At the beginning of August, the Lutheran synod hosted a river cruise celebration. Part of the celebration was for pastors who had significant milestone anniversaries. I was on the list because I was hitting the 5 year mark in September. I decided to attend because, why not? I wanted to be celebrated!
At the event I found myself composing my elevator speech to sum up the last 5 years of ordained ministry. My on-the-spot, short answer was that it had been both slow and fast, both good and bad.
I wanted to joke with the other 5-year ordained pastor that we are “COVID pastors.” Myself and the other 5-year pastor had both barely been ordained before the pandemic hit and changed everything. Then we’ve continued to be pastors as the word “unprecedented” has been used time and time again - all within 5 short years. So we’re also “unprecedented pastors.”
At the event there was also this sense (and maybe someone even said it to me) that I had “made it” to 5 years. It was the type of “you made it” that had the same feeling as someone cheering a loved one after they made it through a Tough Mudder course or climbed to the top of a high summit through zig-zagging stairs. “Good job, you made it through!”
As I’ve thought about that sentiment “you made it,” I agree. That is how I’ve felt. I did make it to 5 years. That is an accomplishment.
Not many pastors make it to the 5 year mark. I’ve become more and more aware over the last 5 years how fewer and fewer people my age and younger are entering ministry. I’m understanding more and more of how much of an anomaly I am being a “millennial pastor.”
But I did make it. I’m still here. And I continue to want to be in ministry.
What I’ve Learned
I’ve learned a lot over these past 5 years.
I’ve learned that building a new program, culture, process, takes time. It’s about doing something week after week, month after month, and year after year. Progress is often slow in church work. Quick successes are the rare exception, not the rule. Seeds that get planted can take weeks, months, or years to grow to their full potential.
I’ve learned the importance of ritual. I’ve learned how important it is to do some things the same, Sunday after Sunday, year after year. Every church has their own rituals that need to be respected.
I’ve learned how much work doing one event a month actually is. On the surface doing something only once a month doesn’t sound like much: “It’s only 1 hour a month.” But with preparation, getting the word out, questions that may arise, and the actual event, it’s a good chunk of time. “It’s only 1 hour a month” is never how it works out to be.
I’ve come to a greater appreciation for my seminary education. I chose the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago because of its urban location and emphasis on different ways of doing ministry, as well as its LGBTQIA+ inclusion. I’ve drawn on that education many times. From my urban CPE experience at the Night Ministry on the streets of Chicago and learning about trauma-informed care, to the different worship experiences in the multimedia worship space in the seminary sanctuary, to being a part of Thesis 96 and creating programming for other queer seminarians, to the anti-racism books I read in my classes, I know that I would not have been able to draw on the education from other seminaries in quite the same way as I have from LSTC. LSTC has the motto of “Called into the world.” LSTC did prepare me for the challenges that face our world today.
COVID pastor. Unprecedented pastor. Millennial pastor. LSTC alum.
These are all of my labels (of course there are more). It’s been an eventful 5 years - with enough happening that it seems more like 10, 15, 20 years.
Maybe the next 5 years will be boring? ;-)
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Alex Aivars
Bình luận