7 Lessons from CALLED 2022
By Jonathan Geraci
1. Innovate under adversity.
“We are standing on their shoulders.” With those words George Knight narrated an experience of an Adventist pioneer that despite ethnic and gender discrimination produced innovative ministries for their time. Stories last. Knight’s five-minute historical sketch was memorable and encouraging. Many of the stories had a subtle reference to current church politics, and cultural trends. Knight’s historical monologues inspired me to innovate under adversity.
2. Keep programming pieces short.
When I first looked at the schedule I said, “Oh great, sitting through a more than 2-hour meeting, really?” But I found that the design of the program was engaging. The event coordinators did a brilliant job providing a massive amount of value content in short sound bites that didn’t have a long monologue that we’ve come to expect from religious meetings.
3. Empathizing with the pain brings hope.
The overall theme was no matter the pain and suffering of ministry, hold on because you are called by God. The convention sought to validate the grief experienced personally and ministry wise of the past two years of the pandemic. As I reflect on the theme I ask myself “Do I have more tools to handle ministry grief? While I have affirmations of the struggle in ministry, did I leave having hope?” I can’t say clearly that I have. But perhaps having a community to empathize with pastoral grief is enough.
4. Movement is healing for grief.
The F5 Challenge crew brought energy and enthusiasm to the meetings. They got us on our feet to exercise when it would have been easy to tune out. This was another highlight of the program. The group exercise was a shot of veggie caffeine that kept us going and made us feel good about ourselves and life.
5. Singing together heals grief.
The last day of the convention felt intimate, like singing in a small group of friends. Pastors sang the hymns with gusto, which left me with the feeling of hope and peace.
6. Social connections are important for pastoral resiliency.
One element from the convention was reconnecting with friends. It filled my heart to connect with other pastors. This theme of comradery I heard over and over from other pastoral colleagues as the main benefit of coming to a large convention. It made me question: will most pastors wait another five years for reconnection? Why should I wait to reconnect to other pastoral colleagues only when it is an organized event? I am intentional about connecting monthly to other pastoral colleagues to encourage one another and chat. This event inspired me to be intentional about an in-person meet up with pastoral friends even though we live miles apart.
7. I am called to ministry, don’t quit.
Despite the obstacles, discouragement and loneliness, don’t quit.
Jonathan Geraci is the Pastor of the Yellowknife Seventh-day Adventist Church and Inuvik mission groups in Northwest Territories, Canada.
