Finding Your Call

Spring classes are ending this week for my Master of Divinity program. In one of my last classes, my professor decided to focus on how our doctrine of the church - which we've been studying all semester - shapes our understanding of ministerial roles. I found it quite fascinating, so decided to share with you.

 

First, we have to talk about lay ministry leaders versus pastors. I always understood lay leaders as those who serve in the church but do not have any formalized ordination or necessarily any specific training. My professor pointed out that the New Testament calls us all a "priesthood of believers" (1 Peter 2:9). With this statement in mind, every single person who has been baptized in the church (assuming a statement of faith was before or part of that baptism) is a lay minister. Many do not have any particular role in the church but instead work out in the community as teachers or plumbers or nail technicians or medical assistants or construction workers or stay at home parents or whatever they are doing in life. 

 

Lay ministry leaders have a calling to general ministry. This calling is an outward calling, directed towards the world. They are called to evangelize (in other words, share the gospel) and to serve their neighbor in the way Jesus modeled. They are called to minister within their own circles of influence.

 

I wonder how many people attending our churches are aware of their role as lay ministers? I wonder how many in the church are living their role as lay ministers?

 

 

Years ago, I attended a camp by Child Evangelism Fellowship. At that time, they said that only 3% of Christians, Bible-believing, baptized Christians, will ever lead another person to Christ. That’s discouraging. Lay ministry is certainly telling others about what Jesus has done for you, but it's also being a model and example of Christ among others. Jesus' incarnation was God coming to earth and walking among us in a human body. We are also called to be the incarnate Jesus in the world as we walk about at school, at work, and at home - even in the grocery store or when stuck in a traffic jam! Just as Jesus loved and showed compassion and helped those in need, we are called to follow Him and do as He did with those around us. That's a high calling, and one which God takes seriously.

 

Now the other category of ministers are those who were called to official church ministry and leadership. Their call is both internal, something they feel within themselves, and external, something others have affirmed. There has likely been some sort of formal training and a confirmation or ordination process. Some of these leaders are vocational, meaning they’re paid by the church, and some of them are voluntary, meaning they likely have outside vocations to pay for their living and then they serve as pastors as well. There is New Testament evidence to support that Paul was a voluntary preacher, using tent-making to support himself and his travels. Some pastors still do this today, as not all churches are big enough or wealthy enough to support a pastor, especially if that pastor has a family. The main role of those in official church ministry is to shepherd those inside the church, make sure they are whole in Jesus, and prepare them for ministry out in the world. It's more of an inward focus.

 

I think oftentimes in churches we forget we all have roles to play. We put pressure on our leaders to do everything. We think it is solely their job to not only preach and teach but also counsel and evangelize and do outreach and love our neighbors. A pastor is only one light. Every member of the church needs to be a light, otherwise, the world will continue to live in darkness.

 

Only some feel a call to minister to God’s people within the church in a teaching/preaching or shepherding role. It is a serious call as well as the Bible warns that teachers and preachers will be held to a higher standard when it comes to judgment day. Those who hear this call are among the lay but then are called out to focus on pastoral ministry.

 

I have felt that second calling since I was a little girl but was deterred from following it because of my gender. As a sort of consolation prize, I was assured I could still marry a pastor and be a pastor's wife, or I could be involved in lay ministry. Lay ministry is what I have done for 20+ years. It took me a long time to get to a point where I could say, actually, women are called to pastoral ministry, too, and to take steps to live out the calling on my life. My professor's summary in class this week of these two roles felt something like a confirmation to me that I'm in the right place, on the right track.

 

What about you? What are you called to? Where's your passion, your purpose? Some are called to evangelize or to serve our homeless population or to foster children or to welcome immigrants. That sense of calling is just as real as someone called to a pastoral role. We are all called to something. If you are uncertain, start with discovering your spiritual gifts. There are lots of online inventories, like this one, that you can take. Then find a spot that uses your gifting.

 

We do not work to be saved, but we are saved to work - there is something for each of us to do. It seems more important than ever that we each find our place and start doing what we were created and called to do ... the world needs us.

 

As I have often said - you may be the miracle someone else is waiting for. Find your call - and run towards it.