A Student Pastor's Reflection

August 28, 2015 is a date I have written on a small sea shell I keep in my office. It was presented to me during the orientation for new students here at Wesley. This was the beginning of my journey holding a dual role, one being a student pursuing my Masters of Divinity degree and the other serving as a pastor to a congregation.

I remember the emotions and thoughts flowing through me then. The question of my ability to handle school and a congregation simultaneously loomed in my mind. The shell reminded me of my story, a reaffirmation of my baptismal calling to serve in ministry. 

The shell reminded me that despite struggle, failure, and even success, I am sacred, treasured, loved, and called by God. It told me of the promise that God was going to be present and sustain me in amazing ways. Now, as I look back, I can proclaim with boldness that God’s grace saw me through the journey. That grace was revealed in many different ways through some very special people that understood what I was going through as a student pastor. 

The days were long and the semesters longer. As a student pastor, I balanced care for a congregation, my studies, and my family; I was rarely able to take a Sabbath. When the chapters were read, the papers were written, and the exams were taken there still were phone calls, visits, meetings, and the sermon to prepare each week. I often felt guilty on those days that I finished my school work early and was exhausted or when I was ill because I knew that there was much more I needed to do. The pressure and stress were excruciating at times. It was difficult for many of my fellow students to fully understand the situation. The few who did were a means of grace that sustained this student pastor.

Wesley offers what is known as the Student Pastor Program, a cooperative effort between students, churches, and the Wesley faculty. This program was instrumental in my success. Why? I was not alone. The program connected me with other students who were working through the same pressures and heavy schedule as I was. Colloquy, where student pastors and faculty meet to talk through our learning and our ministry, became a place of still waters and green fields in the midst of turbulent waves and desert. I looked forward to my time to gather with this group. Several of these members I hold to be my dearest friends to this day. The faculty who led our time together took great efforts to make this a place of relationships. We came from many different backgrounds and ministry contexts but shared the dual role of pastor/student. We often took many of the same classes and built each other up while we worked through the paper deadlines of our professors and the funeral preparations of our beloved church members.

Our professors and other Wesley faculty knew our responsibilities and often inquired how we were handling our schedules, genuinely expressing concerns for our self-care. Also, the Student Pastor program allowed us to incorporate immediately the knowledge shared in the classroom. The program offered an opportunity to execute assignments and receive immediate feedback from churchgoers and leadership. It was a functional system that incorporated real-time experience and strong relationships.

God calmed the waters and provided a way through the desert, affirming my call to ordination through my time at Wesley in the Student Pastor program. My experience at Wesley was life-changing and its faculty and its community will hold a special place in my heart forever.

Todd Christine is a student pastor and graduating seminarian at Wesley.

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