I was in a situation this week where i was taking the lead role in a group planning an act of worship. when i was making coffee beforehand, one of the other participants in that group – a minister who I’ve not had anything to do with up until this point – asked a number of questions that were, quite obviously, checking out my suitability for this task. i have no problem with that. it was an important act of worship, he had a proprietorial responsibility in the situation, and the decision to ‘bring me in’ had been made by others, not by him.
in response i ran through the normal checklist… my degree in theology, my formation for ministry, my 19 years of working with the church in different shapes of ministry, my post grad study, etc. etc. I know my credentials are up to scratch, my cv is perfect for this project, and it rolled off my tongue on demand. he was convinced.
i was so annoyed with myself afterwards. While i would be lost without these things, they aren’t the credentials that give me the ‘right’ to do alternative worship at all, or the right to be invited into people’s lives and spaces at sacred moments. nothing gives me the right. i have not earned this privilege.
i have to come up with better responses to these questions.
Blair
Blair
Cheryl
craig mitchell