Young Preachers Festival
This week, I had the privilege of attending the United Methodist Young Preachers Festival at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. And, wow. I am refreshed, restored, and... excited doesn't even begin to describe how joyful I am. And I learned so much.
I got to attend 7 sessions: a panel with the Bishops in the jurisdiction, and 6 speakers: Dr. Jerusha Neal, Dr. Kevin Murriel, Rev. Sarah Heath, Pastor Adam Hamilton, Rev. Charley Reeb, and Pastor Scott Chrostek.
Chances are, if you're a Methodist, that name Adam Hamilton perked you up a bit. Here's the thing. Going into this week, I didn't know what to expect about the mega-church that is Church of the Rez and their Senior Pastor, Adam Hamilton. (For me, all of the mega-churches I've seen have not been focused on God and have felt like country clubs instead of churches. None have been Methodist, but this was honestly kinda my expectation.) However, being there taught me that this is not always the case. Let me say: Church of the Resurrection is focused on God. Adam Hamilton is a human being, (not a celebrity/god) but a man with God's light shining right through him. I was so impressed by what I saw, and all of the congregation members I met that were also very focused on God and shone with God's love. I was very pleasantly surprised, and if you live near KC, I'd check them out. They have like 5 campuses I guess, so there should be one near you. :-)
Anyway, I learned so much I don't even fully know where to start on this post today. Many of you would be bored with some of the full-on theology nerding out I did this week. So, I think for now I'm going to say this -
I've been discerning my call into ministry. I'm still doing it, but this week confirmed a few things for me:
- I'm a Methodist. So many of the speakers really confirmed this for me. I align with the theological differences that make the Methodist church the Methodist Church.
- I'm going to be a pastor. That's what I want to do. I want to preach, but more than that. I want to do all this entails.
- I feel so lucky that God trusts me to call me to this. It feels weird. I feel unequipped. But I'm learning!
I got to preach to evaluators yesterday, and one of the keynote speakers actually evaluated me, too. I was excited for Rev. Sarah Heath to evaluate me. She gave me lots of great feedback, as did my other evaluators. Sarah Heath is kinda my spirit animal/who I want to be when I grow up, so when she told me, "I wish I preached like that when I was in my undergrad," my heart just kinda exploded. I'm so encouraged and excited. I also had to preach RIGHT AFTER Bill and Melissa went, so I'm really just giving the thanks to God that I didn't pass right out. It was something. Here's a little picture of Sarah and I (she is so cute with her California style and floppy hats):
I'm so thankful for her wisdom and encouragement. (As well as the other speakers!) I think another speaker I really learned a lot from was Dr. Kevin Murriel. He spoke on racial reconciliation and the persistent pursuit of justice. I'm excited that I have a book from both of them to dive into and learn more from!
And of course, Adam Hamilton was incredible. He even brought up some of his series that he's done, like Christianity and world religions, suicide, and things like #MeToo from the views of offenders and survivors, and gun violence, in schools specifically. I'm so excited that he preaches about these things. It was during his session that I really had that moment with God that I was like, yeah okay, this is where I'm supposed to be. This is what I'm created to do.
Look guys, there's no way I can type up everything I learned in one blog post. There's also no way most of you would want to read it.
Just know this: my heart is full and I'm starting that 7-10 year process of becoming a Methodist pastor. I'm discerning which seminary I should go to. I'm filled with joy. I have so much to say, but I have my whole life to say it! :)
Thanks for reading folks. I'll try to type up my sermon for this festival into blog form so you can read what I gave yesterday.
God bless!
I got to attend 7 sessions: a panel with the Bishops in the jurisdiction, and 6 speakers: Dr. Jerusha Neal, Dr. Kevin Murriel, Rev. Sarah Heath, Pastor Adam Hamilton, Rev. Charley Reeb, and Pastor Scott Chrostek.
Chances are, if you're a Methodist, that name Adam Hamilton perked you up a bit. Here's the thing. Going into this week, I didn't know what to expect about the mega-church that is Church of the Rez and their Senior Pastor, Adam Hamilton. (For me, all of the mega-churches I've seen have not been focused on God and have felt like country clubs instead of churches. None have been Methodist, but this was honestly kinda my expectation.) However, being there taught me that this is not always the case. Let me say: Church of the Resurrection is focused on God. Adam Hamilton is a human being, (not a celebrity/god) but a man with God's light shining right through him. I was so impressed by what I saw, and all of the congregation members I met that were also very focused on God and shone with God's love. I was very pleasantly surprised, and if you live near KC, I'd check them out. They have like 5 campuses I guess, so there should be one near you. :-)
Anyway, I learned so much I don't even fully know where to start on this post today. Many of you would be bored with some of the full-on theology nerding out I did this week. So, I think for now I'm going to say this -
I've been discerning my call into ministry. I'm still doing it, but this week confirmed a few things for me:
- I'm a Methodist. So many of the speakers really confirmed this for me. I align with the theological differences that make the Methodist church the Methodist Church.
- I'm going to be a pastor. That's what I want to do. I want to preach, but more than that. I want to do all this entails.
- I feel so lucky that God trusts me to call me to this. It feels weird. I feel unequipped. But I'm learning!
I got to preach to evaluators yesterday, and one of the keynote speakers actually evaluated me, too. I was excited for Rev. Sarah Heath to evaluate me. She gave me lots of great feedback, as did my other evaluators. Sarah Heath is kinda my spirit animal/who I want to be when I grow up, so when she told me, "I wish I preached like that when I was in my undergrad," my heart just kinda exploded. I'm so encouraged and excited. I also had to preach RIGHT AFTER Bill and Melissa went, so I'm really just giving the thanks to God that I didn't pass right out. It was something. Here's a little picture of Sarah and I (she is so cute with her California style and floppy hats):
I'm so thankful for her wisdom and encouragement. (As well as the other speakers!) I think another speaker I really learned a lot from was Dr. Kevin Murriel. He spoke on racial reconciliation and the persistent pursuit of justice. I'm excited that I have a book from both of them to dive into and learn more from!
And of course, Adam Hamilton was incredible. He even brought up some of his series that he's done, like Christianity and world religions, suicide, and things like #MeToo from the views of offenders and survivors, and gun violence, in schools specifically. I'm so excited that he preaches about these things. It was during his session that I really had that moment with God that I was like, yeah okay, this is where I'm supposed to be. This is what I'm created to do.
Look guys, there's no way I can type up everything I learned in one blog post. There's also no way most of you would want to read it.
Just know this: my heart is full and I'm starting that 7-10 year process of becoming a Methodist pastor. I'm discerning which seminary I should go to. I'm filled with joy. I have so much to say, but I have my whole life to say it! :)
Thanks for reading folks. I'll try to type up my sermon for this festival into blog form so you can read what I gave yesterday.
God bless!
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