I did a mental evaluation of my experience at Aldersgate up to the halfway point this summer. I thought about my goals and expectations for the summer, and then I thought about my actual experience. It turns out that my expectations and my experience didn’t quite match up. My class on pastoral care taught me how to sit in an office and talk with people who come in just dying to tell me all about their lives. It turns out that doesn’t happen.
But I wouldn’t trade the experiences that I have had this summer for anything! I have absolutely loved every minute of my time with Aldersgate, and especially with all of the people who have so graciously welcomed me! According to Matthew 10:40-42, the one who welcomes “one of the little ones” (i.e. even the intern), will be rewarded generously. Matthew makes the claim that hospitality towards fellow Christians is hospitality towards Jesus, so how beautiful a church who welcomes an “outsider.”
For that I want to say thank you!
But that’s only part of the reason that I have loved my Aldersgate experience. The other goal that I had set for this summer was to begin to understand the daily patterns of a pastor. Well it turns out that I get to be involved in pretty much everything! I have had such diverse experiences. From planning classes, to visiting in people’s homes, to hanging out with youth, to going to Guatemala, it turns out that even the intern gets to experience the diversity of church life; which could easily be equated to the diverse roles within the body of Christ that Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 12. That would be an adequate lesson from my reflection too. But that’s not what my reflection revealed either.
Of all the things that I could have learned from this diverse experience: finding peace in the midst of craziness, having faith that God will provide, being patient in a fast paced schedule, how to love people who keep saying “hey intern” (not to name anyone specific, like say Jason) or the benefit of listening to my elders (Dennis), none of these are the lessons that stand out above the rest!
The lesson that has stuck the firmest is the limit of knowledge. What I realized is that my expectations could only project so much, because I had only been exposed to so much. I had to experience more before I could ask the right questions in my classes. I had to learn more about ministry before I could ask the right questions about ministry. There will always be a plateau of wisdom that we can reach until we finally put our knowledge to the test. If I didn’t let Jason, Dennis, and Hedy teach me about real, meaningful ministry, I would never have known the questions to ask them. I learn, I experience, and therefore I can learn more. Through this lesson, I have learned to overcome the limits of my knowledge.
I normally try to transition from my own experience to get others thinking about their own, but the truth is, I don’t know what limits you have found. So I have learned that there are times when I cannot teach, but merely offer it in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and allow God to work.
Again, thank you to everyone who continues to make this experience the life changing event that it has been to this halfway point!
The post Limits – David McWilliams appeared first on Aldersgate.
