Christian thoughts from FTE

I am currently attending a Conference on the Excellence of Ministry sponsored by the Fund for Theological Education in St Louis. (at the Eden Theological Seminary to be exact). Anyways, a lot of speeches and seminars I've heard have been very inspiring, and I want to share some brief segments of them with you.
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It is important to encounter people who are different than you. You need the "other" to engage, to learn, to be shaped by them, to get this "God-thing" right.

Additionally, there is a difference between being liberal+open-minded and liberal+closed-minded. It is one thing to be a liberal and openly dialogue with people and quite another to be "liberal" yet adopt a rigid standpoint against conservatism. I feel that I unfortunately fall into the gap of being liberal/rigid sometimes because I often do not understand very conservative views and often want to change them. But instead, I should simply listen to their view and honestly try to understand them, really step into their shoes and understand them, instead of trying to make them be "liberal" too.
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You need to take God seriously, but you must be careful not to take yourself too seriously and think that you know everything and have God wrapped up in a neat little package.
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A Rabbi once asked his students what the difference between night and day was. The students replied with logical answers about the sun and the axis of the earth. But if you look for an obvious answer then you end up in the wrong place. The difference between night and day is when you look at another person and don't see your sister or brother.
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See the infinite worth in all God's creation, search for the infinite in the particular. Give insight about infinite nature/worth to all people. The heart of Christianity is to see the infinite, NOT to see the particular in war. Differences are created and adored by God. But one should not exclude or kill in the name of Christianity or religion.
Sacraments are a visible sign of invisible grace and show the world that God exists.
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On being a minister....
So I do really feel called to be in the ministry, but at the same time I feel called to change my life in order to fulfill the call to ministry. I feel this is a very difficult task... "where God is taking me is like the pain a caterpillar goes through." I am beginning to realize that one of the most powerful ministries is simply living like Jesus... being a genuinely good and loving person... because "The only way to know who you are is by what you do." But this means that I am going to have to make some changes in my life that I rebelling against. I can't keep making excuses for my behavior, I have to start admitting when I make a mistake and then actively work to not make that mistake again. I still have lots of issues to work out in my life in order to become the butterfly God wants me to. But I do also need to stay true to myself... to realize my strengths and weaknesses and learn to work with what I can handle. I used to think that living in the wilderness with teenagers for "youth encounter" would be the perfect vocation for me. But really, I know I couldn't do it-I hate heat and bugs :). But there are things I CAN do, and I SHOULD do. I love working with music, and art, and drama. "A tree gives glory to god by being a tree." And I can give glory to God by being myself. I know that I am not asking for nor can I imagine what God has instore for me... but I know that whatever it is I may be diametrically opposed to. But at the same time, I feel this itch, this sense I want to do something for this world. I recognize a need in the world and I have realized that I have some capacity to meet that need. I feel a passion for working with youth and strengthening their relationships with God, and giving them the tools they need to grow into adults with a strong faith (the ability to ask questions, have doubts, but still have faith... to be able to spiritually develop and dig deeper into their faith, etc.) It's just so difficult to apply everything I have been learning about social justice and world religions, and interfaith dialogue, and materialism, and pain and suffering, into a workable, solid theology. I know I need to be in Fowler's 5th stage of faith development "paradoxical conviction"... realizing differences in the world, have plural perspectives, and be settled in what I believe. And I think I am almost there, but not quite... there are still so many questions that cannot be answered, but questions nonetheless that I must struggle through and work to understand.