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Ordination Speaker Describes Pastors As 'God's Poetry'
By Craig Pinley
KEYSTONE, CO (June 28, 2002) - Pastors are measured by more than the
accomplishments that mark their individual ministries - they are "God's
poetry."
That is how Executive Minister David Kersten described them as he preached
the Thursday evening ordination service during the 117th Annual Meeting of
the Evangelical Covenant Church, which concluded today at the Keystone
Convention Center.
Church members often measure pastors by what they do in the local church.
God, on the other hand, sees pastors as more elegant than they may view
themselves, said Kersten as he reflected on the Ephesians 2 text. "You are
his pastoral art, you are his craftsman, but you are even more," said
Kersten as he affirmed the faith journeys of those ordained and
commissioned this week. "The Greek word for this is poema, which is
translated in English as poetry. You are God's poetry."
The select audience included six commissioned staff members, five pastors
who transferred their ordination to the Covenant and 16 pastors who
completed ordination. A complete list of these individuals can be found by
visiting the special Annual Meeting link on the Covenant web site home page
at www.covchurch.org.
Kersten spoke of the "interior life of faith" that characterizes the lives
of pastors as they follow Christ. He declared that the promise of God is
written in the vows we take, by
the wounds we get from our calling and by the prayers we make and receive
as we respond to God's calling.
For much of the first half of his sermon, Kersten recalled the story of
Jonah. He began with Jonah's initial refusal to follow God's call,
emphasizing the challenge that God gives to obey. He presented a visual
picture of Jonah's refusal to speak to the people of Ninevah in order to
save them. He continued the story of Jonah as he was thrown out of the boat
and the moment of being swallowed by the great fish. "Suddenly, he could
hear this great cadence, of the great heart of the fish, and he's hanging
on for dear life," Kersten explained. "And this deep cadence of life keeps
calling . . . Jonah . . . God . . . Ninevah.
"There are promises that maybe shouldn't have been made in the first
place," Kersten continued. "I don't think God is calling you to be a
doormat in this world. But for most of us, we are indeed called and made to
keep the promise. And when we do, we make a new reality in this world . . .
and those vows may be the only thing that keeps you in this world.
"But they'll keep you and hold you," he said. "There may be days and weeks
and years where you don't feel like keeping that promise, but we're going
to remind you."
In speaking about how the wounds will help write our ministry, Kersten
shared his belief that that pain allows pastors to become real to their
congregation. Kersten should know about pain. An individual at one
pastorate he once served stabbed him - and he nearly died as a result of
the knife wounds he suffered. "I laid down in a pool of blood and I
prepared to die," he said in describing the moments immediately following
the stabbing. Kersten managed to get out of the house and he survived. He
recalled how his faith changed as a result of his pain - he spoke of
individuals who helped him deal with
his pain in a new way.
"You've got to face those great losses and wounds in life," Kersten said.
"And when you do, you realize that Jesus has spoken to that pain through
the cross. Then you can go on your way and be the pastor that God called
you to be - somehow, some way, the making of you happens that way."
Kersten then focused on how prayer can empower us to do ministry. He
encouraged pastors and lay leaders of life to use the Psalms and other
biblical prayers to draw closer to God. He spoke about the prayers made by
a woman at his church in the weeks following the stabbing and how Psalm 124
encouraged him. And he closed by encouraging ordinands and commissioned
staff members to "speak your promise to the promise-making and
promise-keeping God."
Earlier in the evening, Richard Lucco was installed as superintendent of
the Great Lakes Conference (see accompanying photo) and David Dwight was
installed as the new president of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence. Both
were honored, along with those ordained and commissioned, in a reception
following Thursday evening's service.
Two ordinands, Peter Dahlstrom and Robert Reed, are the sons of ordained
Covenant pastors. Peter's father, Kendall, was there to lay hands on his
son in blessing. Meanwhile, Reed's father, Jerry, and father-in-law, Jorge
Maldonado, were among those laying hands on him.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
