My ordination story: Blayze White
25 June 2024
It feels odd these days to reflect on how my journey to ordination began. It’s like reflecting on a variant of yourself that you no longer recognise. Some sort of doppelgänger that no you no longer feel accurately represents you.
Having been brought up in a secular house, church seemed to be relegated to a category of all that was of no importance to me.
I didn’t dislike church nor disagree with its core tenets. That would be to ascribe too much importance to it. I simply did not care.
The Church was an archaic institute whose buildings acted as interactive museums for people to witness the superstitions of generations prior to our own. The arrogance of my former self could not be understated.
Through various means, the Lord forced my gaze towards Him. Not in a painful manner, but as though He was simply not content to allow me to ignore the conversation any longer. I found myself in a liminal space between two worlds.
A young teenager spending many of his nights drinking excessively, engaging in adolescent humour and driven by the whims of my fickle momentary desires; contrasted by the well-dressed Church attendee who would visit the local Methodist church, for whom the average age was around seventy.
Once I began college I met a Christian my own age who truly demonstrated what it meant to live in relationship with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. I could see that my double life was not benefiting me, it was denying myself the greatest joys of knowing God and living in fellowship whilst condemning me to live in hypocrisy.
My friend encouraged me to seek God, to pray and really give Him a go. I quickly felt God reveal to me that He was calling me to ministry in the Methodist church. It is hard for me to explain what this was like.
I had no real understanding of what ministry was. I had a less than basic knowledge of scripture, church history or Methodist doctrine. I didn’t even know how to really tell my minister at the time what I felt God was saying. I lacked the necessary language.
I went to Cliff College to learn about all the things I had missed growing up. To explore the scriptures and my relationship with Jesus. To test my call.
From there I sought to work in the Church to gain an understanding of what it meant to serve God's people. Like Joseph in Genesis, I was an obviously flawed and unworthy individual.
Yet through the love and grace of an almighty God I was shown the ladder to Heaven. The journey God had planned for me and the climb that was ahead of me. I am still on that ladder and it has come with much wrestling with God. But the blessings He has poured out on my life is nothing short of miraculous.
I am married with three children. I have a BA (Hons) degree and a Masters Degree in theology and now I am approaching ordination. I am a testament to what God can do. He has taken this flawed individual, allowed me to wrestle with Him, and then blessed me with new identity. One rooted in Him.
My fondest desire is that I may continue to serve the Lord and share His unbelievable love to all those, who like me, never heard of it before.