Lessons in Ministry and Service at Nyack College Manhattan Campus Writing Center

My boss had asked me to write something up celebrating a decade of the Writing Center having been established at Nyack College's Manhattan Campus since last semester or the semester before. I had agreed to it but had been resisting it for quite some time now. Finally sat down in front of the computer earlier today at work and typed something up.

Lessons in Ministry and Service
Nyack College Manhattan Campus Writing Center
Alicia Wu
May 30, 2012

As my time at the larger Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary/Alliance Graduate School of Counseling is coming to a close, it seems that now it is fitting for me to reflect on the journey God has taken me through since becoming employed with the Nyack College Writing Center in the Fall of 2006. It is now May of 2012 and I sit here meditating on what a truly wonderful and amazing work God has done in and through me, using such a place like the Writing Center. My supervisor and boss is now one of my greatest supporters, prayer warriors, sister, and friend to whom I have turned to in times of celebration and need for comfort and strength. Through Professor Millicent Waterman’s life, God has shown me how far and what depth the human heart and soul can reach when one is wholly surrendered and constantly in a posture of waiting on God, with ears pressed in to listen to the Spirit and what it is God wants for one to do and how he or she should be. Many times, without request, without my even saying a word, Millie (as she would often desire of her staff to address her in this way) would call and pray for me on the phone, leave me voice mails with a heartfelt prayer. I would save her messages and listen to them whenever I thought it was needed and often, they would bring both tears and laughter to me.

It is in the same spirit of intercession, instruction, and encouragement that I approached my work as an employee of the Writing Center. While employed at the Writing Center, I finished up my undergraduate work in Psychology and Pastoral Ministry, began seminary on track to pursue a Master of Divinity degree in Urban Ministry, and while in the midst of that, God placed the urgency in my spirit to transfer over to the Mental Health Counseling program which put me on track to work on a Master of Arts degree. God has brought me through a great many transitions and a variation of seasons while I have been in training here at the Center. One may ask what might I have been and still be in training for. To put it plainly, while going through the different transitions, I became strongly persuaded (and that is difficult because I am not one to be easily persuaded), that God was and still is training me up to be a minister, and in the last couple years, He has enlarged my vision in such a way that I now see He has been using my time at the Writing Center to train me up as a pastor. When I use the term pastor here, I refer specifically to the act and work of shepherding. In my time here, I have learned much about what it looks like to serve people, to love people, to be humbled by people, and also to be frustrated by people. And by all means, in ministry, all of these aspects are bound to be experienced. I have also learned that both service and love are sacrificial. Better yet, service done without love although it can be done would seem to be more of a performance. Conversely, service done in love seems to be the true heart of ministry.

Most of all, the greatest lesson I have learned in service and ministry is that the goal is to be Christ-minded and therefore, become more Christ-like. As such, in service and ministry, the true essence of it is to speak life, to be a change agent, and to be a conduit of healing, in the midst of whatever I might be doing with a student, whether it be assisting a student in a brainstorming session, or walking a student through their own thoughts, sitting with a student while they voice their anxieties about writing or anything else. I have always aspired to be mindful of engaging in my work with a prayerful heart. Lastly, I have learned that shepherding/pastoring (caring for peoples’ souls) takes place in a variety of contexts and settings. As a long-time employee of Nyack College Manhattan Campus, God placed me at the Writing Center. As a final semester graduate student of Alliance Graduate School of Counseling Manhattan Campus, God has placed me in an outpatient mental health clinic where as a Mental Health Counseling Intern; I am l learning to provide verbal therapy to people who are living with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness. At different points in time and in various places, God has seen me fit to care for peoples’ souls, to be a shepherd, a pastor – whether it is while I am at the Writing Center or in the counseling office.

I am also sharing my personal objective and mission because I believe having a personal mission statement is important. My mission is to: engage, explore, and pursue freedom and transformation for or with, families and communities. My personal objective is to: partner with individuals, families, and communities in the process of transformation so they are empowered to lead more healthy and effective lives..

Finally, I would like to share two Scripture verses that have shaped and are still shaping my vision or rather God’s vision for my life. My supervisor’s favorite verse is: “Then the LORD said to me, "Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.” - Habakkuk 2:2 (New International Version)

And my most favorite verse is: "Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." - Philippians 4:13 (The Message Bible)