Baptism

Rescued from the darkness

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As part of my ongoing exploration and consideration of ordination, and in readiness for meeting Examining Chaplains in the new year, the DDO has set me 3 questions which comprise the Ministry Enquiry Form.  Over Christmas I have been thinking about my past and my understanding of ordination in the Church of England. The future challenges for the Anglican Church in the future, and my role in it, is something I have to think about too.

This post is the first of those questions.

Please write your own account of your spiritual pilgrimage thus far and how your sense of a call to ordained ministry in the Church of England fits in with that journey.

Here is my account.

Continue reading →

A Pilgrim’s Progress

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Pilgrims Progress

Pilgrim’s Progress: my transformation by God through exploring ordination is becoming evident.

This week it came to me that my exploration of ordination has moved onto another stage.

Things are coming into focus, and not just for me.

The signs had been there when I met with the DDO a few weeks ago, but it was only during this past week that I picked up on the signals.  Continue reading →

The Ministry of Doubt

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"Truth and doubt", a doodle by Derek Bruff during a sermon by Brent Hutchinson.

“Truth and doubt”, a doodle by Derek Bruff during a sermon by Brent Hutchinson.

There is one element of my exploration of ordination that I have been slightly uncomfortable about from the start, if this was God’s will why had He seemingly not spoken through other people about it?

It has felt like everyone else I have met, or heard about, that is exploring ordination has had people going up to them passing on messages from God.  They might not know it but they have a gift of leadership, of preaching, healing, praying or something else that God wants them to be using.  God has told them that they should be ordained. Continue reading →

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

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With a DDO it can feel like a fine line between an interview, interrogation or inquisition, but they are being helpful, really!

With a DDO it can feel like a fine line between an interview, interrogation or inquisition, but they are being helpful, really!

Have you ever found that the more you look into something the more you realise you don’t know?  Exploring ordination has made me realise just how much I don’t know, or understand, about the Christian faith.

I met with the DDO for the second time last week.  It was quite unlike our first meeting, which was a fairly light hearted chat about my life, my route to faith and to exploring ordination.  Having said that, the DDO did throw a curve ball at that meeting though, about possibly having to move my family in order to train (see Ordination at any cost?).  I should have taken it as a sign that our conversations wouldn’t always been easy. Continue reading →

A baptism in social media

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As I have said in the past exploring God’s call has got me looking to see Him in each experience I have.  Writing this blog is certainly helping me in that regard as well, not least because I need something worthwhile to write about!

I knew from the start of exploring ordination that the church’s authorised discerners (I’m sure there is a better term for them!) like people to keep a journal.  I enjoy doing that but it is quite different from the blog.  The journal is often simply a stream of consciousness, or a collection of random thoughts and helpful or challenging quotes that I come across.  As it has no audience but myself it never has to be coherent; a consequence being that thoughts are sometimes left hanging, never developed and remain unsubstantiated. Continue reading →