s you are reading this, I will be on vacation following the Evangelical Covenant Church’s Annual Meeting and celebration of 125 years of ministry as a denomination, which was held in Minneapolis.  As I am writing this article ahead of my travels, I am looking forward to that celebration.  Twenty-five years ago I was a part of the 100-year celebration of the Evangelical Covenant, which was also held in Minneapolis.  It was a significant meeting for me as I was ordained as a Covenant pastor at that annual meeting.           

Ordination in the Covenant is a highly significant event in the life of those who are ordained as Covenant pastors.  There are now two main categories of ordinands, ordained to Word and Sacrament (which is where I fall as a pastor of a congregation) and ordained to Specialized Ministries (where people serve in various roles in the church and chaplaincy and other ministry settings).  The ordination service is one of the highlights of the annual meeting for me because it reminds me of God’s call on my life to be a pastor.  Ordination is a recognition of the church of God’s call on people like me to be in service for Him, usually in a full-time capacity.             

For those who have not heard the story of my call to be a pastor, I’ll give you a brief account (with my apologies to those who have heard this before).  When I was confirmed in my home church, the Evangelical Covenant Church of Aurora, Nebraska, instead of the usual Confirmation liturgy that we use here for our students, our pastor at the time, Rev. Wesley Sundberg, thought all six of us should do a presentation on something we had learned during our studies.  It was like a two- to three-minute mini-sermon from each student.  As people shook my hand after that worship service, the majority of them told me they thought I should be a pastor.  I had not ever considered that before, and I didn’t really like the idea of being a pastor.  Pastor Sundberg also told me he could see that I had ‘the pastor spirit’.  I wasn’t sure what to do with that.           

So, I spent the next eight years of my life, in high school and college, resisting that call to be a pastor.  I was involved in every aspect of the church; including helping clean every bit of the church as our family served as the janitors for a time.  I was up front often, singing in the choir and our youth group, as well as solos and duets with my sister, praying and reading scripture regularly.  When I went away to college, I was involved in ministry at North Park, on a gospel team and part of the religious life committee all four years. 

All those years, even though I was involved in ministry, I was also moving away from God, looking for other things to do instead of being in ministry.  I was unhappy, but kept trying to do things my own way.  When I graduated from college, my chosen career path was research psychology.  However, God put up as many obstacles as He could in my path until I totally gave up going my way, and accepted His way and His call on me to be a pastor.  When I went to my home church for a visit and announced my decision to go to seminary to become a pastor, it was like they all said, “We knew it all along!”             

Once I entered seminary, I discovered the freedom and joy of being in God’s will.  There was so much affirmation for me in seminary, from professors and peers.  That affirmation of my call reached a high point when I was ordained in 1985 at the 100^th year celebration of the Evangelical Covenant Church.  These 25 years of pastoral ministry have not been all smooth sailing, but through all the ups and downs, I have trusted in God’s call on my life, and will continue to do so as I serve Him as long as He will have me.                                                                                                                      

 Pastor Dave

 

Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant
Vision Statement (2008)

To be an open community and caring family that moves outside the church building and actively ministers to all people, bringing the good news of God’s grace and love.

This is what is stirring among us, as the Holy Spirit helps us move outside of ourselves, seeing the people outside of our building as God sees them, people in need of His grace and love, and in need of the resources and abilities and love in action with which God has blessed us.