There is a very specific kind of energy that accompanies the early stages of a calling. When the realisation finally settles in your bones that God is asking you to step into ministry—whether that is towards ordination, licensed lay ministry, or a specific parish leadership role—it rarely feels passive. It feels like a fire. You want to read every theology book on the shelf. You want to sign up for every parish initiative. You want to meet with your Diocesan Director of Ordinands tomorrow, schedule your interviews for next week, and get the entire process mapped out before the end of the month.
The instinct is to sprint. You look at the vast, complex landscape of the Church of England, and your immediate reaction is, ‘I want to do X, Y, and Z, and I need to start right now.’
But a very wise vicar once offered a piece of advice that cuts right to the heart of this institutional reality: the faster you run at the Church, the slower the Church moves.