Call vs Career
The Call to Ministry
“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” Apostle Paul - 2 Cor 2:15-16.
The question strikes most pastors and ministers every once in a while, if we are honest with ourselves: “Who am I, of all people, to tell the congregation what God thinks?”
We have no right, no reason, no hope in ministry if not for one thing: Almighty God, in his inscrutable wisdom, has called us to it. That is all. God has willed it; not me. The Spirit blows where he wants (John 3:8), and he has blown some into the clergy; some into laity.
Like the new birth, we were born into this thing not by the will of a person, or an institution, but by the will of our Father in heaven.
Yet we still puzzle over this thing we designate a “call.” What is it? How does it come? How do we know when it does come to us?
Hearing the Call
There is much we may not understand about the call to ministry but one thing must be clear in our minds: a call is not a career. This pivotal distinction between the two may be the most important thing we ever understand about the call of God, especially in these times.
“Career” is derived from the French carriere, meaning “a road,” or “a highway.” The image suggests a course that a person sets out on, road map in hand, goal in sight, with stops marked along the way for food, lodging, and fuel. With hindsight, we can speak of one’s career as the road one took in life. But more often we speak of it as we look forward, as the path we choose and plan to travel professionally, an itinerary charted and scheduled. The destination is primary. The roads are well-marked. The rest is up to the traveler.
“Call” on the other hand, has no maps, no itinerary to follow, no destination to envision. Rather, a call depends upon hearing a Voice. The organ of faith is the ear, not the eye. First and last, it is something one listens for. Everything depends upon the relationship of the listener to the One who calls.
Careers lend themselves to formulas and blueprints; Call, only to a relationship. A career can be pursued with a certain amount of personal detachment; a call, never.
When Moses heard God call him to free the slaves in Egypt, he first responded as though he were presented with a career decision. Was he qualified? Did he have the proper experience and unique skills required by such an undertaking? He talked to God as though he were in a job interview: Who am I to do such a thing? What if the people don’t follow? Doesn’t God know that I am a poor public speaker?
All of this was irrelevant to God. All that mattered was that Moses believe God could be trusted when he said, “I will be with you.”
In short, all that mattered was the call, and that Moses bind himself to the One who issued the call. There was no road map, only the Voice.
Ministry is not an occupation but a vocation. It primarily demands not professional credentials but the ability to hear and heed the call of God. Therefore, we must stay quiet enough and close enough to hear his voice and be held firm in our impossible task by his everlasting arms.
Coming Next…”Discerning the Right Voice”. Stay tuned….
“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” Apostle Paul - 2 Cor 2:15-16.
The question strikes most pastors and ministers every once in a while, if we are honest with ourselves: “Who am I, of all people, to tell the congregation what God thinks?”
We have no right, no reason, no hope in ministry if not for one thing: Almighty God, in his inscrutable wisdom, has called us to it. That is all. God has willed it; not me. The Spirit blows where he wants (John 3:8), and he has blown some into the clergy; some into laity.
Like the new birth, we were born into this thing not by the will of a person, or an institution, but by the will of our Father in heaven.
Yet we still puzzle over this thing we designate a “call.” What is it? How does it come? How do we know when it does come to us?
Hearing the Call
There is much we may not understand about the call to ministry but one thing must be clear in our minds: a call is not a career. This pivotal distinction between the two may be the most important thing we ever understand about the call of God, especially in these times.
“Career” is derived from the French carriere, meaning “a road,” or “a highway.” The image suggests a course that a person sets out on, road map in hand, goal in sight, with stops marked along the way for food, lodging, and fuel. With hindsight, we can speak of one’s career as the road one took in life. But more often we speak of it as we look forward, as the path we choose and plan to travel professionally, an itinerary charted and scheduled. The destination is primary. The roads are well-marked. The rest is up to the traveler.
“Call” on the other hand, has no maps, no itinerary to follow, no destination to envision. Rather, a call depends upon hearing a Voice. The organ of faith is the ear, not the eye. First and last, it is something one listens for. Everything depends upon the relationship of the listener to the One who calls.
Careers lend themselves to formulas and blueprints; Call, only to a relationship. A career can be pursued with a certain amount of personal detachment; a call, never.
When Moses heard God call him to free the slaves in Egypt, he first responded as though he were presented with a career decision. Was he qualified? Did he have the proper experience and unique skills required by such an undertaking? He talked to God as though he were in a job interview: Who am I to do such a thing? What if the people don’t follow? Doesn’t God know that I am a poor public speaker?
All of this was irrelevant to God. All that mattered was that Moses believe God could be trusted when he said, “I will be with you.”
In short, all that mattered was the call, and that Moses bind himself to the One who issued the call. There was no road map, only the Voice.
Ministry is not an occupation but a vocation. It primarily demands not professional credentials but the ability to hear and heed the call of God. Therefore, we must stay quiet enough and close enough to hear his voice and be held firm in our impossible task by his everlasting arms.
Coming Next…”Discerning the Right Voice”. Stay tuned….
posted by Bobby Lee at
2:21 AM
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