Another Milestone

Today I celebrated another milestone in my process of becoming totally what God wants of me.

There is a process...which I believe is a great one...to being ordained for full time ministry at Christ's Church. This standard was established by the Elders of our church in conjunction with our senior pastor and executive pastor. One of those standards is obtaining a degree from a Christian college/university in religion. With my undergrad in business management I do not, at this time, meet that requirement.

To help non-traditional folks like myself who desire to fulfill their calling to full time ministry, they created a 'commissioning' process. Basically, it is an ordination that is renewed each year by our Elders upon their review of my progress towards goals we established up front. For me that means obtaining my Master's degree.

I am starting that process this month through Cincinnatti Christian Seminary. It is a Master of Arts in Religion and Pastoral Leadership.

All of that said, this morning during our monthly all-staff meeting I was commissioned into fulltime ministry at Christ's Church. The process involved our church leadership team laying their hands on me and the pastor praying for me. While I knew this was in the works, I had know idea it was going to happen today or what it would involve. (Thanks, Cameron, for taking the picture on your camera-phone!)

It may not seem like a big deal, but it is a vote of confidence by my church and a sign of my personal growth. I know I still have a long way to go.