Ministry Interview Questions

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS FOR ORDINATION

ELDERS AND FULL MEMBERSHIP

1. How have you taught tithing in your congregation? What was their response?

While some clergy wince at the idea of talking about money, the fact is, Jesus spoke about money and possessions a lot. I do teach about the importance of honoring God with your finances and the significance of tithing. And when I do, that is often how I preface my conversations. “Jesus talked about it and I trust Jesus so let’s look at what God’s word has to say…” In fact, when you step back and look at the totality of Jesus teaching it is clear that Jesus talks more about money than most anything else and so I follow his example.

When I preach/teach on this topic, I am always intentional in my

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously.

If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly (Romans 12:6-8).

This is a tremendously relevant question for where we are presently in ministry at Gas City First. God has helped us recognize the vital nature of helping our laity discover, develop and deploy their gifts in service to Christ and his church. Intentional leadership development has become a central focus. We have restructured our board meetings to have an intentional forward focus. We spend less time peering backwards at what we have already done, and far more time focused on our future and what God would have us do next.

Each board/committee meeting begins with a time of leadership

How has your life been transformed since being appointed to serve in full time ministry?

The very practice of processing my faith and beliefs and articulating them in writing has served as a sort of spiritual formation activity resulting in greater self-realization. Since being appointed to serve in full time ministry my life has been transformed in the following ways:

Call Affirmed:

Being active in full time vocational ministry has confirmed my call. Through the many experiences in ministry God has given me an ongoing sense of divine calling that fills my being with confidence and affirms my personal passions for fulltime pastoral ministry within the United Methodist Church. Over the years these call affirmations have continuously provided the anchor necessary for me to strive for ever-increasing levels of excellence in ministry. Absent a genuine confidence in divine calling, it would not be possible for me to maintain a missional focus and passion for fulltime vocational ministry.

It is God’s Spirit within me that fuels any forward motion. Despite how much I love serving others and helping others and leading others into more Christ-like lives, I could not, indeed would not do so as a vocation if I were not 100% convinced that this is in fact God’s vision and plan for my life. Even if the United Methodist Church gave a resounding “yes!” to my