Last week, I went back to school. I went to learn how to be a pastor.

I attended the Kentucky Annual Conference’s License to Preach School on the campus of Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky. The school is a requirement for those seeking a license to serve as a local pastor. A licensed local pastor has the ability to consecrate the elements in the United Methodist Church.

At first, I didn’t believe I needed to attend the school. Call it cockiness, but I felt that my seminary degree was enough and that I didn’t need to attend. My education, I felt, should have been enough.

Instead, I learned I did need this week of deep study, worship, and engagement on what it means to be a pastor. In fact, I learned a lot about myself and my calling.

Here are a few things I learned during my week of eating potatoes at every meal and spending time with some amazing people. Continue reading “What I Learned at Licensing School”