Candidate 59 Profile

Section A. Background Information

10. Year of Ordination

2006

11. Denomination of Ordination

The Anglican Church of Rwanda

12. If not RCA, what classis or supervising body from the ordaining denomination recognizes your ordination?

Honestly, I'm no longer sure, the Anglican Mission in America no longer exists.

13. Present denomination

Convergent Christian Communion

14. Present classis or judicatory

Convergent Christian Communion

15. If you are not now a member of the Reformed Church in America, can you, in good conscience, agree with the doctrine, discipline and government of the RCA?

Yes

16. Do you support the mission and division of the Reformed Church in America?

Yes.

17. Citizen of what country? If not USA, do you have permit to live and work in the USA?

USA

18. Previous Experience

19. Formal Education

20. Continuing Education

21. Languages (list any languages, other than English, in which you can preach or converse fluently)

French, and maybe Spanish with some brushing up.

Section B. Reflection

1. Describe your strengths, the best of who you are, and what you bring in service to the church.

I have had a profound calling to ministry for all of my life. I feel like the Holy Spirit has used me as a vessel for healing and Christ’s peace. Throughout my 17 years of experience as a pastor, I have had the privilege of leading churches, fostering community engagement, and providing spiritual guidance to individuals seeking solace and growth in their faith. My journey in ministry has equipped me with a diverse skill set that I believe aligns perfectly with the values and mission of the RCA. I have through the years become a New Testament Greek Scholar. As such, I believe that each congregation should have a rich program of Bible Study. I’m also a firm believer that church should feel like a second home, and so I ask our folks to allow for a diverse calendar of weekly activities to provide something for just about everyone.

2. Name two or three mentors who have significantly contributed to your ministry, and explain why these people are important to you.

The Reverend Thomas R. Weller had a massive and lasting impact on me and my ministry. He was a colleague, mentor, and friend. This relationship began when I read his Book: What Would He Say(Xlibris Press 2010).

The Reverend Warren Tanghe was the first to recognize and support my calling. It was through his pastoral mentoring that I came to fully embrace that vocation. His intentional liturgical lifestyle resonates withing me for going on 22 years now.

3. What caused you to enter ministry, and what are the core values that define your vision for ministry?

Initially, when I plugged back into the Christian faith, I wasn’t particularly sure if my prior lifestyle choices would be a good match with a life in ministry, not to mention being born Intersex. Having been raised Roman Catholic, I’d always believed clergy were cut from a different stone, a stone from which very little or no sin had been committed. Working with Rev. Tanghe at The Church of Our Saviour in Atlanta Georgia rather quickly wiped that misconception from me. As a young child, I would “play church” doing the readings and sermons and the Lord’s Supper, so as you can imagine I truly was called out. So, my time with Rev. Tanghe really inspired me to examine and eventually answer that call. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he responded: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22: 36-40 CEB). Those are the basis through which every part of my ministry functions. My vision if you will is putting on the lens of Christ, meeting everyone where they are at, and working together through the Holy Spirit to live into God’s will.

4. Explain the strategies or ideas that most excite you for helping a church to become and remain missional.

MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE AT! Every community has needs, but most folks can’t be bothered with asking their neighbors what they actually need. Instead, we usually play a game of assumptions that lead to a diverse set of programs that only our current congregants want. This is lovely, but doesn’t feed actual missional based ministry. So, I get really excited by opportunities to bring what we do inside the church to the outside. Examples include Hosting a Bible study at the local Coffee Shop, Having a tent presence during local festivals and markets, hosting LGBTQIA+ Youth events, and offering a safe healing space for people to come into their own from church based trauma. I believe in Metanoia (Greek work for Rethinking/Repenting) Ministry programs. If we rethink the ministry, we have an opportunity to approach it in new and exciting ways.

5. Name three of your most passionate hopes for the Church at large, and why they are significant to you.

1. I hope and pray for the reunification of the church. This doesn’t necessarily mean a single body as much as a communion of communities tied in their love for Christ and their willingness to engage in true ecumenism. I subscribe to the Emergent/Convergence belief that we are moving towards something new. A church that both fully embraces our past and best traditions while boldly launching herself into the future.

2. I hope and pray for a church that becomes fully inclusive. Where all are not simply welcome, but affirmed. A church that truly trusts in the stirrings of the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus gifted us with the indwelling for a reason. We need to lean heavily into Her, and allow Her to guide us as we truly open the doors to our churches.

3. I hope and I pray that all the folks in the church experience a genuine rekindling of the love, joy, and hope of Christ Jesus through our worship and ministry. Not some lukewarm thing that is forgettable, but a burning fire from within that lights our lives, and propels us forward into God’s will for each and all of us.

6. Give an example of how you would theologically address an issue facing your contemporary world. Please be thorough enough to help the reader to understand your thought processes and your life commitments.

A popular question in todays world is: “I understand Inclusion but what about Transgender Christians?”

Of all of the things that Christians seem to agree on one of the biggest is a notion of rebirth in Christ Jesus. Now depending on whether one is Catholic or Protestant that notion of rebirth may vary to some degree or another, however it is in fact a reality of the faith for all.

Most believers use baptism as their example of the re-birthing process. At best the act of baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. To paraphrase Paul (Romans 6, etc.), when we go down into the water of baptism our old selves die, our sinful nature is washed clean, and we become heirs to the kingdom of God. When we rise up, we are spiritually new creations. Transformed from our old selves to our new spiritual selves, now walking on a path to eternal salvation. It's important to remember that the Old Testament (Jeremiah 1:1) tells us that God knew who we were before we were in our mother's wombs. That we have been fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), and that each human creation is made in the likeness the image of God the Creator .

According to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 56:4-5) Eunuchs hold a special place within God's creation (it is immaterial that they were not allowed in the temple, neither were woman in that time period). : “4 For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— 5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.” a place set apart for holy purposes. Then in the New testament, Jesus himself says: For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others--and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.".

In the Book of Acts 8:26-40, an Ethiopian Eunuch and Treasurer to the Queen, is baptized by Phillip, and brings the Gospel back to Ethiopia, the start of one of the oldest Christian churches: Ethiopian Orthodox.

What if I were to say that the word in Scripture that in English we translate as eunuch was in fact understood in the time period, as the modern English words transgender or intersex? Friends think about it, transgender people are literally set apart and honored by God to serve in holy places. But if you want a more tangible way of looking at this, one that truly exemplifies Christian faith how about this: When one is in lockstep, in a solid relationship with Christ Jesus and the Creator God the Father, prayerful, etc. One concludes that the reason for years of misery, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, bullying, and overall depression is because your faith community tells you that being LGBTQI+ is sinful. When you routinely, for years ask God to cure you of your sins, to make you whole (Sozo), and the one thing that God has not healed is your LGBTQI+, is it perhaps because those parts are not broken and therefore do not require healing?

Let's go back to the model for rebirth.

You repent, you seek forgiveness, and then you approach the throne to walk in Salvation. Rebirth is necessary, a transgender person in Christ, begins hormonal therapy, much like a cocoon and a butterfly the TransFormation begins. After a passage of time (different for everyone) on HRT, a person then may decide to have top or bottom surgeries to remove the dysphoria that might be caused by body parts. All the while being in the state of prayer of repentance and of walking in Salvation. So over time this person has truly become a New Creation in Christ Jesus. The world doesn't look on them and have to make spiritual assumptions because they can't see the truth, the world simply need to see a picture from several years ago or have known this person for several years. What if being trans is a calling from the Creator to live out a spiritual and physical transformation of the body and the person that God meant you to be before you were in your mama's womb. To me, I can think of no better illustration of that total change and rebirth than that of a Transgender Christian. Perhaps if we all chose to see it this way, we could all agree that God's creation is simply more diverse then we thought. After all, we so commonly try and humanize God. God is bigger than all that, so too, obviously is Creation.

7. What theologians, pastors, authors or other leaders have had the greatest influence upon your life and thought? (List up to 3 and explain.)

William Barclay: I feel as though I am a student of Barclay’s. His commentaries have been profoundly helpful to me over the years. First as a lay person, and then even more foundational to my understanding of scripture as a pastor. I find myself paraphrasing him fairly regularly during Bible studies. Oddly, sometimes that’s intentional, but most times it’s accidental. His commentaries are thorough and shockingly inclusive for the period in which he authored them. Proof to me of their worth.

C.S. Lewis: What can I say? Clive just got it. His writing on our faith is absolutely approachable (Letters to Malcolm aside). Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, and The Screwtape Letters have left indelible marks on me. When it comes to apologetics, Clive was masterful. His works have a timelessness to them. I’ve enjoyed offering church wide book studies of them. I’d love to offer a theatre production of The Screwtape Letters via a Church theatre ministry.

Phyllis Tickle: Her book The Great Emergence has become required reading for all the folks I mentor. It’s through her writing that I’ve been able to fully embrace Reformed Theology (having an Anglican Background, we are both catholic and reformed). Her thorough review of the History and Emergence movements that have been weaved through it, gave me the clearest understanding of why true, genuine ecumenism is the only path forward for the Church

John R. W. Stott: To be clear, my Christian library is filled with books from diverse authors, but there is a pretty big section dedicated to the works of John Stott. A true Anglican and reformed evangelist, Stott brings theology into conversation in a way that just resonates with most folks. I owe a great deal of my understanding of baptism, rebirth, and the process of living a salvific life in Christ.

8. How do you hope someone influenced by your ministry would describe what s/he considers to be most important?

I imagine they would say that I helped them work through their past misconceptions and embrace the radical love of Christ. They would likely say that through mentored scriptural study and active participation in the life of the church, that I was a vessel for the Holy Spirit to guide and support them. They would say that chiefly they now understand that following the Shema, Loving their neighbor as they should love themselves, and trying to experience the glimpses of the Kingdom of Heaven that is here and now, has given them reserves of Joy and Hope. Those reserves and those intentional choices have made their faith stronger and their lives better.

9. Name at least one challenge for a pastor who accepts a Call to lead a church whose culture is other than his/her own.

One challenge a pastor may face when a church's culture is different from their own is effectively understanding and adapting to the unique beliefs, customs, and practices of the congregation. This can include differences in worship styles, theological perspectives, and community expectations. The pastor may therefore experience difficulty bridging cultural gaps to ensure effective communication and understanding between themselves and the congregation.

10. Describe your vision and hopes for the Church over the next 5-10 years.

I fervently believe that the Church must embrace full inclusivity over the next 10 years. This new path forward in Inclusion still comes from our common desire and hunger to experience the fullness of Christian worship and spirituality, it seeks to blend or merge the essential elements of the Christian faith represented historically in three major streams of thought and practice: the Charismatic, Evangelical/Reformed and Liturgical/Sacramental: In saying inclusive and affirming, it means a truly inclusive, open, affirming, and grace-filled Church believing that Christ’s love and ministry are open to all - regardless of anyone’s denominational background, political party, class, race, gender, sexual orientation, or age.In saying evangelical, it means it is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (evangelion) and believe in, living it within the world. It also means that from the Evangelical movements within the Church, a strong appreciation for God’s grace, faith, and Scripture is taken.In saying charismatic, it means believing in the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the world today. Followers of Jesus continue to receive the gifts of the Spirit (charismata). Additionally, it means having a strong appreciation for restoration, renewal, and revival within the Church.In saying sacramental, it means embracing the sacramental and liturgical life of the historic Church. It embraces the creeds, and sacraments.

This new path will greatly impact the future of the Church. The systems between groups and denominations are already becoming veils which can be torn open. As the new wave grows, its devotion to ancient forms of liturgy and worship will be contagious. Formal and informal educational tracks in the various streams can become much broader in scope, addressing issues that may be found in other sections of the church, such as sacramental theology and practices, rites of initiation, the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. This way will also open up greater opportunities for shared facilities and ministry since the architecture and layout of churches will be conducive to the more common worship elements of the different churches. Approaches to ministry will also become more similar, allowing a greater variety of churches to work together for evangelism, discipleship, social action, and Body life.

In the final verses of the Old Testament (Malachi 4:6), a promise that the spirit of Elijah will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers is shared. This promise is lived out in this path. It should be viewed as the clearest path forward for the Church’s continued continuity and relevance. It cannot be stated enough how very much the old model of things has failed the LGBTQIA+ community. With full inclusion will come a generation or two of healing, and then a limitless future where all peoples are fully included in every facet of the church.

11. If there is anything else you would like to add about yourself that you think would help a search team to better understand and consider you as their next pastor, please elaborate here.