Last weekend the Jubilee Fellows gathered together for a time of sharing and reflection over the experiences we had this summer. It was amazing how much we looked forward to seeing one another, and I was really struck by how everyone was so much more confident! Even though our experiences were very different in some ways– whether we worked in church planting, megachurches, small churches, community development organizations, youth/children’s ministry, worship ministry, etc., we all came together and were unified by worshipping with one another, and by the unique experience of only being rooted in a place for 10 weeks.
Sometimes it felt really long. There were those of us who felt like we didn’t have much to do. Yet we still had personal growth and life-changing experiences. There were those who felt like we were so busy we couldn’t imagine leaving at the end of 10 weeks because there was still so much to do!
Some of us felt confirmed in our inclinations that we might want to go into pastoral ministry. Some did not; but at the least, we all felt a deep respect for the work of churches, and know that no matter what we get paid to do, for the rest of our life we cannot live apart from the contextualized, local church.
Now before I keep talking like this, I should mention, I am preaching at Calvin College on September 14 (and some of what I’ve written is in the current draft of my sharing time). So I will stop here, but I am excited to share with the Calvin community what happened this summer in churches across America (and Canada!). All the Jubilee Fellows are also doing some sort of service project this semester, so we can give back to the Calvin community based on our giftings and experiences that we gained this summer. I had a project lined up, but unfortunately it fell through, so I am currently praying for discernment on that.
Jubilee reminds me of the year in which all the debts were released, and there was just a time of feasting and fellowshiping, like in the Kingdom of God. It was clear that we all saw glimpses of the Kingdom of God in our churches this summer. My prayer is that we continue to see it at Calvin College this year, and that we can be part of that Kingdom-in-breaking.
Isaiah 1:17: “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
