Thirty-three Years - and a Different Universe

It was a beautiful Sunday. September 15, 1974.

Gerald Ford had been president for a little over a month following Nixon's resignation. The Vietnam War while officially "over" for Americans was still a deeply divisive issue.

Computers? Big, bulky things that only a select few knew how to work. Steve Jobs was 19 and Bill Gates was about to turn 19. IBM ruled the world and didn't see any reason why anyone would want a personal computer.

Elvis and John Lennon were still alive.

Christian Rock music was still mostly an oxymoron.

Youth ministry was still aimed at Baby Boomers and our self-centered world.

I had been married for 2 1/2 years.

I knelt in front of the Bishop. My family, friends, and congregation watched.

He placed his hands on my head, said some words from Scripture and then the blessing.

I was ordained. A pastor, minister, clergy.

Today, all these years later, I am not currently serving a parish. I have been on leave of absence to do secular ministry as an alcohol and drug counselor. I have been married over 35 years and I am nearing that magical 60-year old mark. (Less than 11 months away.) I don't feel as if that many years have passed. Life is even more interesting today than it was then.

The church and the world the church is called to serve in sure seem different though. We didn't notice it happening, of course. Many times we insist on ignoring those changes because we still feel like we did 30 years ago. Surely the church should be the same. But it isn't. Thus we find ourselves in a different world. In these past 33 years since I was ordained the world has changed far more quickly and profoundly and openly than in probably almost any other 33 year period in history. Looking at film or video from the mid 1970s looks like history- and it is!! It is not current events. Even Ronald Reagan's presidency is part of history not contemporary news.

I can understand why people can become conservative. As the world changes we want stability. We want things to remain the same. But they don't if for no other reason than we all age and change and bring different expectations. If I try to do in ministry what I did in my first parish in 1974 in most churches today, I will be left behind.

But there are some things that in essence don't change. I am also doing one of those things today. I am performing a wedding for the daughter of one of my best friends. He and I were in Seminary together. Today I have the joy and honor of doing the wedding! Life continues. Some things remain the same- but they are also for a new day. Even though I am not serving within the institution of the church I am still in ministry. It is still a joy on days like this and in whatever other ways God continues to call me.