This morning I’m publishing a "draft" of a post from 2 weeks ago. I like some of the things I was thinking here… even if they are incomplete.
I’ve been reading Henry Blackaby’s "Spiritual Leadership" over the past few weeks. Here is a quote that I came across that really hits home as I talk to, encourage, and "whatever" folks through YMX.
Moreover, those yearning for recognition and approval from others rarely find that positions of authority fill the void because they have sought a worldly remedy for a spiritual problem. (p. 75)
Time and again I’ve seen youth workers who are struggling with "should I stick it out or should I go work elsewhere?" To me, this often goes to the "hip idea" of calling. Like a tuning fork it rattles me when I read/hear "I’m questioning my calling."
There are two levels of this. The truly called often shy away from the calling because they bear the weight of it. (Such as Moses) But the "think they are called" often run away when the going gets tough because they are in that position because they "sensed" the calling but it wasn’t verified by others. (Such as JohnMark)
Here’s how this plays out in my mind. Not claiming infallibility here. A young leader "feels called" to go into ministry. So they do. They get whatever education or experience they need to get hired somewhere. Everything is well and good at first. But then the going gets tough. The least healthy churches have a tendency to hire the least equipped to deal with the problems of an unhealthy church.
So, it doesn’t take long for the new leader to say "I don’t think I’m called into THIS!" My question for that new leader is about verification. If your calling has been verified by the people around you… you shouldn’t run from it but embrace it through it’s hardships. So… the question goes back to "who does the calling."
If your calling has been verified by others and you are experiencing hardship… endure it! There simply doesn’t seem to be a point, in my opinion, when you can throw in the towel. Because if you are called somewhere… you are there until the same people who called you there release you.
But the falsely called or self-called should feel free to kick it in at any time. They are in a position that wasn’t for them in the first place.
Here’s the incompleteness of this thought. I don’t know where the difference lies here in those called into vocational ministry vs. a general call to action that all beleivers receive. I think there is a difference… and I think that people can get called vocationally into specific types of ministry for times in their lives (such as urban youth ministry or music ministry or lead pastor ministry) but I’ve not throught much beyond this thought.
Leave a Reply