Reflections on Ministry

Abstract

Authentic ministry is not simply a role or activity in service of the spiritual care of others. More fundamentally, it is the inner life turned outward - an internal disposition that opens new and profoundly counter-cultural ways of seeing, understanding, being with, and responding to both the everyday and the bigger questions and challenges of human existence. The paper takes the form of autobiographical essays informed by the writer’s MDiv coursework and field education experience. It also draws on the writer’s experience as a university program director, and from her experience living with a partner who struggles with mental illness. The paper begins with a framing chapter that explores the meaning of ministry, followed by three deeper experiments in theological reflection. It concludes with a short practice exercise in the art of blessing.