August 5, 2012 7:54 pm

The nature of (my) calling

by Pierre in Bible,Calling,Personal posts

A calling is a hard thing to articulate. It’s extremely personal, hard to describe, hard to explain – but harder still to dismiss.

Photo: floeschie, reused under CC license

And yet it is crucial to be able to do so; because if your calling is to the ministry, you will find people coming to you with a drive to test their own calling. Because you will want to explain to friends what you’re living. Because it will puzzle others. Because, ultimately, it is an awesome thing to share.

But the truth of it is, there appears to be no formula for callings; there is no constant in there. Which makes it incredibly hard to know in our minds as well as in our hearts that we are called; because there is no pattern to test our calling against.

Some callings are of an extraordinary, precise and unmistakable nature. S/Paul, on the road to Damascus, had a great and life-changing experience. Gideon was called out of a quiet life by an angel.
Some are more subtle. Samuel got called three times before recognising the Lord and his calling. Some, but not all, are made through people – Saul, Elisha are examples; and to an extent Gideon’s calling.
A lot of callings lead to massive changes in the lives of the called (both Sauls, Gideon, Elisha, etc.) but some happen to people who are already in the temple (Samuel).

The only constant is that once the nature of the calling was established and accepted, there was no doubting it. There was a strong resolve to do whatever needed doing to serve.

This is encouraging and daunting at the same time. Encouraging, because it means that if I commit to the ministry for life, it will be a deeply satisfying decision. Daunting, because it feels like there’s no getting out. A relief too, because there’s nothing I can do about it.

My calling wasn’t spectacular. It started out as a feeling last September – a series of tiny nudges in the direction of ministry; combined with a series of advertised opportunities to grow in that direction. When I reached the stage where I took it seriously, and prayed about it, that feeling was fed and grew. When I started going for the opportunities given to me, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. My prayer turned from “Is this real?” to something akin to Samuel’s “speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”. And I’ve taken things one at a time since. I’ve shared this with close friends, and with my own Elis. At this stage, I’m serene and trusting that, if this is God’s calling for me, it will lead to the ministry. Like many, however, I still sometimes momentarily doubt whether I’ve not just made a massive mistake; but quickly realise that these are just insecurities about my own abilities, and am quickly brought back to the confidence in my calling.

If you’re in ministry or planning to go into the ministry, what was your calling like?

What would your advice for people who are feeling called (including me) be?

tags: calling, Elisha, gideon, ministry, Samuel, Saul, story

http://profiles.google.com/jonathandchase Jonathan Chase

I liked this post because this strikes me as what the real nature of most people’s ‘callings’ are. A lot of people talk about being called to things and make it sound like a Damascus road experience and it sounds like they heard a literal voice from God or something, whereas what really happens is that they gain a strong conviction that a given thing is what they should be doing. In many ways, I think when people are puzzling over what ‘their calling’ might be, it is simply to live in the current time for God. I suspect that not everyone always gets that really strong sense of ‘this is what God wants me to do for my whole life’ – because God leaves us free to make decisions according to the wisdom He has given us.

However, He also lays on people’s hearts burdens for things. The ministry is a serious calling not to be entered lightly, but I don’t mean that to put you off. If it is something you are serious about, then I think the best way forward is to talk to the leaders of your church about it, as they will be able to help you identify whether you are suited for it and the seriousness of the sense of calling – whether it is lasting or a passing interest, for example.

I get the impression, though, that if you go through appropriate channels – Bible college, apprenticeships etc., that correctness of your calling is likely to become apparent.

That said, ‘ministry’ is a pretty wide area – and I expect your church leaders can help you identify what you’re gifted for, and where you need to be spiritually for entering the ministry.

It’s cool to know you’re thinking about it though, I pray that God will grant you wisdom in your decisions. :)
- http://edsslipper.net/ Pierre
  
  Thanks for your prayers Jon :)
  And yes, going through the proper channels is important. I’ve talked with various people (chaplain, vicar, curate) and am exploring my sense of calling with them. That’s what I meant when I mentioned my Elis, and the importance of the Elis was the original idea for this post, but I felt that before I could talk about that, I should set the scene; so there may be another post sometime. Who these Elis are will change for different people, but within the Church of England, there is a time-tested process towards ordination, and we’ll see what that leads into. I’ve yet to see a vocation adviser, so it’s very much early days yet… But at the same time, I’m stretching myself, through this blog and through other means.
  As for ministry being a wide area… that is very true. And Francis Dewar implies, in “Called or collared”, that calling usually comes hand in hand with some specific domain. That’s not the case for me – or at least I haven’t identified what it is. But I’ve been told that that wasn’t an issue. To give you an idea of what I mean: I probably would enjoy the role of university chaplain, but I don’t feel specifically called towards being a chaplain. This willingness to be a chaplain is not a calling as such – or at the very least I don’t feel it in the same way as my calling towards ministry as a whole.
  
  I’m aware of the imagery that goes with “calling” and the whole Damascus-like experience people seem to associate with it. One of my friends actually had such an experience. But from a bit of talking with people around me, I doubt that all ministers went through such an experience. And I also think it’d be a shame for people to dismiss the burdens God lays on their hearts because they feel they should go through their own Damascus. In the same way that it’d be a shame for people to reject Christianity and the evidence from their hearts because they didn’t have a supernatural experience.
  Which is why I’ve asked people to share their own experience of calling. It’s incredibly hard to find stories of (contemporary) callings; and hopefully this will help.
  
  Thanks again for your prayers, means a lot :)
  - http://twitter.com/onemanandhishat Jonathan Chase
    
    I agree that some people do have something akin to the Damascus road experience, but I do feel that it’s become part of Christian jargon that we can dress up reality with language that makes it sound ‘more holy’. When you read Acts, Paul often talks about ‘we decided to…’ rather than ‘God mystically revealed His will to us and we…’ but sometimes it feels to me that there’s a sense of obligation to make things like callings or decisions sound super spiritual. Whilst there is definitely a spiritual dimension (such as a sense of calling being the result of God’s work in your heart), I don’t think it’s helpful when people make it sound more supernatural than it is. God has given us wisdom and brains to make decisions but the way it’s described leaves others feeling like they need to have a ‘prophetic word’ in order to feel like a decision is valid, whereas God doesn’t actually explicitly dictate every step of our lives to us (Kevin DeYoung addresses this in Just Do Something).
    And like you say, one danger of only telling people the spectacular testimonies of people who were in the gutter and then God turned their lives around leaves people thinking that it is the only valid experience of becoming a Christian and if that’s not their experience it causes them to doubt their faith – whereas many times the moment of conversion may not be clear cut, or the changes might not be so dramatically obvious.
    
    On the flip side I think sometimes if people get it into their heads that all decisions are from God and they get a strong idea in their head, it may go the other way and leave them so convinced that ‘God has told them’ to do something that they will do something that is clearly unwise or contradicted by the Bible, because their own personal experience of ‘receiving a message’ or something is deemed by them to be more important.
    
    That’s why I think when it comes to a calling it is important both to pursue it (and I think your approach sounds very sensible, talking to people about it and making use of opportunities to try it out) and also to examine it – whether it is firstly a legitimate thing and most importantly what the Bible has to say about it (for example Paul lays down clear guidelines for elders that not all Christians are suited to – or at least not at all times of their lives).
    
    I’d say that’s my twopenneth. but it’s at least a shilling’s worth I think. I should probably blog about this at some point instead…
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Wigmore/61311392 Stephen Wigmore
      
      I agree with Jonathan a great deal. God guides and supports us constantly but I don’t think he directly dictates or explicitly approves every decision or choice we make. Sure that does happen, but I think the vast majority of the time God leaves us to work out that our decisions are in accordance with his will and teachings, rather than miraculously stamping yes or no on each individual choice.
      
      And, more generally, talking like that can be negative because it distorts people’s idea of what a calling or other decision making process should look like. Of course it will involve prayer, careful consideration of alternatives, honest introspection, and the influence of God’s spirit. But it won’t necessarily lead to God just saying yes or no, and people shouldn’t be either put off from taking decisions without that, or feel they have to exaggerate what guidance they have had from God in order to take decisions.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Wigmore/61311392 Stephen Wigmore

I always think some of the most remarkable examples of calling in the Bible are those from the Gospels. What call did the Apostles get to follow Jesus? In almost all cases it seems there was nothing remarkable or overtly supernatural about it. Jesus asked them to follow and they followed. They had no idea thorough idea who this person was, what he would ask them to do, or really what he stood for. But there was something about him that made them follow and stay. And the rest is history.

I don’t agree at all with the sense that we sometimes get that ‘calling’ means a calling to be a priest. (Not that I’m saying this is what you think.) I think all persons are called. For each one the calling may be different, whether great or small, but the reality is that we are called all the time as Christians. You certainly have a calling Pierre, it’s just a case of divining whether it’s a calling to serve in the ministry. And I don’t think that calling necessarily has to be any more supernatural or distinct than any other type of calling. I mean that to a reassuring statement. Don’t worry too much about finding a distinct or unique sign calling you to the ministry, go over your sense of calling with God, and think about where you feel God wants you to be and where you could do the most good. And then if you think that would be in the Ministry then be confident about that, keep testing it in your heart, but be confident and go for it.
- http://edsslipper.net/ Pierre
  
  Thanks Steve – although one could argue that being in the physical presence of Jesus is remarkable (John the Baptist kicked from the womb, after all!) :-p – but I get what you say.
  
  And of course, callings are much wider than just to the ministry – and even within callings to the ministry, not all are calls to the ordained ministry!
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Wigmore/61311392 Stephen Wigmore
    
    We are all in the presence of Jesus most if not all of the time. Whether in groups ‘two or three are gathered in my name’ or at communion ‘this is my body’ through other people ‘what you did to the least of these my brothers, you did to me’ or just generally ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the world’.
Pingback: A commitment to discipleship « Ed's Slipper
Pingback: Continuous discernment « Ed's Slipper

Ed's Slipper

About predestination and smaller matters

The nature of (my) calling