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Rev. Elizabeth Hoff, ULC

Thoughts On Ministry

  • Recent experience has taught me that there is more to being a minister (MUCH more, in fact) than doing weddings.

    I am concerned that there are FAR too many people joining the ULC for the sole purpose of doing weddings.  (When I hear a ULC minister describe their work as a "wedding ministry", to me it screams, "I'm in this for the money".  It's somethng akin to a plastic surgeon who focuses their practice exclusively on removing warts.)

    Recently, I have been witness to several miracles:

     

    • I have seen a man being healed of major psychological trauma.  
    • A divorced couple is now reconciling.
    • Two feuding families are now setting aside their differences and coming together.

     

    There is more to ministry than doing weddings.  (I personally have been hearing a lot of confessions lately.  There have been several occasions recently where total strangers have poured out their hearts to me upon learning that i was a minister.)

    Being a minister is ultimately about being God's instrument, about being "in the right place at the right time".  It's about allowing God to use you for His purposes.  It's about being a channel for His grace, His mercy, and His energy.

    If God has a plan for your ministry that involves something other than doing weddings, to hang out a shingle as a "wedding minister" is a  slap in God's face ("You cannot serve both God and money." -- Matthew 6:24).  It is defiance.  It is disobedience.  It is arrogance.

    If it is God's intention that you will do a wedding, it will be on His schedule and on His terms alone.

    I am concerned that certain ministers among us are making light of that which is to be held sacred (marriage is a sacrament).  When we make the mistake of fixating on weddings, we are seeking to limit God (He Who Is Limitless), His Work, and the Works that He wishes to do through us.

8 comments
  • Auntie Moira
    Auntie Moira I understand your position. I think the hustle and disregard are byproducts of the legal marriage system. Hustle and disregard are rarely (probably never) good, but equal access to legal marriage is.

    I'm only accountable for my own ministry.
    ...  more
    December 23, 2016 - 1 likes this
  • Auntie Moira
    Auntie Moira Thanks for posting and for reading.

    Confession is good for the soul, no?
    ☺❤☺
    December 23, 2016
  • Rev. Elizabeth Hoff, ULC
    Rev. Elizabeth Hoff, ULC I'm just concerned that if we're too fixated on doing weddings, we may lose sight of what OTHER work God would have us perform.
    December 23, 2016 - 2 like this
  • Amber Fry
    Amber Fry I believe the hyper-focus on weddings is a bi-product to the number of anti-gay attitudes in particularly the states today. There are a fair number of churches and even justices of the peace who will not acknowledge or condone them, so people are left to ...  more
    December 27, 2016 - 3 like this