news article
How my past impacted my journey into pastoral ministry
August 20, 2018 / By Pastor Mike Kelly, Newfield UMC
We all have interesting stories when it comes to answering our call to ministry. Like many, I was but a sinner who God decided to use for His purpose.
After college, I went into law enforcement for nearly 10 years. Although I loved law enforcement, because of many factors, I lost my zeal and passion for it.
My life took an odd turn when I decided to change careers and attend the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). This led to a long and successful career, becoming a Certified Executive Chef, and finally finding myself employed by Cayuga Addiction Recovery, a 60-bed residential drug and alcohol rehab facility, and although I had remained active in church, as a District Lay Leader, Lay Leader and Lay Speaker, this is where I find that my ministry story may have truly begun.
As their chef I had a great deal of interaction with many clients in rehab: clients that had lost their children, their families, and in some cases had nearly lost their life; clients of all ages; male and female; from good families and from families that had dealt with addictions for generations; rich families and poor families; but common to all, those people were in trouble, facing the choice of recovery, prison or death.
I had often questioned why I was there, a Certified Executive Chef from the CIA, cooking simple meals for “those” people. I sat in my office one day after a contentious interaction with one client. I closed my office door and spoke to God asking, “Why have you put me in such a forsaken place,” and in the flash of a second, I received my answer in a vision of my life.
You see, when I was six months old, I was dying, I had been left in an apartment by birth mother repeatedly, for two to three days at a time, alone, while she frequented the bars. She was a single, unmarried mother. My grandparents interceded; I was taken away, and after hospitalization and a bit of a legal battle was adopted by those same grandparents. God made it clear to me. I was a victim of addiction and I could make a difference. That was ministry at its best; I was touching people just like me.
I continued on to pastoral ministry, now serving two churches (Newfield UMC and Reynoldsville UMC), and I remain a consultant for Cayuga Addiction Recovery, stopping in whenever I can.
One other thing to add as the icing on the cake, my wife Pam and I adopted a child, Tiffany, 16 years ago, she too, a victim of addiction, her single birth mother, who was drug and alcohol addicted, gave her up. This year she will again attend the Annual Conference as a young adult equalization member.
I never planned on becoming a pastor, and I fought it for many years, but God won out! I am glad that I gave in to His wishes.