matters most today is that both the inner and outward sense of call comes together in public affirmation for fruitful ministry.
- It is exciting to see diverse groups of people; young and old, women and men, laborers and professionals, and persons of different faith backgrounds, cultures, and colors; responding to the call to pastoral ministry. There’s an array of gifts, experience, and wisdom. How can such a splendid diversity of called persons transform a historically Germanic people of faith? Can we become God’s new creation?
- The cultural differences are impacting how we hear, respond, and affirm the call of God. Women face certain obstacles and expectations that men do not. Economic demands may keep persons from responding in early years. Faith traditions use different language to express the call. Precise language and terms can no longer define who we are. We need to relate deeper to find the connections.
- The call is increasingly focused around unique gifts and ministries that reach beyond traditional clergy roles. There is less demand for the general pastor. The call is often a response to a specific kind of ministry. Congregations call for pastors who lead and can carry the vision, minister effectively to youth and young adults, or are experts in pastoral care, worship, or administration. Even as we ask which ministries of the church we should grant credentials for, the stories of call increasingly blur the lines between credentialed and non-credentialed ministries.
- The called are sustained by the grace and presence of God. Almost all of the persons who shared noted their journeys have not always been easy. The call does not lead to “happy ever after” endings. It is often attached to a deep passion that, when lived out, gives a sense of fulfillment. Frequently, the passion is hindered in some fashion. Most accept that as part of the training, growth, and shaping of ministry. Occasionally persons may step out of the call when it becomes overwhelming or unfulfilling. Can we who call the called be as gracious as God who loves and sustains those who struggle in it?
- The call is seen more as a segment of one’s whole life, rather than a lifetime commitment. In the present reality few persons commit themselves to a life-long career. This seems to be true in the call to pastoral ministry. Many persons expect a life of two or more careers and increasing numbers of persons answer the call in their 40s, 50s and even 60s. Some who began ministry in their early years later move to other careers in or out of the church. What happens to the call or the passion? Does God give a new call or is the passion shifted into another channel? How much of this is a reflection of the shifting dynamics of the culture in which one is called?
God continues to call persons to pastoral ministry and the church continues to figure out how to affirm those called. As one deeply committed to calling and affirming those God is calling the task feels more like putting a 500-piece puzzle together rather than a 100-piece. But the joy of doing it and seeing the picture is worth it all.
I love learning more every week
Mike Ford
mford@franconiamennonite.org
My journey to become the Senior High Youth Pastor at Franconia Mennonite Church started with an innocent conversation over a year ago with Marlene Frankenfield, Franconia Conference Youth Minister (if conversations with Marlene are ever innocuous). I was working with Marlene and another conference youth minister on the details of a future event and felt that it would be appropriate to drop the hint that, while I would assist in the planning, it was likely that I would not be there in person to host the event because I was sensing a job change was in the wind. Marlene’s response was, “You know, Franconia Mennonite is looking for a youth minister.â€
I recall that I tried to politely respond, saying something like, “Thanks, but no thanks,†thinking at the time that becoming a youth pastor wasn’t likely what the Lord had in mind. Yet, God’s nudge to Franconia persisted, and a year later, here I am, writing on the eve of my installation service as a pastor. Indeed, a journey that was initially unexpected and challenging at times is now exciting and fulfilling as I learn my way.
Over the last two years, my wife and I had been feeling God’s nudge to consider a vocational change. Frankly, I had thought at the time that, after 13 years in Christian camping, I’d be headinginto some field other than vocational ministry. We had heard California pastor and author Erwin McManus speak and were deeply impacted by his challenge to not get too comfortable in your service to the Lord, not to stop taking risks, to be willing to serve the Lord no matter what change in life might come of it. We began a season of putting ourselves sincerely before the Lord, asking if God was leading us to a new place where we could serve, considering options and opportunities as they opened up.
I believe that all Christians are in full-time ministry, called to be salt and light to the world through our daily service, whether we lay bricks or deliver mail or wait tables or manage people or parent children or otherwise. Some of us get the privilege of doing our full-time ministry through a position at the church. I’m excited to serve
at Franconia, hoping that my love for Jesus and desire for others to grow in service and passion might well serve the needs of our youth. To be sure, there have been times on the journey when I’ve wondered if I have what ittakes to be a good pastor, if my take on culture was well suited, if not growing up in the Mennonite church was
going to be a handicap. In the end, as we talked, prayed, and discerned, God gave all involved a sense that this could and would work for his glory, that we’d both learn and be stretched in healthy ways, if we were willing to walk forward in faith.
Here I am, still getting used to the title of “pastor,†wondering if one ever gets used to that title. I mean, simply put, I’m just a guy who loves and is excited about life in Jesus and wants others to know and follow him. Now I get the incredible opportunity to do that each day as my vocation, focusing on Senior High youth. I’m excited, I’m fortunate, and I love learning every week more about the youth I work with, the church I serve, and the area I now call home.