September 13th, 2011
In July, I spent four Sundays as the interim pastor for the church where we are members. My pastor was on a month long sabbatical leave. I was nervous and excited as the month approached. Will I have enough time to prepare sermons? Will my son feel neglected? Will I feel guilty about not spending more time with him?
I have chosen to stay home with my son for the this time in his life. It is an intentional decision based on many different things. I have loved it (most of the time) and found out more about myself through this process. However, I also know that I love ministry. I want to continue to be a minister while I am a mother to my son. For years, I have told women they could do both. I have witnessed some great models in motherhood and ministry. But, when the time came for me to do it myself, I had doubts.
As I reflect upon the month, I realize July zipped by so quickly. It was a fun month of preaching and getting to know a congregation I am already learning to love. I was humbled by how quickly folks shared their stories with me. I loved how God used each worship service in unique ways to help us think about rest and renewal in our lives. I enjoyed walking with this congregation as we prayed for our pastor’s time away.
The really fun part was watching my son. He had no idea that his mom had accepted more responsibilities at church. What he did learn was that there were a whole hosts of people ready to play with him on Sunday mornings. He loved having extra play dates with everyone from the preschool minister to the building supervisor. One of my favorite memories was of one morning at staff meeting when I didn’t have childcare for him. We brought a walker up from the nursery and he played but decided that during prayer time. He laughed and called out while we were bringing our requests before God. Momentarily I was slightly embarrassed, but two of the ministers graciously said, “This isn’t the first time children have been with us for staff meeting and it makes it more fun!” At the end of prayer time, our staff was dismissed while the ministers stayed to discuss Sunday’s service, the building supervisor held out his arms and my son jumped into them. Mr. Charlie took Parker for a tour of the church, to play with the ladies in the office, and to find some extra toys. They all took turns playing with him and he didn’t seem to miss me for a moment. He came back to me with a smile across his face.
While I was pastoring the congregation, my son had a chance to see what God looks like– in all the people who helped me care for him. He saw love, laughter, kindness, creativity, and fun. All a few of my favorite parts of the Divine.
I don’t know what the future holds for us but, I am grateful for the moments we had to learn something new in July. May my son and I both continue to be amazed at the ways God reveals God self to us each day. Amen.
LeAnn Gunter Johns has served on church staffs in Georgia and California. Now living in Macon, Georgia, she is busy writing, preaching, and enjoying her husband, Barry, and son, Parker. (This post is from LeAnn’s blog “Waking Up Somewhere Else.”
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May 18th, 2011
Last Friday and Saturday my facebook feed was full of congratulatory responses to students winning end of the year awards. It’s a good reminder of one’s accomplishments that have been recognized by others and took me back down memory lane. Perhaps one of the awards I am most proud of was not awarded to me by my college or seminary but by my middle school volleyball coach.
The daughter of a multi-lettered high school athlete, I inherited my father’s love of playing sports. I fell short of the “natural athlete” gene and realized early on that I would have to work hard to be a good team player. I was elated when I made it on the girls’ volleyball team my eighth grade year. My parents were strict about maintaining good grades while playing sports. That fall semester I earned my best grade point average yet. On the court, I relied on our top players to help me hone in good technique. It was Nancy who taught me the team cheer and how to serve. Heather demonstrated the perfect set. At home and at after school practice, I worked to practice what these more seasoned players had taught me. By the end of the season, I had been moved from the second string to one of the starters and most memorably, I was given the award for the “Most Improved Player.”
As a thirteen-year-old, it was a good lesson for me to learn. With discipline and hard work, improvement can be made. I didn’t do it alone though. It was with the help of my teammates who were willing to coach me along. These are lessons I still take with me in ministry today. There are gifts in ministry that are God given and the tools I received in seminary, but it’s the instruction of my peers in ministry who have taught me how to use them in the real world. Those peers include Tamara who gave me instructions on how to sit on the platform and David who taught me how to slide my manuscript without distraction. There are the countless others who have read through a sermon and offered encouragement. They are all a part of who I am as a minister today.
I believe we should all be making improvements in our role as ministers. Let us not forget that God is always calling us to be who we are and to share from that place with others. Congratulations recent Seminary graduates! As you begin your ministry placements, find your “teammates”, ask for help, and keep sharpening your skills in ministry. As we move forward, perhaps the greatest lesson found on the court and in ministry is that we are never alone.
LeAnn Gunter Johns has served on church staffs in Georgia and California. Now living in Macon, Georgia, she is busy writing, preaching, and enjoying her husband, Barry, and son, Parker.
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May 16th, 2011
This month, we’ll celebrate six months since Parker drew his first breath of life into this world. The last six months have radically changed my life. These moments have been full of blessings and joys. We’ve also faced (and conquered) unexpected illnesses. I’m remembering the college habit of what it means to function on very little sleep. I’ve learned that multi-tasking with a baby at your side requires extra skills. My growing son is teaching me something new about myself each day.
Being Parker’s mom has been another lesson in relinquishing control, a life lesson that I find difficult. It’s also encouraged me to let my own high achieving expectations go. In the midst of these lessons, we struggle to find a common ground from which to understand each other. Most recently, during a particularly fitful crying episode that I’d like to blame on teething (simply because that seems to work when all other causes are eliminated) I decided we’d load up in the car and go for a drive. My mostly mild-mannered child who loves to ride in the car screamed louder while resisting and fighting me to get strapped in his seat. Exhausted and frustrated that I could not meet his needs, I collapsed into the floor in front of him in a tear-filled moment of my own. I thought to myself, “What kind of mother am I?”
In spite of my doubts that day and others that follow, each night Parker confirms I’m the right mother for him as he curls up into my arms. It’s in these moments as he settles down to snuggle before drifting off to sleep that God quietly reminds me that in His grace I am enough. I’m not perfect (someone remove this from the archives so Parker can’t remind me of this when he’s a teenager), but I am the mother for Parker. And in each new discovery, the promises of God and His love for me are displayed through my growing baby boy.
LeAnn Gunter Johns is a Baptist minister, wife, and mother. She lives in Macon, Georgia.
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March 17th, 2011
Peter and two other disciples traveled with Jesus to the top of a mountain. There on the mountain they experienced an event known to us as the Transfiguration. Jesus was transformed before their eyes, his face shone brightly, and his clothes were sparkling white. Elijah and Moses appeared before them and had a conversation with Jesus. The unimaginable happened for Peter and the other disciples. These great men of faith, men whom they talked about and quoted, actually appeared in their presence.
Peter’s awe and excitement about what he had seen led him to proclaim how good it was for them to be there and how they needed to build three booths or tabernacles–one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. The insinuation was that Peter wanted to honor the experience and never leave. Just a few verses before this scripture passage, Peter answered Jesus’ questions about his identity. Peter might have offered the correct answer to the questions, but he did not yet understood its meaning. He wanted to live in this place forever. He wanted to memorialize the event rather than follow Jesus in his future and coming departure.
While he was speaking, Peter was interrupted by a bright cloud and a loud voice saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”
I’ve always known there’s a difference in hearing and listening, but as a new parent I’m learning about that difference in a whole new way. I hear noises all around me throughout the day. I hear the news on television and hear conversations with my husband about his day at work. However, just hearing my son’s cries is not discerning enough to know how to respond to him. I have learned that I must listen to distinguish his cries from hunger from his cries of exhaustion. As caregivers of children know, standing at the foot of the bed or the side of the crib listening to the patterns of your child’s breathing is one of the most intense moments before being able to relax and drift off into your own sleep. Listening requires us to practice stillness and give attention to what is happening or being said in the moment.
God commanded the disciples to listen to Jesus. Not to just hear him saying words but to intently listen to the message behind what he was saying. It was important because there was a message for them in what he was saying. They were invited to follow Jesus. They were invited to intersect their lives with his life.
God’s message to the disciples on the mountain was to listen, listen and pay close attention to Jesus in the days to come. God’s message to us is the same—listen, listen and pay close attention to Jesus in the days to come.
LeAnn Gunter Johns is a Baptist minister. She has served churches in Georgia and California and now spends much of her time listening to the sounds made by her amazing four-month-old son.
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April 19th, 2010
A new skill requires lots of practice before mastery, right? Why is it that some skills take years of practice before they become second nature to us? Here’s a story from my real life ministry setting about a skill that I am working to master:
After six years of parish ministry, I decided to fulfill a dream I have had since graduating seminary four years earlier. I worked for a year at the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Palo Alto, California, as a Clinical Pastoral Education resident. I wanted to learn more about myself, gain additional skills in my pastoral ministry, and explore another ministry opportunity.
One of the first lessons I was able to put into practice in CPE was something I had found difficult to do in the parish setting—establish and maintain boundaries within my work duties. The nature of working in a hospital and, more specifically, in a military setting like the VA, lends itself to natural boundary setting. My tour of duty was from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and if I was not the chaplain on call, I was not to be on the premises. The VA had certain expectations and guidelines for chaplains to follow. The VA had other professionals, highly trained and qualified, to give care to the patient’s other needs. My job was to work with these providers to assist in the patients’ healing process by offering spiritual care.
A beautifully challenging year came to an end last August, and I found myself back in the parish. I am serving as a solo pastor-for-a-year (a.k.a. interim pastor). Almost immediately after I took this position, an issue emerged related to one of the church’s renters, an issue that greatly affected some of the church’s property neighbors. Weeks turned into months worth of meetings with all parties involved disagreeing on any kind of peaceful resolution. The deacons relied on me, as the pastor, to be the go-between with the renters, neighbors, and the church. No one agreed on anything. It seemed like it was easier for the neighbors and renters to refuse and not cooperate because they were communicating with a messenger (the pastor) and not each other.
Finally, one night while finding myself researching property laws online, I stopped to think about the lessons from CPE. I prayed, “God, what am I doing? I am back in the same trap again. This is not the work You have called me to do.” I had no training or experience in property law, yet I had allowed myself to be triangulated in the middle of this situation. Immediately, I sent an e-mail to the members of the deacon board requesting a meeting. At the meeting, I shared my frustrations with communications and my realization of my own limits, and I set a boundary with them. I handed over the paperwork and all communications and asked for someone else to take it over. I said, “When I spend my time on these projects, I am not able to be fully present to the job you hired me for, to be your pastor.” Amazingly, they agreed. They took the information and began contacting all persons involved. Once the pastor got out of the way, a compromise solution emerged within a week!
Was it hard to be vulnerable and admit my own limits? Absolutely! But it was worth it in the end. I was able to claim more time and energy to do the things that bring me life in pastoral ministry. I had more time to spend with the congregants and preparing for sermons.
It also made a difference in the lives of the deacons. They saw what they were able to accomplish for their church. It empowered them to take on other projects since this event.
I have had ton of opportunities to practice this new skill of boundary setting in recent days. Sometimes I have succeeded, and at other times, I have failed miserably. But I have always learned something new about myself in the process, and it gives me hope for healthier ministry practices in the future.
What skills or lessons are you practicing in your ministry? With what parts of this wonderful vocation do you struggle?
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In July, I spent four Sundays as the interim pastor for the church where we are members. My pastor was on a month long sabbatical leave. I was nervous and excited as the month approached. Will I have enough time to prepare sermons? Will my son feel neglected? Will I feel guilty about not spending more time with him? 
