| Being a woman in ministry sometimes feels like using a pair of right-handed scissors when you are left-handed.
I’m Bethany, and 18 months ago, I resigned from my position as a pastor in a local church and I stepped into the unknown with God. I took a part-time position as a hospice chaplain and began the process of planting a non-traditional, app-based, virtual church.
Problem is, I love the traditional shape of church. I meet Jesus squarely and powerfully in the traditional shape of church.
Problem is, I’m really good at church and I see how these scissors are exactly the right tool for a whole lot of people.
But the hard truth is, I didn’t love myself or others very well while I was using those ill-fitting scissors. The rubbing and the chafing didn’t show up right away, but eventually they made me very grumpy. They cost me a lot to wield. Now that I’m not trying to use a tool that wasn’t made for me, to fit into a mold that doesn’t fit me, to fill a set of wineskins that are about to burst because they have already matured with a different vintage of wine, now, I am able to love. Now I am able to lead like the Holy Spirit desires for me to lead.
Jesus told a parable recorded in Luke 5 that means a lot to me these days. He defended his disciples who were doing things in a new way and he said, “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it onto an old garment; otherwise, the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old.”
When Jesus calls us to new things, it can feel like losing everything, starting over from scratch. The void of the new can be scary, isolating, and solitary. But God says that to become perceivers of what is coming next, we must forget the former ways, and stop dwelling in the past (Isaiah 43:18-19).
When I wear the new mantle that Jesus fashioned for me, even though it is brighter and of a different style than those that have gone before me, my soul can breathe. I no longer feel the pressure constantly mounting and the seams threatening to rip. I don’t have a sore hand. Now, I look at those who use these scissors with grace and ease and I bless them bountifully. I bless you if that’s you! It is good.
And yet, we must face with confidence, friends, the new places where the Holy Spirit is hovering—creating and re-creating, birthing, and blessing. These new things must be accepted and used, they need time to get broken in like a favorite sweater, time to sit and ferment fully.
If you are like me, being asked to do something new for Jesus, for the sake of the lost and the sake of the gospel—then remember, the Holy Spirit who called you and baptized you will continue to pour into you power, supernatural strength, innovative skill, knowledge, problem solving, and love. I guarantee, with Jesus, you have everything you need. |
Rev. Bethany Tippin and her family live in North-Central Wyoming on a small, rural homestead outside of Sheridan, WY. She serves out of The Northwest District of The Wesleyan Church. Bethany ministers within her community as the Spiritual Caregiver (hospice chaplain) for Sheridan Memorial Hospital. She is also appointed as a church planter working on a non-traditional, app-based, virtual church called We are Storytellers. Bethany graduated with her MDiv from Wesley Seminary in 2022.
