“Look, I’m sending you as sheep among wolves. Therefore, be wise as snakes and innocent as doves.”
When Jesus commissioned and sent his first disciples, he gave the worst motivational speech of all time. Basically, hey everyone, this is going to be a dangerous and massive failure, but stick to it! Because God will reward your faithfulness! Being sent out as prey among predators is not the way we tend to pitch discipleship and the call to ministry.
But it can be even more discouraging when it’s your own fellow Christians who are the wolves.
I was fortunate to grow up in a rural United Methodist congregation with several incredible female pastors. Over time, our predominantly white congregation also received some incredible Korean pastors. Experiencing this as a child and youth, I naively assumed this was a common and positive encounter for everyone. As I spent more time in the ministry myself, I heard more and more stories from colleagues and friends whose difficulties in ministry were terribly compounded by the fact that they were not a white male. Though our denomination puts forth a public face of diversity and egalitarian inclusion, the lived experience of many women and minorities in ministry proves that we have a long way to go to respect all people for who God made them to be.
To all my colleagues in ministry who have been discouraged, dismissed, and disdained because you are [enter not-white-straight-dude-identity here], I offer this lament and hope for blessing:
“Don’t be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open.” -Matthew 10:26