Pilgrimage Ponderings
Calling, Ministry, and Identity
I heard (for the first time in words) in seminary that we are called to ministry when we are baptized. But I think I actually learned this growing up in my church, even though no one used those exact words. As I grew up in the faith I heard that call from God to be in ministry as a call to serve in the framework of the church. Two of my friends, Cindy and Leigh, heard that call from God as a call to be in ministry as a teacher. My friend Terri heard that call from God as a call to be in ministry in the health care industry.
As I reflect on my experience of hearing a call to ministry, I find myself asking what is different today. It feels as if something has changed. When I hear conversations about calling today, they are almost always conversations among ordained persons who are discussing a call to ordained ministry. And I find myself wondering how the conversation goes when a person expresses a calling from God to her pastor. Do we always assume that the person is hearing a call to pastor a church? Or maybe we think that if he doesn't feel called to be a pastor, then he must be called to be a deacon.
But what if that person is hearing for the first time the call from God to be in ministry where she is? What if the call is a call from a "job" to a vocation that makes a difference in the world? After all, there are lots of vocations like that outside as well as inside the church. And what if, in our zeal to welcome someone into ordained ministry, we actually get in the way of God's call to that person?
I believe my identity as a deacon is rooted first in my baptism, in my being claimed as a sister of Jesus in the family of God. I believe my friend Julie's identity as a special education teacher is rooted in her baptism, in her sense of being God's child, put on earth for this purpose. We have different functions in the life of our congregations, but we are both partnering with God to change the world.
How are you in ministry? When did God call you?
John Meunier: I don't know where we lost that, but I think you are correct. Calling has become too restricted in its meaning. I think it is part of our seeing our 'job' as the thing we do during the week and our 'religion' as what we do on Sunday (and maybe a couple other tims a week). (09/19/07)
Joseph: Ouch. Between you and the nitrorev with all your discussions of call, order and ministry, my head hurts. Seriously, good piece. All are called, but not all are called to ordination. (09/20/07)