It’s not often—maybe once in a lifetime—that one could say of a single person that they are simultaneously your minister, your friend, your colleague, and your mentor. But I am lucky enough to be able to say that about Terry Burke—he is all of these things to me. Terry balances all of these roles effortlessly, and with a lightness of spirit.
I first met Terry in 2001, when I called him up out of the blue as a ministerial intern, looking for a congregation that would serve as my internship site. So Terry agrees to meet with me and after our interview together he says sure, First Church can do this.
I didn’t know that a congregation could be that warm. Of course, this is because there are a lot of wonderful people who attend this church. But it also says something about Terry and the culture of caring that he has fostered among us. His big-heartedness is infectious. It brings out our big-heartedness. And that is a real gift.
I’ve learned a lot of things from Terry. Things he probably has no idea that he’s taught me. Joni Mitchell has a line in one of her songs that goes: “The times that you impress me most are the times when you don’t try. When you don’t even try.” Terry—you have impressed me many times without even trying to. And so since you probably don’t even know how many things I’ve learned from you, I thought I’d come up with a list. So here they are, in no particular order:
–conflict doesn’t end relationship
–laugh often
–love much
–apologize when you’re at fault, and sometimes even when you’re not really, but an apology will help. Apologies cost you nothing.
–receive others’ apologies with grace, forgive, and move on
–care deeply, but don’t take yourself too seriously
–answer the phone
–show up
–encourage others
–praise liberally
–introduce people to each other and extol their virtues as you do
–tell jokes, even when they’re bad ones
–take risks
–read voraciously
–value people over things
–try hard to understand another person’s point of view
–be an activist. Our actions may be only drops in the bucket, but every drop matters
–bestow credit lavishly
–continue to walk your path; stay the course if the course is true
–there is always more to learn
–rejoice in the success of others
–write a novel
–be yourself
–encourage others not to be more like yourself, but to be more like themselves
–believe in First Church
–bake bread
–share the bread you bake
–be patient
–suffer fools
–don’t be afraid to appear foolish yourself in service of a larger good
–go on retreat
–offer reminders that perfection is not required
–get excited
–there are 12 days of Christmas

For these lessons, and for many, many more, thank you, Terry.