TMW's Featured Article:
Pastor Christine James on the Journey to Answer God's Call
Pastor
Christine James the journey from her comfort zone in ministry to
pastoral ministry is a story of the power
of God working in her life. It also bears witness to the
power of God to work in a ministry marriage. Pastor
James is the Vision Pastor at the CareView Community Church
in Lansdowne, PA, where her husband,
Paul J. James, Sr., is the Senior Pastor.
She has a master’s degree in Counseling Education from
Villanova University.
She has worked as a human resources manager, trainer and
consultant in multiple corporate settings. Pastor
James and her husband are the parents of two sons and a
daughter.
Her story of victory and overcoming shares the triumph of
all who persist through the excuses, distractions and obstacles. Her
honest and forthcoming retelling of her spiritual quest shares the
questions and struggles of other women in ministry. For those with
unresolved inner stirrings, the journey of Pastor Christine James
will prove a guidepost.
For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
(Ephesians 2:10, NIV)
To be God’s workmanship (His masterpiece, as stated in one
translation) is a concept that I was familiar with and comfortable
sharing with others as a point of encouragement. I could often be
found counseling, leading a discipleship group, or just sharing this
verse in the midst of a fellowship opportunity among other
believers. I was not however, prepared for how this verse would
literally turn my world upside down! I like the word
upside.
The word upside by definition is that which brings a positive
result; an encouraging or positive aspect of a given subject.
My
upside
was working out my life’s nice, neat doctrinal package that
was taught to me by spiritual leaders as well as that which I
noticed in my environment. I remember very clearly as a young girl
seeing the responses that some people had to women in ministry.
There appeared to be speculation about the woman’s femininity, and
whether or not she was trying to usurp power from the men in her
environment.
When I was asked in my early teens to facilitate a service for our
church, my gift of teaching clearly burst forth.
My grandparents in their pride called me, their ‘little
missionary,’ which was safer to assert than a ‘call’ on my life.
When I attended college, I rededicated my life to Christ
during a weekly evening service held on campus. I remember one
particular evening when God’s Spirit overwhelmingly came upon me and
made it clear that He wanted more from me. After that encounter, I
began to devour God’s word like a person who has just discovered
food. Things that I had
never before understood in the Bible became crystal clear to me. It
was then that I prayed, “Lord, I am willing to teach people
anywhere, anytime, but please…don’t make me a preacher!” I literally
begged that prayer over and over again. As I reflect back now, I
think I knew what God was asking of me.
He loved me, graced me, and gave me time to walk into what He was
asking me to do. As time
progressed, I became known throughout the Delaware Valley as a woman
with a teaching gift and a wealth of knowledge concerning God’s
word. Male pastors trusted me to come to their churches to minister
to the women in a variety of venues.
They trusted me to inspire the women to grow within the
predetermined boundaries. I ministered to women for many years, both
nationally and internationally. Frequently, when I would finish
speaking, women would ask me, “Are you a pastor, or minister?” My
response was, “No, God can use anybody, with or without titles.”
There were other times when I would minister with my husband in
settings such as a marriage retreat with both genders present.
Sometimes men would jokingly say to my husband, “Man, your
wife was trying to preach!” In the circles that I traveled, women
did not preach. When
women were invited to churches, it was a speaking engagement, not a
preaching engagement. In light of this reality, imagine the fear I
felt when after a decade of ministering one way, God revealed
another portion of the ‘masterpiece, workmanship’ to me.
In
February of 2007, I attended a Pastor’s Wives conference where I
heard a woman ministering about her walk with God. I did not know at
the time that this woman (Pastor Dottie Schmitt) was a co-pastor
with her husband in ministry.
She was talking about the courage it takes for women to walk
boldly in their gifting because of misunderstandings that can arise
where they are thought to be usurping power. She shared how God told
her, “If you don’t walk courageously, your daughter cannot walk in
your shoes!” When I heard this, I fell to my knees and began to weep
uncontrollably. I cried and cried until early the next morning. I
called my husband at home at 5:00 AM and cried to him saying, “God
is telling me something, but I don’t know what it is…do you know
what He is saying?” My husband’s reply was, “keep praying, keep
listening…I am praying with you.”
That
August of 2007, my husband and I facilitated an anniversary banquet
for friends in the ministry. I was asked to be the worship leader
and my husband was asked to bring the message for the evening. Part
of my responsibility was to introduce my husband as the evening
preacher. When he began
his introductory comments, he talked about me and
my gifts. He told the people that I was effective at leading
people into God’s presence. Then he began to weep deeply. My first
thought was, “What in the world was that all about?” The truth is
that his tears had nothing to do with the
world
and
everything to do with the Spirit. God was speaking, but I still did
not know what He was saying.
A
couple of days each month my husband faithfully goes off to pray to
specifically hear from God. Having been leaders and participants in
the International Prayer Summit movement, we have developed a value
system of carving out time to listen to God and join Him in His
agenda. Part of God’s
agenda was communicating with my husband Paul about the role I was
to play in our church.
In
October of 2007, I was asked to be the guest speaker for a woman’s
retreat from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. The Wednesday
evening before I was to leave, my husband said to me, “I need you to
come home Saturday night from the retreat so you can be in worship
with me on Sunday.” I thought it odd because my husband was always
very supportive of me when I would go out to do ministry, even if it
meant missing church on Sunday morning.
Then he said, “I was going to wait and tell you this when I
told the church, but I think I should tell you now.” He said, “God
has told me that you are supposed to be Vision Pastor o f CareView
Community Church.” I laughed
and said, “Stop playing.” I laughed nervously, like Sarah, because I
was afraid. I was afraid because I knew what this meant. I knew it
meant the loss of friends, I knew it meant the loss of reputation. I
knew that it meant the end of my nice neat safe way of doing
ministry.
While
at the woman’s retreat, I prayed and fasted, fasted and prayed and
said, “God if this is not you and my husband is just going crazy,
please intervene quickly!” All weekend long, I keep looking for some
great intervention, a flash of lightening,
anything…anything that would keep me in my nice safe religious box.
On Sunday morning, I sat in service and listened as my husband began
to tell the story of what God had been revealing to him over a
period of months. He began to preach and cast vision for what God
would be doing in our church. He spoke from Acts 2:18,
even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my
Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
He gave the imagery of a train needing
two rails in order for it to move.
He told the people that the two rails represent men and woman
using their gifts for the Lord. He repented and wept for the times
he made me feel uncomfortable or crazy in walking in my gift. He
likened it to when an African American is in a room with Caucasian
people talking about racism, and they say, “You’re crazy, you’re
just being too sensitive. You’re not being treated any differently
than anyone else.”
As he continued, emotions came flooding over me. Tears once again
began to flow. Tears of relief, that I could perhaps be myself
without apology, tears for the offenses and wounds that had gripped
my heart for years, and fearful tears as I asked myself the
question, “Can Paul and I work this close together all the time?”
As I was getting older, and my children were getting older, I
thought it was my time to start ‘doing me.’ I soon remembered that
my thoughts are not His thoughts; my ways are not His ways.
The plan was that I would be licensed and ordained before the end of
the year. My husband said that he felt that God wanted this to
happen quickly. I began the catechism process, which included more
research about women in ministry, and the spirit of fear came back
with a vengeance. A few weeks later, I approached my husband and
pleaded with him to give me more time to take in all of this. I
wanted to give God enough time to veto these plans in case we were
not listening well. My husband conceded and said take all the time
you need. What I didn’t know was that Paul shared what I had asked
of him with his pastor friend and accountability partner. He wanted
to be obedient to what God was asking of him, and at the same time
be sensitive to me as his wife. After hearing the entire story, his
friend asked for permission to give me a call to talk with me about
the issue, my husband agreed.
When his friend (Bishop Abraham Shanklin, Jr.) called me, he very
graciously listened to my concerns and gave me a few words of
encouragement. I think he expected that I would relent and say,
“Okay, I’m in.” But my response was, “Thank you so much for calling
Pastor, but I’m still praying.” He followed up by saying, “Okay
Chris, but I am going to call you once a week until you submit to
what God is asking of you.” My thought was people say they are going
to hold people accountable, but they rarely follow through. I
figured he probably won’t call again; after all, he’s a very busy
pastor. Much to my dismay, he called the next week, the same time,
and same day. This time I was ready with an answer for him.
I
began reading Warren Wiersbe’s book, “God Isn’t in a Hurry” as a
proof text for telling this pastor that God was okay with me
delaying the process of answering this call to be a licensed,
ordained minister of the gospel, functioning in the office of
Pastor. When he called, I felt arrogantly ready for him. We had
about a fifteen minute dialogue, going back and for the with point
and counterpoint, until finally he said, “Chris, why does this have
to be about you and your reputation? Why can’t it be about God? Do
you realize that God has raised you up for such a time as this?
There are women who have been raised in similar environments as you
who are waiting to be set free! God wants to use you to be a
catalyst in their freedom.” I was speechless. My rebuttals were
caught in my throat. The tightness in my chest signaled that again,
the tears were on the way. I thanked my husband’s pastor friend, and
we ended the call with him anticipating the need for another call
the next week.
After the call, I rushed back to the book looking for answers when I
came across a chapter titled, “No time for second opinions.” In the
chapter, Wiersbe retells the story in 1 Kings 13. It is the story of
a man who was given the word of the Lord over and over again. He was
told not to deviate from what the Lord was asking of him. He was
told that if he deviated, he would die. As I read the story over and
over again, the words, “the man of God gave the Word of the Lord,”
seemed to leap off the page in a way that I could not ignore. The
thought that prevailed, “No time for second opinions; the man of God
gave the Word of the Lord.”
Anguish filled my soul as I fell to my knees in repentance. I
cried in repentance for not having the courage to do what God was
requiring of me. I
repented for minimizing my husband Paul as the Man of God, and
trying to manipulate him to respond to me as my husband.
In March of 2008, at the ordination service, the same pastor who
challenged me through the weekly phone calls preached the evening
message. He told the people, “Some of you may not agree with this
decision. But at the end of the day, you are going to have to decide
what it is that you want from this woman.
If you want a ‘friend anointing’ and want to just call her
Chris; that is all you will get. But if you want the full spiritual
authority that God has given; then you need Pastor Chris.” That one
statement settled it all for me. God called me to be the Vision
Pastor of CareView Community Church under the Spiritual Headship of
my husband, Pastor Paul J. James.
This experience taught me the blessings of obedience. The
moment I walked into the service, it seemed as if I was a computer
as I experienced God. It was as if the power of His Spirit
downloaded into me everything I needed to accomplish this awesome
task.
Yes, I have lost friends. I have not been invited to some of the
venues that in the past were annual invitations to serve. But Jesus
said in Mark 10:29-30
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or
brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me
and the gospel
30
will fail to
receive a hundred times as
much in this present age…”
This passage absolutely speaks to the life I am now living.
Obedience to our awesome God brings a deeper sense of purposeful
fulfillment in ways that I could have never imagined. One of the
most exciting benefits is the living legacy for my children. They
get to see two parents who were willing to forsake all for God’s
glory.
I end this story, the same way it began with Ephesians chapter 2. I
believe the Message version sums it all up very well. It states:
7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this
world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ
Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust
him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!
We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around
bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor
save ourselves. God does
both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to
join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for
us to do, work we had better be doing.
Be encouraged woman of God! Trust God to let Him work in you. God
has an awesome, supernatural plan for your life.
Visit CareView Community Church at
www.careviewcommunitychurch.org
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