As I’ve been reflecting on the story of the prophet, Elijah from our Old Testament reading for today, I can’t help but wonder how he would have fared as a candidate for pastoral ministry. One of the committees that I have served for most of my pastoral ministry is the District Committee on Ministry.
In our Foothills District, which consists of 160 churches there are about 20 of us who serve on this committee. Our main purpose is to interview candidates for ordained or local pastor ministry.
We meet in the fall to interview those candidates who are seeking to be ordained later in our West Ohio Conference. If we approve them at the district level, we send them to the conference committee on ministry to continue their process toward ordination.
Our district committee on ministry also meets every year during a week in February and we break into several interview teams and we end up interviewing about 40 people who are local licensed pastors serving churches in our district. Ever year, these 40 local pastors need their pastoral licenses renewed.
Each of these interviews last for about an hour and we end up asking each pastor all kinds of questions about pastoral ministry.
Some of these questions include, “How is ministry going in the church you’re serving?” “Share your understanding of God’s grace?” “What does Holy Communion mean to you?” “How would you handle a certain situation in your church?”
I always consider these interviews a very sacred duty because we want to make sure that each local pastor who serves a church in our district is sufficiently qualified for that vital role they are providing as part of being a pastoral leader in the United Methodist Church.
I’m just trying to picture Elijah serving as pastor in one of our churches and meeting with one of our Foothills interview teams. I’m going to use a lot of creative license here in telling a little of the story of Elijah but with some of my own pastoral experiences in learning to spend more time in the quiet presence of God.
“Elijah, it says here in our notes from last year’s interview that you were dealing with a lot of conflict with a married couple in your community named Ahab and Jezebel. Says here how you got back at them by taking matters into your own hands and causing there to be a severe drought upon their land. We asked you if you had first checked with God about doing this or at least consulted with your Leadership Board and you indicated that you didn’t see any reason to do so. If you remember, and by your own admission, you can be a little impulsive and hot-headed. Have you been working on these issues since we last met?”
“Oh, yes. I have changed a lot in this area. I really learned from that experience. Not too long after my interview with you last year, I was thinking about what you said. And so I went into the wilderness, sat down under this broom tree wondering if I should really even continue in ministry. I actually fell asleep under that tree when an angel from God said to me, ‘Get up and eat and go to where I send you.’ So I got up, ate the food that was prepared for me and set off to a mountain where I found a cave.”
It was there that God said to me, ‘I know that you’re very zealous in serving me, but the problem is you’re trying to do everything on your own power and strength. Walk outside of this cave, and I’ll show you what I mean.’
So no sooner had I walked outside of that cave, there was this strong wind that appeared out of nowhere and I wondered if that was a sign of God’s presence, but to my surprise, it wasn’t.
And after that massive wind, there was an earthquake, and I thought for sure this was a sign from God, but God wasn’t in the earthquake either.
Well, then there was a fire, and still no sign of God. I thought to myself, how can God not be present in these powerful forces of nature; the wind, the earthquake and the fire?
Just as soon as that fire went out, there was nothing left but sheer silence. At first I thought that was really strange because God is usually revealed through these loud and dramatic signs in nature. And that’s when I finally realized what you all were trying to tell me last year. Sometimes we just need to find God in those quiet moments, instead of always trying to rely on our own strength.”
“And how is that working for you after you made that discovery?”
I’m still learning. You know, slowing down and listening for God in the silence is not easy for me to do. I’m just not wired that way. I like to be active and to be able to see results right away. But I’ve found that when I trust in my own strength and do things impulsively without spending time in prayer and reflection, that’s when I start feeling burned out and I lose my sense of joy in ministry and life in general.”
“Can you share any specific ways that you’re listening more to God’s still, small voice?
“Well yeah, like there was a church meeting a few months ago that I knew was going to be really stressful. We were dealing with a very contentious issue and that whole day I had knots in my stomach because I didn’t know how it was going to turn out.
I was worrying so much about it that I couldn’t even focus on other things I needed to get done that day. As I drove into the church parking lot that night for the meeting, all of the sudden, it dawned on me that I never took time to slow down and pray about it. And so, when I parked my car, I just sat there for a few minutes to find that quiet presence of God.
And as soon as I walked through the front door of the church, I felt this amazing sense of peace that everything was going to be OK.”
“Well, don’t leave us in suspense! How did your meeting go that night?”
“I couldn’t believe it. It ended up being one of our best meetings we ever had. We didn’t all agree on what we should do, but we could all tell that God was leading us and we ended up making a decision that was better than what I had been thinking we should do. Note to self, when you’re starting to feel stressed out and anxious about something, first go and spend some quiet time with God.”
“That’s a great example, Elijah. What else are you doing differently to listen for God’s voice?”
“Well, one morning, I just wasn’t quite myself for some reason. I noticed that I was feeling a little sad, but I didn’t know why. It was a sunny day with blue skies, and I didn’t know why I was feeling so down that morning. Something was bothering me but I just couldn’t name it.
As I was driving down the road to go to the church, I remember thinking that maybe listening to some music would help. After a minute or two of listening to one of my favorite songs, I noticed that I wasn’t really listening to the music anymore. It just sounded like noise to me.
It was at that point that I decided to do something that was out of character for me. I pulled into the next available parking lot to spend some time to find some quiet and just think. And that’s when it dawned on me. It was my father’s death anniversary that day. That was why I was feeling so down and I didn’t know it until I spent that time in silence.
God met me in that quiet moment. And that’s all I needed. Got back on the road and I was able to feel God’s peace for that rest of that day.
I have one more example to share with you if we have time.”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Well, one day after that whole encounter with God on the mountain experience where God was in the silence instead of the wind, the earthquake and the fire, I decided that I needed a place like that. And I thought that if I was able to encounter God by a cave on that mountain, I might as well have my own man cave.
My man cave is a room in my house where I can have some quiet and spend time with God. It’s a great way to begin my day. I think about my day ahead and invite God to give me guidance and strength for the day ahead.
A lot of times, that time of prayer is a way for me to listen for God’s voice and remind me to depend on God for that new day. I don’t know, it just makes a difference when I have that routine in that man cave of my house. Plus, it reminds me of that cave on the mountain where God met me in the silence.
“I like that! A spiritual reason to have a man cave!”
“Well, our time is up, Elijah. Sounds to us like you’ve learned a lot over this past year about listening for God’s voice instead of trying to do ministry on your own strength.”
So, this is how I would imagine a district committee on ministry meeting going with the Prophet Elijah. These are the type of conversations we have with pastors throughout that week of interviews. Those meetings have a way of reminding me of my own need to depend on God as I live out my faith.
Often times, we read how Jesus would go off to pray. He did this on several occasions. I’m sure that Jesus could have healed more people, spoken to more crowds, and spent more time with the disciples, but he also knew when he needed to withdraw and find that quiet presence with God.
Now, if Jesus knew to do this often, why would we ever think that we can live out our faith without that quiet presence? Maybe this is why today’s Psalmist begins his psalm by praying to God, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
May we all thirst for those flowing streams where we can find a quiet presence, because as Elijah reminds us, it’s often in the silence when God speaks the loudest.
A Quiet Presence
We long for you, O God. We confess that we get discouraged when our efforts seem futile. We are afraid of what the future might bring. We confess that when we pray, we don’t always feel that you hear us. Be present with us. Heal our places of doubt, despair, and alienation. Cast out all that seeks to distract us from hearing your still, small voice. Teach us to sit in silence. We long for you, O God and our souls thirst for you! Amen.
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