Balance world and ministry

I am a deacon in the United Methodist church (UMC).  While I am fully committed to this call, I often have to admit that it when I first heard the call, I misunderstood.  Maybe you can remember years and years ago, when everyone was doing the Seven Habits of Highly Effective people and we were all writing our purpose statements.  My closing sentence was “I will be a beacon.”  Not sure whether it was a moment of dyslexia or clogged ears, but I often laugh about that.  So, I will be a deacon. 

In the UMC, deacons are an order ordained to Word and Service.  We typically serve in the church and the world, serving as a bridge between the two.  Most of my colleagues are dual career people with day jobs (in the world) and other jobs (in the church).  A few serve only in the local church.  I teach at a state run Community College, a psychology course that is required in most of the Allied Health degree programs.  Doesn’t sound like a ministry?  My students are predominantly women, predominantly seeking a career to support their families, predominantly without educational skills or with too many life demands to be successful in a university setting.  Getting them through their educational process and into a life sustaining career – that’s a ministry.  And because I teach at a state school, I am careful not to overtly cross the church/state line, but I constantly have students coming to me and asking me to pray for them or with them.  And when I ask “why did you come to me?”, they respond that they just got that churchy vibe from me. 

In the local church that I serve, I teach the confirmation class.  I spend a good deal of time hanging out with sixth graders, young people aged 11 – 13.  We go on a journey of developing Christian discipleship.  Most have been raised in the church, and are now entering that time of personal growth and discovery, and I get to walk with them as they decide how God and Jesus Christ will have a role in how that life unfolds.  I find in September and October that I am dragging them forward, and by March and April I am screaming “wait for me.” 

And even though I am walking on a bridge between two stations in the world, it is a very thin place indeed.