Mark Calhoun

The Road to Ordination... paved with faces...

It seems to me that the road to ordination has been a long, hilly, winding one... a road that made a profound turn toward something new on June 13th of this year. The road-trip began in the fall of 2000 when I returned from a Men's retreat and began wondering and thinking about a career shift from our family business into ministry as a vocation. What followed was 10 years of navigation through the structures and systems of the United Methodist Church. Academically, I had to finish my Bachelor's degree (2 years), and get my Master of Divinity degree (4 years)... for which I commuted to Kansas City. In 2003, I transitioned out of my job and into full time ministry at East Heights UMC in  Wichita, KS.... a church that we began attending in 1991. In 2000, I officially began the United Methodist Candidacy process... Exploring Candidate, Inquiring Candidate, Certified Candidate, Commissioning as a Probationary Elder, and finally, Ordination as an elder in Full Connection... ordained by Bishop Elaine Stanovsky to 'Word ~ Order ~ Sacrament and Service.'    Most of the process came with its own unique steps and requirements guided by our local church, a District Committee on Ordained Ministry, and the conference Board of Ordained Ministry... 31 official steps prior to Commissioning and then a handful more between Commissioning and Ordination. The final steps came in late 2009 and early 2010. In the fall of 2009 I went before the Board of Ordained Ministry for two days for preaching, mission and ministry interviews, and oral defense of my written work (a few of my answers to the written work are posted below). Following an on-site visit from Pastors and Lay members from the Board of Ordained Ministry, I was referred to the clergy session of the Annual Conference for a final vote... and then it was off to ordination. As I am writing all of this out, I'm thinking about how clear it is that METHOD is a big part of what it means to be a Methodist. I'm also thinking about how, by my very nature, I am allergic to things of a linear nature. Anyhoo... for some reason, as I survey the landscape of this 10 year road-trip, in my mind, I can't seem to really recall the complex details of the elements of joy, pain¹, comfort, distress, discouragement, happiness, pain², numbness, encouragement, grace, and hope that accompanied the navigation of our Methodical systems and structures... what I can clearly recall, are the many faces and relationships that have paved the way. For those faces... and those relationships, I am thankful... family, friends, foes, colleagues, classmates, professors, committee members, board members, pastors, mentors, and all of the paths I have crossed... I am here because you were there. I am a reflection of the lives of the people who have carried me to this place. Soooo... THANKS!!!

Ordination Questions: Additional Questions ~ A

A.    What is your theology of evil?

In the movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) personifies evil by claiming, “Well, there are all manner of lesser imps and demons, Pete, but the great Satan hisself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail, and he carries a hay fork.” I suppose that this description is not far off from how many people understand the physical element of evil. While this image can, in some ways, be supported biblically (those things contained within the Bible), scripturally (those things in the Bible that we invite to hold authority over our lives) we are provided with a deeper sense of how evil functions in and throughout creation. I understand evil to be the manifestation of intentional, or even unintentional, separation from God, God’s essence and God’s overarching purposes for creation. For me, as a Christian, I would also extend this notion of separation to the absence of the humanly practice of kingdom life as it is exemplified through the image of Christ. I hold the theological perspective that evils exists in the world due to our innate ability to oppose the will of God. When negative and oppressive human will stands up and against the will of God, the essence of evil becomes a reality. Donald McKim suggests, and I concur, that evil can be represented as intrinsic, moral, or natural opposition to the divine will of God. While God’s Love and Grace stands to partially relieve creation from the clutches of evil, I believe that it is, as well, the human extension of that love and grace that serves to destroy the grasp of evil. It is interesting to ponder the level of evil that exists within the midst of active, God-seeking ecclesial communities.

Ordination Questions: Additional Questions ~ B

B.    How do you explain the reality of suffering in a hurting world?

If we view suffering as the experience of bearing pain, enduring distress, or in some way responding to injury, then I suppose a primary means though which we view any level of suffering can be seen as living into a reactive reality. It seems to me that our experience of suffering is guided and shaped by external, sometimes internal, forces that apply pressure to what we would consider a normal and fruitful state of being. I believe that suffering, at its root, is a reactive response to the decisions and choices that we, or others, make. While my theology of human will is in its infancy, and a work still in progress, I believe that human will plays some role in our experience of suffering. When we make a choice or enact a decision outside of the characteristics that foster goodness and wholeness (however we define those attributes), we create a situation that brings about suffering in our life or the lives of others. The Christian church of the 21^st century, much like the church of past centuries, is poised to have a profound impact on diminishing the presence of suffering within our experience of kingdom life. By enabling peace, extending compassion, fostering love, and engaging in acts of justice we hold before us unending opportunities to reduce suffering.

Ordination Questions: Additional Questions ~ C

C.    Underlying all theology is a sense of mystery. What is Holy Mystery to you?

“Underlying all theology is a sense of mystery” is an incredible statement. Sadly, I continue to cross paths with an increasing number of people who feel that there is no room for mystery within the religious realm, especially Christianity. From my perspective, the characteristics that define modernity are primarily responsible for sucking the element of mystery out of our experience of God. If we view holy things as those things that are regarded as sacred or those things that are able to convey a sense of the divine, and if we understand mysteries as truths or realities that are not accessible by the power of human reason alone, then one way to understand Holy Mystery is through the belief that divine sacredness continues to be revealed to us through means that cannot always be defined or tangibly explained from a ‘created’ perspective. Holy Mystery, to me, is boundary-less, ever-present, unpredictable, and an unfathomable crucial element of our experience of growing in Grace and Love. If we kill Holy Mystery, we destroy the Divine element of our created, relational experience. Thankfully, we are shifting into an era in which our emerging world-view allows room for Holy Mystery to be alive and well in our midst.

Ordination Questions: Additional Questions ~ D

D.    What song from our United Methodist hymnals best articulates your theology at this time and how?

This is an interesting question. Up until a year ago the majority of my ecclesial musical experiences were based on songs not included in our two authorized hymnals. However, from The Faith We Sing, I see myself living into song number 2164, “Sanctuary.” The opening words, “Lord prepare me to be a Sanctuary” suggests that God is actively at work in our lives equipping us and preparing us for our daily participation in Kingdom Life. The image of a sanctuary fosters the notion, for me, that we, as a part of the created order, have within us the potential to be a “holy place” in which the divine lives and dwells allowing us to be a reflection of Gods glory. From the United Methodist Hymnal, I am struck by Hymn 393, “Spirit of the Living God.” This Hymn fosters a Trinitarian ecclesiology, it is simple, and it invites God to dwell within our lives.

Ordination Questions: Additional Questions ~ G

G.    How do you understand the Pastor’s role in a church council meeting?

I suppose that, at this point in my ecclesial experience, I understand the role of the pastor in a church council meeting to be similar to the role of a mountain guide on an expedition. In my life, I have been both guided and served as a guide on numerous outdoor expeditions and have learned a great deal through each experience. Webster reports that a guide is one that leads or directs another’s way, but can also be understood as a device for steadying or directing the motion of something. By serving as a guide there is are elements of organization, preparation, and decision making present, but there is also a freedom that the others in the group are co-participators in the journey toward the objective or goal. A mountain guide doesn’t get people to the top of a mountain, he or she simply joins the group for the journey, allows others to lead, interjects wisdom based on experience, and continually fosters and casts the vision or object that the entire group has aspired to. Through mutual trust and respect, and the willingness to participate in a rhythm inspired by God, a guide and his or her co-participators are able to accomplish goals and objectives that would not otherwise be accomplished individually.

“Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you; but of a good leader, who talks little, When his [or her] work is done, his [or her] aim fulfilled, They will say, “We did this ourselves.” ~ Lao-tzu

Ordination Questions: Additional Questions ~ H

H.    What does the phrase “the ministry of the Word” mean to you?

To me, ministry of the word, in its simplest form, means to extend and offer “the word of God” through teaching and through serving as a living example of “God’s word.” The difficulty, I suppose, comes through our attempts to define what exactly it is that we claim to be “the Word.” I think we tend to put this phrase into a box, or nice, neat little package by referring to the Bible solely as the “word of God.” I would submit that the “word of God” is not only the written biblical narratives, but also a reflection of these words radiating from the lives of God’s people throughout history. I see the “word of God” as a living document encapsulated within the lives of the created order. A ministry of the word, therefore, is the perpetuation of this living document as it is offered and extended in our time through teaching and any other means at our disposal.

Ordination Questions: Theology Question 1

(1)   How has the practice of ministry affected your experience and understanding of God?

I find the intricacies and elements of my overall faith journey to carry equal weight regarding my experience of God and the formation of my faith. Over the years, life experiences, relationships, academic pursuits, and encounters with creation have all played a significant role regarding my personal spiritual formation journey. As I look back over my life, through the lens of prevenient grace, I am able to see that all of my life experiences have in some way had an impact on the way God has formed my spirit and my reality. Although the first twenty–two years of my life were, for the most part, void of ecclesial experiences, I realize now that these years offered numerous encounters with a God I did not know, or even try to know. Through those early years, and on through the present moment, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to explore hundreds of personal relationships and I have been afforded numerous opportunities to encounter God through wilderness-based explorations and expeditions.

While all of these experiences have played a significant role in the development of my overall faith journey, it has been my experience within the life of ecclesial communities as well as my undergraduate and seminary academic pursuits that have offered the most opportunities to expand my understanding of God. Over the past 7 years, I have gained new and exciting insights as to the essence and nature of God through my encounters with the biblical narratives, many of which have become scriptural for me. The afore-mentioned insights have been augmented through the development of interpretation tools that have aided my pursuit of deeper understanding on multiple levels. While historical sources have also aided my biblical study pursuits by giving me insight as to the development of theology and doctrine, it has been the slow, arduous expansion of my personal theologies that has been most rewarding and given me clear insight as to the nature and essence of God. While the development of personal theology is obviously a work in progress that will last each of us a lifetime, I count it a blessing to have had a number of opportunities to expand my theological positions in the areas of mission, evangelism, worship, theological anthropology, and spirituality. For me, the most exciting and enriching pursuits continue to come from dynamic explorations in the doctrinal areas of the person of Christ, the Trinity, and the Kingdom of God. I look forward, with eager anticipation, to a lifetime of continued learning and faith formation.

With respect to how the practice of ministry has affected my experience and understanding of God, I would say that the most significant change has come through the opportunity I have had over the past 14 months to acclimatize to a new state, city, ecclesial community, and conference. Our move to Montana has afforded me an opportunity to see God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit move in the lives of complete strangers as well as in my life, my wife’s life, and the lives of our two boys. I have been given the gift of deeper understanding through a change of context, and for that I am thankful, inspired, and convinced more that ever of my call to ordained ministry.

Ordination Questions: Theology Question 2

(2)   What effect has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of humanity and the need for divine grace?

My basic, and evolving, understanding of humanity is based on the theological assumption that, as humans, we are created in the image of God, but separated from God through the entrance, manifestation, and active, living presence of sin. I believe that divine grace serves as one of the instruments that God makes use of in order to draw humans back into a full loving and nurturing relationship with God’s self. As humans, I believe that our sometimes broken and fallible character creates an atmosphere that is potentially void of God’s divine presence while at the same time in desperate need of that very presence as well as the divine grace that is available to all of humanity. From a theological anthropology perspective, I believe strongly that the postmodern culture is yearning for spiritual ecclesial communities to turn toward the notion of ‘relationality’ (the interplay of theological, sociological, psychological, and scientific perspectives and viewpoints) as they strive to respond to the question of humanity and the need for divine grace. It will be interesting to see if the ecclesial communities of our day are willing to make this shift. As I have continued to engage the practice of full-time ministry for the past few years, I have become more and more aware of the attributes of human nature and humanities growing desire for Divine Grace. The world is yearning for a message of hope and longing for the reality of peace… it is my hope that the ecclesial communities of our day can deliver.

Ordination Questions: Theology Question 3

(3)   What changes has the practice of ministry had on your understanding of: (a) the “Lordship of Jesus Christ,” and (b) the work of the Holy Spirit?

I understand Jesus Christ to be the manifestation of God’s presence in the midst of creation (past, present, and future), and I understand the word Lord to represent a position of belongingness. That is to say, if Christ is my Lord, then I belong to Christ, who is God. I think that this phrase represents a succinct challenge to be committed to the person, essence, reality, and divine nature of Jesus the Christ. As well, I believe this phrase to implicate Jesus as the one true son of God, as one in communion with God and the Spirit, and as one separate, but one with God and the Spirit. Personally and practically, I see the phrase as a challenge to place Jesus as the focal point of everything we are to be as Christians; we are to belong to Jesus and we are to be the manifestation of God’s presence through our assimilation to Christ.

I believe in the Holy Spirit in the manner in which the Author of the Gospel of John refers to it in verses twenty-five and twenty-six of the fourteenth chapter, “²⁵I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” In this sense, I see the Holy Spirit as the manifestation of God’s presence through the image of an essence and divine reality that functions on our behalf with respect to our relationship with God as well as a guide willing to lead us through life, death and resurrection. Metaphorically, personally, and practically, I think of the Holy Spirit as a Guide and advocate. Growing up in the great state of Wyoming, I grew accustomed to the theory and use of guides. My family used and served as guides for hunting, fishing, and backcountry travel. Merriam Webster refers to a “guide” as one that leads or directs another's way, or one who directs another's conduct or course of life. Just as a guide might direct or lead us to a hunting spot or fishing hole, or might help us to navigate a journey through the wilderness, I see the Holy Spirit serving in somewhat the same capacity as we navigate life. Along with the notion of that of a guide, I also see the Spirit as an advocate, one that pleads the cause of another, one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal, or one that supports or promotes the interests of another. I see these two images to be the embodiment of the capabilities of the Holy Spirit, which is one with God, one with Jesus, and one promised to us by Jesus himself. It is my belief that the Holy Spirit, in this image, has a transforming affect on personal faith, a transforming affect in and throughout the community of believers, and manifests itself as an essence that serves as a guide and advocate for responsible living in the world in which we exist.

I believe that the most significant change in my understanding of the “Lordship of Jesus Christ,” and the work of the Holy Spirit can be seen in the development of my understanding of a Trinitarian ecclesiology. That is to say, that the practice of ministry has me thinking more and more about the relationship between God, Christ, and the Spirit. Modernity has conditioned us to compartmentalize the three, while postmodernity provides an open source platform to explore the relationality of the three. In this instance, I believe that there can be no clear understanding of the Lordship of Christ or the work of the Holy Spirit apart from one another and apart from God. I am thankful that numerous elements of God, the Lordship of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit remain a Holy Mystery to me, and I look forward to a lifetime of divine revelation regarding the three.