back in the pulpit

About a month ago I was on a ferry. I was still traveling in Honduras at the time, and Thyra and I turned to the traveler next to us to have the usual traveler conversation. Where are you from? Where have you been so far on your trip? What do you recommend? How long have you been traveling for?

And then the question: What do you do? As in, what do you do for a real job when you're not on a ferry in Honduras? The first several questions provide information but none of it really too personal, and during these questions, I'm always trying to feel the other person out. While traveling I've met people from literally all over the world, and while this is part of the joy of traveling, it's also important to be reasonably cautious. You're never quite sure who you're talking to--and neither is the other person, and so you both proceed with caution. I generally try to answer the "what do you do" question vaguely: I'm a graduate student. Many people on ferries in Honduras don't know what seminary is--even if they think they do, they often don't--and so I usually just tell people that I'm a student. If they're curious, that can lead to a further conversation, but I usually don't volunteer that I'm studying in a program designed to train people to be pastors within the first seven minutes of a conversation.

And you, young woman from New York who started your trip in Guatemala and has been traveling for two months, what do you do back in New York?

"I'm a freelancer."

A freelancer? What does that mean? A graphic designer? A writer? An artist? A sales consultant? Is this code for "I got downsized in the recession and I'm on a ferry in Honduras to forget about it so stop asking me"? Or, are you trying to hide something a bit more suspect? Come on, you seem nice enough; give me something that makes me want to trust you.

But she never did; she was just a "freelancer."

Maybe that's what I am too--a freelance preacher. Since being licensed to exhort last year, I've preached in Ontario and in Korea, but I didn't really have much desire to do so in Grand Rapids. However, desire or not, one of the requirements at CTS is to preach, and so I've taken to the pulpit supply list and started my freelance work. Last week was a morning and evening service south of GR, and this week was a morning service 140 miles to the east. They all went quite well, actually; I even enjoyed it. I'll also be preaching March 20th and April 17th at my church here in GR, Boston Square. Between those, I'll be making my Sully, Iowa, debut on the evening of April 3rd.

Soon, however, I'll be going from freelancer to intern. I'm slated to do a ten-week internship in a congregation this summer. The list of potential internship sites comes out this week, and then next week I have to submit my top three choices. The field experience office takes these into consideration and consults with my mentor and with the prospective churches, and on March 28th, they announce where I--and everyone else in my class--will be exhorting for the summer. (Freelancers and interns can't preach; we can only exhort. Ordained ministers preach the Word of God. It makes sense in principle, but perhaps in practice it's only a matter of semantics.)