Transition into Ministry Program
11/11/2019
The TiM program connected me with extremely useful resources even before starting my first appointment, but especially in those first few key months of the appointment when you are establishing your leadership identity and getting to know the congregation, the context, and the conference. The introductory TiM retreat in June was particularly helpful for preparing to serve, since it was a sort of orientation to pastoral ministry but it occurred a couple months prior to the Great Plains’ Right ...
Transition into Ministry Program
11/6/2019
Calling: Your Pastoral Identity and Formation, Identifying your gifts Most of all, TiM has given me the opportunities to think about my call on ministry through retreats, meetings, resources, and fellowships. As a beginner pastor, it was easy for me to focus on my daily routines only. There were many things to learn and get used to in my ministry life in the last year. Among those repeating routines, TiM has helped me to be reminded of my call to ministry and even deepen it. So I could have some...
Transition into Ministry Program
11/4/2019
When taking a look at the prompts for a narrative reflection for the TiM program experience so far in the context of my ministry and experience, I absolutely loved the idea of sharing with others who might be interested about my own journey in this process. Thinking back to when I first heard about the Transition into Ministry Program for the first time, I remember being in my second year of seminary and getting a phone call about the program and then an email, and then finding the ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/30/2019
I have experienced the gifts of the TiM program throughout my first year. There have been high points and low points during my first appointive year at Silver Lake UMC. There are many facets of the program that have greatly benefited me during my first year. Two of those gifts have been the relationships with pastors in the program and the mentoring of Maria Campbell. They supported me, they encouraged me, and they listened to me during my low points. They celebrated, shared their joy and their ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/28/2019
One of the realities that I’ve become accustomed to, though still not comfortable with, in this wild world of church leadership and clergy life is the presence of a feeling of competition among colleagues. I remember hearing in seminary about this as an unfortunate but unshakable fact of our shared profession – something like calluses are for people who work in construction. It was something that was bemoaned with the same passionless fervor that our Chicago winters were – with resigned ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/23/2019
As I am journeying through my second year of pastoral ministry and second year as a TiM pastor I find myself more and more grateful for this program. When I speak with colleagues from Seminary in different conferences I feel grateful for the TiM program, the clergy excellence staff and the ways I have been fortunate enough to participate this last year+. With the TiM program you get intentional support. Not only through your mentor but through your cohort and the years ahead of you as well. We ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/21/2019
The very first TiM gathering I attended was at a pizza parlor in Kearny, NE. Fresh out of seminary, there were boxes still waiting to be unloaded in the trunk of my vehicle from the long journey from Washington, D.C. back to the Midwest. To say that I was apprehensive or nervous about meeting my clergy peer group was a gross understatement. I knew nobody at that first pizza parlor gathering. I had not been a local pastor in the Great Plains conference or even gone to the same seminary with any ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/16/2019
As I consider my time in the TiM program, I begin to think of the connections that I have made in the past four years. By being part of the TiM program, I believe my connection within the conference has strengthened and there is a sense of belonging between myself and other participants in the program. In some way, I honestly feel as though there is (for lack of a better way to describe it) a feeling of ownership and even pride in our annual conference because we have a program that no other ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/14/2019
I’m an externally motivated person, something that I’ve learned through the Ordination Process and through my time in Transition into Ministry (TiM). Things and people in my local setting direct and energize me. TiM has helped me realize I need a calendar to boss me through the day. I excelled in school when I had a clear syllabus and deadlines. I struggled when I entered ministry and needed to be a “self-starter”. I felt lost and angry because I wanted to live out my call and I felt ...
Transition into Ministry Program
10/9/2019
In an age when Christianity is in decline, defying a call to pastoral ministry may be wise. After all, according to the Lewis Center for Church Leadership new clergy last on average just 5 years in full time vocational ministry. Yet, someone who has felt called to any vocation understands the difficulty faced when attempting to avoid responding to such a calling be it as a clergy person, a nurse, a teacher, etcetera. While I witness the good the church does, I also see the negative part ...
Resources