Talking Ministry: ‘If God has chosen me for ministry, anyone can be chosen for ministry’

If might seem that Ian Morrison has enough to keep himself occupied as a consultant neurologist and specialist sleep consultant, but the Perth resident has found another way to serve as an Ordained Local Minister (OLM) with the Church of Scotland.

Ian has just completed his training as an OLM and is soon to be ordained into his new role as a part-time minister.

Speaking as part of our monthly Talking Ministry feature, Ian revealed he is looking forward to the challenge.

"I prayed about being a full-time Minister of Word and Sacrament, but I felt God say that He had called me to be an OLM and that I would serve the Church, but I would also serve people through the NHS. That is His plan for the foreseeable future," he said.

He is not the only member of the Morrison family to consider ministry. His wife Susan was actually first to enter discernment, before eventually concluding that full-time ministry was not for her.

Instead, she is now training to be a deacon, though the theology books she amassed when she first considered discernment did not go to waste.

Something missing

Ian, who is originally from Larbert, had already achieved his childhood goal of becoming a consultant in a major teaching hospital, but even after achieving this ambition and with a happy family life, he felt something was missing.

"I spoke to a friend and who said I was going through a mid-life crisis, so I went and test drove a Porsche, of all things, and nearly crashed it," he admitted.

"I'm embarrassed to say that it was only at that point that I turned to prayer and asked God what was going on."

His answer came in a sermon from his minister, Rev Kenny Stott, which drew on Jesus; reference to a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

For some reason this resonated strongly with Ian and when he began to ponder what that means, Susan suggested he turn to the theology books she had amassed during her discernment for guidance, which he soon did.

"At that point, I realised that I was being called, but I thought I was the worst person to be a minister," Ian said.

"But that sense of call grew stronger until I felt I had to go through discernment, though without committing myself to anything.

"Again, you pray about it and every objection I had, He came back with an answer literally within 48 hours, and I realised then that this was what He wanted me to do."

Although the idea of being a full-time minister appeals, Ian has instead opted to become an OLM, an unpaid voluntary minister who assists ministers and congregations in a number of roles, from preaching on a Sunday, to pastoral care and organising meetings and the day-to-day running of a church. This means he can also continue to serve in his NHS role at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Which prompts the question of how he manages to balance these demanding roles on top of his family commitments.

"That was one of the objections I put to God: I just didn't have the time," Ian acknowledged.

"But there is time. I have a very busy family. My daughters are away doing things, my wife is very busy, so I can fit ministry very easily around family life. I'm not one for watching television and I still manage to have my hobbies and socialise with friends.

"It's just a matter of having a well-structured week and the discipline of saying ‘this is work time, it's protected' or ‘this is church time, it's protected'."

Faith and science

As a scientist and minister of the Church of Scotland, Ian sees no conflict between science and religion, and credits assisting in a chest operation, where he was struck by the intricacies of the human body, as bringing him back to faith after a period in his life when he thought science was the answer to everything.

Ian explained: "The two aren't that different.

"People like to see science as the answer to everything, but the more I study science, the more I realise that it's not. Science tells us how things work, not why things work. I don't think we have the capacity to explain the whole universe because it is just so complex and so vast and from that point of view as a scientist, that leads me to God, even outwith faith."

And he has seen how faith can have an impact on health in his "day job".

He has been working closely with the chaplaincy team at Ninewells to not only support junior doctors in their high-pressure role, but to help patients as well.

"We did a project a couple of years ago where we integrated chaplaincy into our Motor Neurone Disease team, which has been a great success," he said.

"I didn't go into that as a Christian wanting to impose my beliefs on my patients or colleagues, but I recognised there was scope beyond the core NHS service to provide spiritual support for people experiencing serious illness. Interestingly, the people who benefited most were the ones who didn't have a strong Christian faith. They found the chance to explore higher spiritual beliefs very worthwhile."

Currently based at Dunbarney and Forgandenny Church, linked with Aberdalgie and Forteviot Church and Abernethy and Dron and Arngask Church, he sees his future role as going in to help ministers and congregations by offering support where they need it, whether by preaching in the pulpit on Sundays or through conflict resolution, pastoral care or simply getting involved in the busy work of running a church.

"I'd love to be a parish minister and build up long term relationships with the congregation but I understand that's not my call. God has called me to serve for 18-24 months and move somewhere else. It's going to be difficult but I know God will equip me for this," he said.

It is a challenge he is looking forward to and recommends for anyone considering any ministry role.

"Go for it," Ian stated.

"If God has chosen me for ministry, anyone can be chosen for ministry. Don't doubt yourself. All the way through, I kept thinking that I am just the wrong person for this.

But time after time God has shown me that I am wrong and He is right. Once you have that acceptance, it gives you a huge amount of strength and He will equip you to face the challenges ahead."

Read the full interview on our Talking Ministry page.