Let's start off first by abandoning distractions, the ones we so often use that distract us from the quiet in life, the ones that we use to fill our own emptiness and procrastinate our ability to have any type of quality time for self reflection and listening to God. This blog, after all, is about calling, and if we do not have ears to hear, then we might as well have no ears at all (Jeremiah 5:21, 6:20; Ezekiel 12:2; Matthew 11:15; Acts 28:27; 2nd Timothy 4:3). So turn off your music, turn off your TV, turn off your I-pod, your video games, stop talking on your cell phone, and stop texting for just five seconds...
Well, after a few months of not having a church home I finally decided to become a member of a local church. I struggled with this, as I did before I was youth minister at VBC, not because I was unsure about the church (which is great) but because I was unsure if becoming a member meant settling, meant being comfortable and maybe never looking for another ministry job. But I figured it was time to be devoted and committed to a church and this one seems like it may really help me grow and develop. In fact, I am already likely to lead a small five-minute devotional at a basketball tournament come February.
See, my problem is I feel compelled that the only successful way to validate my calling is to be in a full-time ministry position. I have heard people say otherwise and agree on some level but it just seems like I validate myself as a minister when I am in a paid position to be honest (as do others). But is it the church who calls me? Is it the members of this or that church that should validate my calling? It is God, right? I got to seriously thinking about how many of the prophets and even Jesus were not validated in many of the “churches”. They did not fit. Perhaps I do not fit into a church ministry role or perhaps just have not found the right church? In Ecclesiastes it says there is a time to speak and a time to be quiet (1:7)... perhaps this has been my time to be quiet, to stop my babbling about me and my wants and listen to what God is saying for a change.
Currently I have no church ministry, no license, and no ordination - but do these mean I am not called? Surely not! Maybe it means these are things I need to work on, maybe it is just not time, or maybe my calling does and never will involve these things. Even my diploma, B.A., and Masters Degree sit on the floor in my apartment gathering dust (See Matthew 6:19-21). I am not as concerned with the papers as the time and quality they have put behind me. But they are merely pieces of paper and the real change has been experience and the changes in my life and heart as a person, Christian, and minister.
And in the end we are all called to do something, we are all called to different ministries, both inside and outside of the church. We have too much emphasis on the minister who preaches from the pulpit and not enough respect for the second-grade school teacher who devotes her life to children every day. We have a lot of respect and services for those who go on International Mission trips but do not show as much love to those who drive vans around town and deliver food to the homeless. Calling and Ministry are so much broader than I can imagine... than you can imagine. Calling and ministry is using your heart, your talent, your self for God.
What is your calling and ministry?
~ Daniel
Pic:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h56/twodogs_photos/call.jpg
http://manacled.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/four_steps_to_hearing_your_call.jpg
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