Last week I had the blessing to attend the contextual ministries convocation and class intensive at United Theological Seminary. This is the start of my second of three years at UTS, and the first time we as students have been able to meet together in person. It was a blessed time of learning, connecting, worship, and fellowship. The course was held over three days. We were together for long periods of time—between 5-12 hours per day. So I decided to dress comfortably as I normally would.
Growing up, I participated in a lot of sports: field hockey, lacrosse, track and field, softball, basketball, and even ultimate frisbee. I’ve donned a lot of different uniforms for those sporting events, from kilts to shorts, from spikes to high top sneakers. My husband Sherman told you all about his penchant for fashion a few weeks ago…well, I’m more of a sweatsuit and sneakers kind of girl.
I chose to keep my wardrobe for the intensive simple and comfy. I brought three tracksuits and two pairs of sneakers. Mind you, they were coordinated and very nice adidas outfits, but they were athletic apparel just the same in blue, red, and hot pink (one of my favorite colors). My classmates were also basically casual in various jeans,T-shirts and sneakers, though some were a little on the business causal side.
On the second day of the intensive, one of my classmates walked up to me and jokingly asked, “Hey Sis, that’s a nice suit, is your ministry sponsored by Adidas?” I laughed and said, “I wish!” and told him about the Adidas outlet in Monroe, just a little bit away from the school where you can find great deals. When I relayed this conversation to Victoria, my 27-year-old staff member, friend, and mentee, she replied, “I love how you’re being yourself through and through everywhere!” That’s authenticity. It is defined as the quality of being genuine, which means sincerely being what or who you say you are. Authenticity seems to be a highly valued character trait for millennials. It’s also important to Jesus. We’ll talk about that more today. Hmmm… maybe I’ll wear a tracksuit…
Pastor Sadell Bradley