The reasons why I didn’t follow my father into Brethren ministry when I first felt the call don’t really matter now.
But sadly, they did then. And like Jonah, when the time came to decide what direction I should head, I went a different way. While I am hesitant to compare my almost 39 years in public education to Jonah’s experience being thrown off a sinking ship in a storm and ending up in the belly of a giant fish, there’s no doubt God used my experiences to have me eventually come to the realization that he had something better for me if only I would pay attention.
Oh, I liked to tell myself that by completing the Denomination’s Three-Year Reading course, and by teaching adult Sunday School and all those Sundays as pulpit fill, I was fulfilling the call I felt. Truth be told, I might have even tried to purposely live as a “light” to all the students I encountered. When I left the classroom and athletic sidelines and went into building administration, I attempted to make sure programs we implemented supported ---without citing the name and teachings of Jesus Christ, of course –-- the learning and social outcomes I believed students needed.
But still, I increasingly found myself more and more frustrated, disappointed, unfulfilled, angry, and burnt out. I could no longer ignore the tug on my heart that God had something bigger and better for me to do. So, “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.” (Jonah 2: 2 NIV)
Before long, my home church began searching for a new pastor. Those who applied either turned us down, or we didn’t get the sense were a good match for our needs. Finally, out of desperation on the part of both sides, the power of the Holy Spirit, the constant support and encouragement of the congregation, and some outside-the-box thinking by our District Executive, the call was extended. This time I answered.
One of the conditions I agreed to meet was to complete the Denomination’s licensing and ordination process. I entered the TRIM program rather than the Master of Divinity program because of a desire to satisfy my congregation’s desire of achieving credentials as quickly as possible. The Brethren Academy for Ministry granted some credit for earlier academic degrees achieved, and with a lot of help from the work of the SVMC I was able to complete the official part of the journey in three years by taking advantage of the flexibility and availability of ACTS, TRIM and even Bethany Graduate level offerings.
While I have absolutely no doubt that the experiences gained by my “wrong turn” are contributing to what I am doing now, still it is amazing how God has worked to “spit me out on the beach” (Jonah 2:10 NLT) into His service.
Dave Crumrine taught high school Government and Social Studies and coached three sports before entering building level administration for the second half of his career. He holds a graduate degree in Leadership and a doctorate in Educational Administration. Upon his call to serve as Director of Ministry at the Roaring Spring (PA) First Church of the Brethren he enrolled in the TRIM program, leading to his recent ordination. Dave is a member of SVMC’s Governing Board.