An Epistle from Rev Steven R Mitchell, Rock Springs, WY

An Epistle from the Reverend Steven R. Mitchell
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY, Nov 7, 2010
Based on Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31 & Segments from personal profile
For All Saints Day Celebration


To the First Congregational UCC Church of Rock Springs:
Steven, a minister of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people at First Congregational Church in Rock Springs, WY, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Parent and the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we come to worship this morning and remember those who have passed on before us, I thought I would share with you some portions from my Ministerial Profile, as these selections speak to how I was able to discern my call into minister. In these thoughts you will learn how some special folks, who are now gone to be with our Lord, influenced my life, as well as some other people who I have learned from, so far in my walk with Christ.
As I look back over my life and examine ‘my call’ to ministry, the best I can say is, ‘God has and is continuously cultivating’ me for ministry. There is not one person that has been in my life who has not had some kind of impact in the development of my gifts, talents and skills that I use in the role of Pastor. Most of you are here this morning because of the saintly influence of people in your life. People like your parents, or grandparents, or aunts and uncles; friends from when you were in school; you possibly are hear because of the influence of a Sunday school teacher or youth sponsor. The point being, God speaks to us in many differing ways and in many various voices.
As a young child my mother took me weekly to church, that is until my father insisted that she stop wasting her time at church and spend that day with him. Then an Aunt who was Catholic would take me to mass when she could. There were a couple of parents of my childhood school mates who also saw to it that I was in church on a regular basis, by picking me up and taking me to their churches. Religion was discussed in one of my grandmothers home, where going to church was not one of the expectations of our spiritual training.
There were a couple of key people in my life that helped mentor me in my early development of my Christian walk while in me teens. One couple eventually became my parent-in-laws. Another was the mother of one of my buddies. I would go out weekly to their house and she and I would have deep theological discussions. One day she announced to me that ‘God’ was calling me into the ministry. With horror I denied this prophetic announcement saying, “I wanted a very different style of life.” Even though I thought she was overboard on her assessment of my future, deep down I knew it was possible.
I moved to Wichita, KS to attend the University. At that point I became involved in the life of a local American Baptist Church. In time I became the chairperson of a task force charged with the relocation and settlement of some 200 Southeast Asian refugees. It was while working on this task force that I remembered my mentor’s words, ‘God is calling you to ministry’. At the same time I was managing a convenience store. Time and again, as I listened to my customers, I became increasingly aware of just how many people had a feeling of separation and a deep longing to belong and be a part of something bigger than what they were currently experiencing, though not recognizing it as a spiritual longing. One would think having this insight and the epiphany of my high school mentor that I would have easily answered that call to ministry and enrolled at once into seminary. It took three years of struggling with that call before I could embrace it as ‘my call to ministry’. This time, was for me, my evening in the garden of Gethsemane.
Books have been an important influence to not only my calling but also in the shaping of my ministry. If I were limited to pick just one or two thoughts to describe the essence of my view of ministry, I would look to Matthew 25, “When you have done this to the least of my brothers, you have done this to me” and to Paul’s call in II Corinthians 5:18, “Christ gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
As each day passes by, this realization becomes more real to me than the day before. Author/teacher and lecturer, Tony Campollo put forth an idea that if you see Christ in the face of each person you meet, then as a Christian, you would treat that person differently than what you might currently do. When I see the face of Jesus in the face of whom ever I encounter, I find that I cannot help but be more connected to that person; open to listening to their joys, their needs, their failures, their pain, their hopes and their wisdom. As we take the time to become intimately involved with one another, we become more intimately involved in our relationship with Jesus.
In Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps (a Congregationalist Pastor in the early 20th Century); a minister challenges his congregation to ask this one question, “What would Jesus do?” When honestly asked, the answer more times than not conflicted with what traditional wisdom would say. This was true for Jesus, as he consistently asked for God’s guidance and when acting on those answers, saw himself crossing the established line of acceptable behavior both in the religious and secular community. It is my experience that when a person honestly seeks out the ‘truth’ in their spirit, they will often be at odds with the established systems that they once operated under.
One of today’s challenges within the church comes through “how do we minister.” Yet many churches are looking at their ‘ministries” through the eyes of survivalism. In reading many church profiles there is a common theme in the desire to grow, many times focusing on the need of “increased numbers” as a means to keep their local ministries alive. Church growth is important, but I believe “growth for survival” is misdirection and is not “ministry”.
As I continue to look at “effective ministry”, I look to Diana Butler Bass’s (author of Christianity for the Rest of Us) study of the last ten years of church growth among liberal mainline Protestant churches as she notes three basic commonalities among those congregations that are growing. These congregations work: 1) on becoming a community; 2) growing in intimacy with God; and 3) welcoming strangers. These three aspects fit right in with Matthew 25 and II Corinthians 5:18, the cornerstone of my understanding of the Good News that Jesus brought to a world that continues to be so disconnected.
I offer my personal insight: I have learned over the years that personal growth and change is the primary focus in growing a church. I would title my present focus on church growth as “An experiment in growing faith.” Once our faith is truly owned and personalized, we become more open to the beauty of “all” God’s creation and become encouragers of others. We become a magnet for people who are looking to grow and find expression in their spiritual journey. True church growth starts – with the growth in faith by oneself! It is my opinion that one should look to church growth not in terms of “How do we grow” but rather looking to answer in earnest “How can I deepen my relationship with God.” In other words, not how can we grow our church but rather, ‘how can I grow myself?’ It is with the personal growth in our spiritual lives that is the basis for any significant growth of a congregation and thus deepening of the congregation’s ministry.
It is through the faith of those who have come before us, that we are able to be who we are and even more importantly, become what God wishes for us to be. The work of this church has been the labor of those saints before us, we are here to labor forward, continually laying the foundation for the next generation. Thank God for those we look to as our mentors and may God help us to be the Saints of those who come after us! Amen
I wish to close with this prayer from Paul: “…I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart’s may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe…”