COME ALIVE

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19, NIV).

I have grown up with awareness of strong women in leadership. Women were not simply additions to ministry, but a vital part of it; they were my examples when entering the ministerial field. I am unsure if I ever entered ministry as much as I was simply born into ministry. My family was always serving, which meant that when my sister and I were born, we were along for the ride until we were old enough to be home alone. When we reached that age though, our love for ministry was “ours” and we never left. Of course, we found our own strengths within leadership in ministry. I discovered mine to be administration and organization. 

When working with the college and young adult ministry at my home church, I was able to teach our interns about tax exemption, how to designate funds within our budget, the intricacies of setting up for events, and tools to best communicate with our leaders. A couple of them would approach me throughout the semester to express their interest in the ministry of administration. The idea of administration being a ministerial role was perplexing to some. However, I was able to affirm that this role is just as much ministry as is any other area within a religious institution.

Most recently, I have had the honor of working in an unconventional ministerial field while attending Candler Seminary. The program allows me to serve immigrant and refugee families, and I specifically and regularly communicate with two refugee middle school girls. My time with them has been different than any other ministerial role, while also being influenced by my previous ministerial experiences. They need consistent voices in their lives who assist them in homework and speak truth into their lives, for which ministry has adequately prepared me.

I look to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was a woman in leadership. Mary could not have predicted what would await her, as she birthed the Savior. I especially admire Mary for the many times she pondered all things in her heart. This depicts her being quick to thought, but slow to speak. For this, Mary seems like a wise woman in leadership. Though Mary was sometimes more inwardly thoughtful than outwardly present, She was a faithful leader, as she was with Jesus at the wedding in Cana (John 2, NIV), Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27, NIV), and the day of Pentecost (Acts 2, NIV). Perhaps the largest aspect of being a woman (or man) in leadership is to find ourselves wherever Jesus is. The Seminary Now blog calls Mary the “first and longest disciple.” There is something to be said about faithfulness in leadership. 

I am not quite sure to what I will aspire, but God is showing me that all knowledge will be an asset in various capacities. My first job—filing documents for a business at fifteen—sprouted a love for organization in me. As I see it, nothing is in vain, and no time is a waste. So, let us continue to be faithful to our work at hand, knowing we are seen by God, and that is enough.

Chloe Jones is a credentialed minister, Lee University graduate, and a first year MDiv student at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. While at Lee, she helped lead the college and young adult ministry at North Cleveland Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee. She desires that no one take life too seriously, and that all find what makes them come alive (“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman).