Archive for May, 2014

Overlooked

5 comments Written on May 29th, 2014     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

My name is Drusilla (Dru) McLeland and I serve as the Central Conference Liaison to the Board of the Advocates for Covenant Clergy Women.  My husband, Paul, and I have been married 27 years and we have one daughter, Katie.  In response to God’s call to pastoral ministry, I am pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Northern Theological Seminary.  I am currently in Clinical Pastoral Education with the Adventist Midwest Health System.  I want to be a gracious woman, who becomes more and more like my Heavenly Father who is Home to all prodigal daughters and sons.

Sometimes I overlook people who are marginalized. This disturbs me.  It goes against my core belief in the value of every person.  I want my actions reflect my core beliefs and it bothers me they are incongruous.  There are some Old Testament characters I’ve overlooked.  One of these is Tamar the wife of Er (Gen. 38).

Jacob’s son, Judah, moves and marries Shua, a Canaanite woman.  They have three sons; Er, Onan and Shelah.  Er marries Tamar.  He is wicked, so God kills him.  There is no male hair carry on Er’s legacy and Judah tells Onan to go to Tamar, perform his duty as a brother-in-law and produce an heir.  Onan knows the child won’t be his so he spills his semen on the ground.  The Lord is not pleased with this and puts Onan to death.  Judah sends Tamar to go back to her father to wait until Shelah is old enough to marry.  But really he has no intention of giving Shelah in marriage to her.  He’s afraid Shelah will die if he is associated with Tamar. Continue Reading »

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Seeking the Shepherd’s Heart: A Call for Empathy to Men in Ministry

6 comments Written on May 18th, 2014     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

Ironically, this article was published exactly one year ago by Corrie Gustafson on her blog.  She has given permission to repost it in its entirety. Corrie has served 6 years in young adult ministry, 2 years in hospital and hospice chaplaincy and 3 years as the Care Pastor at Hope Covenant Church, Chandler, AZ. In June she will be Ordained to Word and Sacrament and also begin working as a chaplain at the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. She blogs regularly at http://www.pastorwithapurse.com

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Not long ago my father talked to a prominent pastor who also leads a seminary. The seminary’s branding is all about having a shepherd’s heart, encouraging students to emulate the Good Shepherd, Jesus. Somehow my father and this pastor came to the topic of women in ministry and the theology that separates egalitarians and complementarians. Dad shared some of the struggles I’ve encountered being a woman in ministry. The pastor responded with, “I don’t mind when people have [egalitarian] views, I just don’t like it when they get angry about it.”

When my father relayed the conversation, I asked him to repeat it several times. A few days later, I questioned him for exact wording. I didn’t want to make assumptions or emotional responses based upon them. When it was clear that this was the pastor’s actual statement, I let myself feel fully the disappointment and frustration that I had been holding back. Continue Reading »

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