The First 30+ Days as Interim President – A Leap of Faith

by Rev. Belva Brown Jordan

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways…You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hands upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me…Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?"

Psalms 139: 1-3, 5-6, 7

The answer to the prayer was “Yes, this is what I am calling you to do. In the days on this journey when there is doubt of my presence, remember, I am with you, always.” Responding to this “call” to lead Disciples Seminary Foundation as Interim President for the next 18-24 months was a leap of faith. In the first 30+ days, it has proven to be a “call” filled with ups and downs, promise and challenge, even heartbreak; and the need for forward thinking and seizing opportunities for healing and change. In the midst of all that is before us, there are three things, from my perspective, that are essential to support this journey - scripture, prayer, and song.

On the heels of congratulatory words and questions about how best to support DSF and its ministry, my reply is ‘prayer, we need your prayers.’ I have been in a number of prayer circles these first 30+ days. From the Executive Committee of DSF’s Board, to personal prayer with friends, to congregations surrounding me with laying on hands.

And then there is music. My playlist includes a variety on hymns, gospel tunes, and popular artists. These days I turn to George Benson. Are you familiar with his soulful rendition of Everything Must Change? These are the words he sings:

Everything must change

Nothing stays the same

Everyone must change

Nothing stays the same

Winter turns to spring

Wounded heart will heal

Never much too soon

Everything must change

The young become the old,

Mysteries do unfold

‘Cause that’s the way of time

Nothing and no one goes unchanged

There are not many things

In life we can be sure of,

Except

Rain comes from the clouds,

And sun lights up the sky,

And hummingbirds do fly

In this season of change at Disciples Seminary Foundation, this song, along with the reminder of God’s inescapable presence in Psalm 139, and the uplift of prayers, will carry us through to what and how Disciples Seminary Foundation will be present with and for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) well into the future.

Belva Brown Jordan

Interim President

Disciples Seminary Foundation