To What Degree and in What Ways…

The Ministry Collaborative continues to expand both geographically and strategically with a network that spans the United States, and beyond. We remain committed to serving pastors and equipping ministry in a variety of settings, especially the “hard” places – places that don’t have as many available resources, places where the presence of Christian faith is rapidly vanishing, and places where there are acute social, racial, and economic divides, and so forth. This trust-building and resource sharing across differences serves as a model for what we hope to see in congregations and communities everywhere.

Our commitment to diversity – in numerous forms – is central to our values and key to our goals.  We know from our many years of work and collaboration that relationships and experiences are richer when diversity is a factor.  And we know through our evaluation tools that our ministry leaders learn and grow best when our programs seek to represent the broader Church and community.  TMC cohorts combine high levels of diversity with high levels of commitment, which results in an experience that is deeply transformative and, for many, life changing.  In our immersion experiences, pastors reflect on how exposure to diverse social, cultural, and environmental contexts can transform the ways in which they read Scripture, approach leadership, and understand their own sense of vocation.  Diversity, of all kinds, is important to TMC’s call and ministry.

This week we invited people from our network to express and explain the importance of diversity in their own call and ministry.  We asked,

To what degree and in what ways has encountering a diversity of people, places, experiences, and perspectives played a role in your faith formation? 

“As someone who grew up in Mexico, came to the United States at the age of 15 for High School, and has engaged with a primarily progressive, Anglo institutions, including serving as a Pastor within the PC(USA), I am well aware of how those experiences have greatly shaped my faith. They have helped me develop my core values, which in return help me express my faith through more authentic words and actions. I see how my faith has expanded to include more people and their realities. I see God’s vastness in those experiences.”- Jasiel Hernandez Garcia, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church Kerrville, TX.

 

“Being in community with people from so many different spiritual backgrounds has challenged me to become more curious and clear about my own faith. Reading and listening to diverse voices has challenged me to see and understand scripture, my neighbor and the world in new ways. I’d like to think it’s breaking down my assumptions and stereotypes and making me less judgmental and more open-hearted.” – Susan Rogers, Church Planter, Pastor of The Well, Jacksonville, FL

 

Wil McCall headshot“I believe unity without uniformity is possible in the body of Christ. If the church steps beyond societal norms, it can build trust and become a more sought-after leadership voice in its communities.” – Wil McCall, President/CEO, Dallas Leadership Foundation, Dallas, TX

 

 

“It has been in the encountering of many different voices and growing in relationship with people from different backgrounds that I have stretched and even changed many of my beliefs. This did not happen quickly, but it has allowed me to grow beyond my childhood faith.”- Gina Yeske, Associate Superintendent, Metro-Highlands Region UMC, NJ

 

 

“During my freshman year of college, I went to Switzerland as a steward for a World Council of Churches meeting. There were 31 of us from 22 different countries. While we all professed to be Christians, we also had very different religious practices and even beliefs which was very different from life my experiences where different people of faith practiced different religions. Being a steward expanded my understanding of this thing called Christianity and obliterated the idea that I could be a keeper of it. It was just too big, which for me gave me a sense of freedom, wonder and curiosity. I realized that no matter how much I thought I knew, believe or understood there were levels dimensions and depths beyond me. That sense of wonder, freedom and curiosity has been a hallmark of my personal faith and a quality that I try to pass on to others. I also learned that being an American abroad was even more complicated than I thought and being a Black woman abroad even more so and I determined then to develop the capacity to navigate it with grace.” – Jennifer Watley Maxell, Pastor, The Breakthrough Fellowship, Content Curator, The Ministry Collaborative, Atlanta, GA

 

“I am who I am today because of the rich, beautiful and often challenging diversity of the people and places I’ve been called to serve. This ever-expanding community has shaped my heart and is teaching me the secret of honoring and celebrating difference. To borrow, Martin Luther King Jr’s words, ‘We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.’ I take this as a given and I think King understood that the crisis of our age is not the crisis of difference that we often think it is. Instead, it is a crisis of sameness that is most challenging. We are all equally human in the eyes of God. It’s when we finally accept our sameness that we can fully honor, celebrate and reconcile our differences.” – Kris Rocke, Executive Director, Street Psalms, Tacoma, WA

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female,

for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

How would you respond to the question?  We’d love to hear from you!

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