The Rev. Gary Henderson delivers a keynote address on holiness during the Fourth Convocation for Pastors of African American Churches, Jan. 4-7, in Atlanta. Henderson is pastor of East Shore United Methodist Church in Euclid, Ohio. A UMNS photo by Linda Green.

Jan. 11, 2005

By Linda Green*

ATLANTA (UMNS) – Attaining holiness is not so much about arriving at a destination but more about the journey itself – a journey full of road blocks and possible detours, according to a United Methodist pastor.

Speaking to 650 other clergy members, the Rev. Gary Henderson offered some “road markers and street signs” to help along the way.

“Holiness is not so much about a state of being but a process,” Henderson said Jan. 5, at the Fourth Convocation for Pastors of African-American Churches. “I believe holiness is a place of perpetual journey. There is always this ‘is not yet’ sense about it.”

Despite the daily “busyness” of schedules, forgetting the appointment calendar and blocking out personal time is OK, said Henderson, pastor of East Shore United Methodist Church in Euclid, Ohio. “It is life-giving and life-sustaining. Our schedules often leave us too long in a barren and dry wasteland. They can leave us without time to tarry in His presence, without time to live in power because we are perpetually on the run.”

The gathering, sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, focused on how pastors can draw power for ministry by spending time with God.

An inherent danger of ministry is “to be perpetually busy. It seems to come with the job,” Henderson noted. Pastors need clearly identifiable places where they give themselves permission to slow down.

The Rev. Gary Henderson, accompanied by Bishop Gregory Palmer, anoints clergy participants with oil for their journey toward holiness. Henderson was a speaker during the Fourth Convocation for Pastors of African American Churches, held Jan. 4-7 in Atlanta. Henderson is pastor of East Shore United Methodist Church in Euclid, Ohio. Palmer leads the denomination’s Iowa Area. A UMNS photo by Linda Green. Photo # . Accompanies UMNS story #021. 1/11/05. The United Methodist Church “ecclesiastically” endorses the busyness of a clergy person’s schedule, he said. “In far too many ways, we are expected to report and give account of what we have been doing as though our ‘doing’ is the main objective of ministry.”

He reminded the pastors of the admonition from Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, to “never trifle away time; neither spend any more time at any one place than is strictly necessary.”

He added that “rather than a trapping of holy living, our schedules are often the sign and symbol of a life and ministry on the verge of collapse and implosion from the inside.”

Pastors have given their calendars more authority than the Bible, he said. They can get around the scheduling roadblock by telling people on an already busy day: “My appointment calendar does not permit it.”

The second impediment to the holiness journey is weariness, he said. Pastors cannot address chaotic ministry and struggle with the “demonic” forces of life if they are tired.

“As a pastor, I must be able to spring to my feet from the position of rest and not out of toil. I must not be so expended mentally and physically that when it is time for holy action, I do not have the spiritual fortitude to undertake the task.”

“Weariness is an exit ramp off straight street” and leads to failure, he said. When spiritual fatigue arises, pastors can “fall prey to all sorts of ungodly stuff.” He invited the clergy to do as the psalmist encourages: “Be still and know that I am God.”

In addition to slowing down, he said clergy need companions and friends. “Do not always travel alone,” he advised. “Companions are essential to the journey.” They can be life-saving and redemptive. Clergy often act as lone rangers – not building close relationships with other clergy or lay members – and that is counter to the connectional nature of the United Methodist Church, he said.

Staying on track requires standing against the “demon of busy,” he said. “We must hold in constant tension our main reason for being on the quest for holiness.”

The quest is all about “seeking Jesus yourself, but also all along the way pointing others to Jesus as well,” he said. “The quest is all about our spiritual hunger and thirst to be like him. Our desire is to be holy as God is holy.”

To remain on course, Henderson instructed the convocation participants to be mindful of the things God has already done in their lives. “Sufficient memory regarding what God has already done” is essential, he said.

“Holiness is not so much about arrival at a destination but more about a journey,” he said. “In fact, in the quest and in the journey, the experiences along the way are what make arrival at a desired destination possible.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.