One of the things I love about being in ministry is that no matter where we live, in the states or abroad, we are bound together by a common purpose and a common mission. That’s why I’m excited for you to meet Lucy from Southern England. Make sure to check out her blog and follow her on Twitter.
1. What is your role in leadership/ministry?
I’m married to the associate minister of a Baptist church here in the UK. My role has been very varied during the years we’ve been here, participating in many different areas of church life at different times.
2. What is your favorite thing about your role?
At the moment I’m quite ‘behind the scenes’ as I had to withdraw from a lot of things during a bad health patch over the past few years. (I suffer from Chronic Fatigue.) However, this has led to me being able to participate in other, more low-key areas. What I enjoy most is using my creativity – especially using words and writing to minister to people. Also I love being involved with and meeting so many different people from various backgrounds. I really enjoy connecting with others.
3. What is the most challenging thing?
Having the energy! Sometimes it’s very hard to be bright and bouncy when I’m trying to hold myself together. I’ve learned that confidence requires energy; you need a fair degree of courage when you are ‘running on empty’. It’s also hard to know who ministers to you – it’s a struggle when you feel you need to talk without having to be careful with what you say, but feel you can’t because of your perceived high visibility role.
4. What do you wish someone had told you before you started in your area of leadership/ministry?
I’m not sure anyone could have told me. I had to learn it (rather painfully) by myself. We got married, moved and started church ministry all in the same year, and the impact was more than we could have ever anticipated. We were living in a house that belonged to someone else for the first six months; it was very kind of the person to loan us their house but it was hard to make a home with someone else’s furniture and possessions. We were there much longer than anticipated – it would certainly have been helpful to know that!
I struggled deeply in the early months trying to find my sense of identity in it all. We had to deal with some tough issues, and one unexpected tragedy which shook the whole church, and there were plenty of aftershocks. My health problems had already flared up and I had a really dark couple of years faith-wise. Part of this was due to a deep sense of isolation, and partly, I later realized, a desperate sense of the unfairness of it all. It wasn’t the big things that got to me but those little unnecessary things. They should have been so easy to prevent!! I was so angry with God, and only realized it when I finally exploded with the strain and threw it all at him. That was a major turning point. At last, I was being honest and not trying to be something I was not. I discovered God in the bottom of the pit – there in the dark with me.
Most of this needed to be discovered by myself through experience; I’m not sure anything could have truly prepared me for what would happen.
5. What do you wish others knew about your specific area?
It can be lonely, especially for newly weds and those who are still struggling to find their own path in life. There are also so many things that are being dealt with – confidential matters which can’t be shared more widely, conflicts to be resolved, continually supporting those who are suffering. And when you are married to the minister you often feel a sense of helplessness as you observe what your partner is having to cope with.
Other thoughts:
Now, on emerging from more turbulent times, I am beginning to find a quietness of heart and am focusing on developing my writing. Having the freedom to do this is such a blessing. God has taken such tangled threads and begun to weave them into a pattern I cannot yet distinguish, but I know it’s there. He has given me hope. I would really value your prayers for my husband and me as we continually seek God’s calling in our lives – and the health and strength to fulfill it.