why stephen ministry is simultaneously the best and worst use of my time
About six months ago I started Stephen Ministry training. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I wasn't involved in service with my church community, I found myself recognizing fewer and fewer faces, and I needed more volunteer experience. Being a graduate student and a reluctant efficiency expert, I decided to try something that would allow me to check all these boxes and maximize my time. Stephen Ministry seemed like a good fit for me.
And then training started.
I was in a class of about ten students. Don't get me wrong, these folks were awesome, and I have succeeded in making more friends because of this experience. But the curriculum reflected a sort of trite, over-simplified, by the numbers faith. A faith that is so sugar-coated that it makes me sick to my stomach.
Once that was finished, we started the required bi-monthly supervision and continuing education time. In this group, I am the youngest by a good 10-15 years. Which doesn't normally phase me, except that in this case it means that I have a very particular role to play. If I don't play it, a certain voice in the conversation is lost - usually the one that is calling for fresh perspective and a step out of our comfort zones. There are also interesting choices made on how to spend our time in small groups, and what information in our caring relationships seems important enough to focus on for extended periods of time. I am waiting to have my mind changed about this part of the process, but at this point it feels like a monstrous waste of my time.
Then there is the heart of it all. I have been paired up with someone who has requested a little extra TLC. I must confess, I fell into the worst trap ever and passed judgment before we started meeting. But here I am eating my words, like I should be.
In this pairing, I have the opportunity to not only meet a need for another person, but to exercise my own gifts. We get to dialogue about Scripture, about what this crazy book means for our lives. I have already been thinking profusely about how to teach a healthy theology of Scripture to others, and now I am blessed with a chance to try it out one-on-one. This part of Stephen Ministry is what it is all about. This is what makes that lame meeting worth it (hopefully). I am growing because of this interaction, and hopefully she is too.
