I came across an interesting article over at the Leadership blog, Out of Ur, that got me to thinking about what it means to be a pastor. Being a pastor is not just about God’s calling on my life to be a shepherd/leader, but it is about God’s calling on the community in which I serve. I am not ordained. In fact, I’ve probably resisted ordination because I haven’t felt comfortable with everything that being “ordained” means. I don’t want a title. Plenty of people, especially youth, see me as their pastor whether or not I have the title “Reverend.” For others, not being ordained causes me to be seen in a different light–not a bad light, but somehow not completely a “pastor.” My pastor has encouraged me to consider ordination not only as part of God’s calling on my life, but also because it would be good for our church. Although he didn’t use these words, ordination would be a part of God’s calling on our church community. I think I feel comfortable with that view of ordination. After all, being a pastor is about living out a shared calling with my church community–it’s our calling!