2011 Biblical Storytellers Australia National Gathering

I wonder

this question emerges out of a recent conversation, which i was pondering some more today ...

is there a master plan? do things happen for a reason?

or do we, when we open up to the Spirit (however we name it, the depth within, the breadth without) find the courage and hope and temerity to keep opening doors until we find the door through which we fit?

or perhaps, we are being led through a series of doors - by fate / destiny / God / experience - and through each we learn something that helps us to get to and through the next ... and the next ...

reflecting on theological education

I was invited to be interviewed for a research project into theological education yesterday, and it prompted reflection on my experience as a student.
Two things linger from the conversation.
The first is how committed my theological college - Adelaide College of Divinity / Uniting College for Leadership and Theology - is to honouring the individual student's experiences and needs. Especially in Uniting College, the focus is on forming people for engaging in ministry as lay or ordained people of God. But there is no 'cookie cutter' vision of what a person engaged in ministry looks like. Each person comes to college, to ministry, with their own unique gifts, experiences and passions, and each person comes with their own needs for education and formation. So when I came to the college with these wild ideas of engaging in ministry as a creative person, creating Christian community in a new way, guided by an openness to art and spirituality, the faculty and staff listened. They honoured my sense of being called by God along this path, thus honouring me and honouring God. They identified gifts in biblical studies, and supported me in the extra learning I needed to undertake in pastoral studies. They set me free to learn about being a pioneer leader starting a new Christian community by starting a new Christian community. This commitment is time and energy consuming, but it seems to me to be a most faithful living out of their own calling as an educational community, to support, encourage and equip the leaders of our church. I am glad I had this moment to look again at this quality of my college, and to be grateful and just a little bit proud to be associated with it.

The other thing that lingers is my desire to continue to be part of the college, as a graduate and as an educator myself. My experience as a very out of the box student has provided many opportunities to learn about how I and others learn, and what we as a church need to continue to learn for the next stage of our journey here in Australia, with alternative and emerging forms of Christian community and the leaders required for those communities.
But also, my experiences while on study leave in the USA and Canada have sharpened my vision for postgrad study, and heightened my desire to live out a vision one of my mentors had for me - the wandering bard. I feel quite grateful for the support of my landlords and my church at the moment, and am feeling much more comfortable about letting the next part of my pioneer leading emerge in good time. I feel like for the other half time I'm not at Belair Uniting, I am something of a freelance minister / storyteller at the moment, and this feels quite good. Freelancing, I can spend a month listening to the stories of patients and families at the hospital; I can take on short term teaching, marking, research projects; and I can, and will, lead more workshops, take on more storytelling engagements, and write. I am looking forward to part of my freelancing time being given to mentoring and supporting the (pioneer) leaders studying at the college, in one way or another, and to exploring with the college and the wider church, the implications of our commitment to emerging and alternative forms of church for these leaders.