Learning Curve

I was sitting with a friend at the Bleecker St. playground this afternoon as James played in the sandbox. She is newly arrived in the city to pastor a local church. We were comparing notes.

I found myself talking about my learning curve during my first five years in ministry here in New York. There are so many things I've learned, but one of the most poignant has to be that there are a thousand ways to say that Jesus Christ is good news... and most young ministers know maybe one or two of those ways. Maybe one or two.

At least, that's about what I knew.

Any pastor's ability to proclaim the good news from the pulpit--but also to share it in private moments of intimate conversation where everything is fluid and organic and the right word, the right inflection on a word, can make all the difference for that person's fragile faith--is, of course, conditioned by the pastor's life experience. You can't say with conviction what you don't know in your gut.

I arrived at my current church feeling like something of a hot shot. I did well in seminary, got told by well-meaning people that they thought I had a good future. I thought I knew what "the gospel" was and that I'd just put my version of things out there and everyone would hear it, grasp it, and love it (and also love me for sharing it so poignantly). I assumed that within weeks, my programs and the church would grow. Easy.

Not easy. My church is a truly, mind-blowingly diverse church. And guess what? "My" gospel doesn't connect with a lot of folks. Now, it probably connects with young, relatively privileged, over-educated liberal white folks. But that's not who comes to my church--a few, but certainly not exclusively. Early on, it was clear that the one or two ways that I knew how to proclaim the gospel were not going to be enough to lead and care for and sufficiently nurture my congregation.

I've had to listen--listen a lot--as people have told their stories, told "their gospel." The hungers, the pain, the dreams, the insecurities, the doubts--where Jesus has showed up and how that shapes their sense of the good news.

I still have a "sweet spot." There are still ways of talking about Jesus that are natural to me. But my vocabulary is growing. I'm every bit as much of a student as a teacher in my present call. I'm a student of the thousands of ways that Jesus is good news.

The learning curve is steep.