When God Calls

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1)


I have been asked on many occasions: "When did you receive your "calling" into the ministry?" To be honest, I have no idea how to answer that question. In my earlier ministry days a question like this would make me feel like maybe I was a fake because I never had this crystal clear moment like Saul on the road to Damascus where God "CALLED" me into the ministry. Questions like this would make me doubt: "Maybe I'm not called into the ministry"..."Maybe I'm doing this job for the wrong reasons"..."Maybe I just wasn't listening well when God did call".

To be honest, in my earlier ministry days, it really was more of a career choice than a calling. I had talents/gifts that helped me be reasonably successful in youth ministry without much help from God. Let's face it...a lively personality, a creative flare, and some musical ability can attract a crowd of teenagers - even when the power of the Holy Spirit is being ignored or neglected.

If you have read my testimony posts from earlier this year, you already know that my true calling into ministry didn't come until about a year and a half ago. Again, it wasn't a blinding light and a big voice from Heaven that got my attention, it was simply my submission to the power of scripture and the Holy Spirit. Reading the book of Acts rocked me and opened my eyes to God's true calling on my life.

There was a time when I would have tried to teach from Ephesians 4:1 and stopped at saying that our "calling" is simply to be Christians, and to be worthy means that we "act" like good Christains. Unfortunately, to stop there neglects the true context of this verse. To get a better understanding of what verse one means we must read AT LEAST through verse 16, and it would be even better to go all the way into chapter 5 through verse 21.

The bottom line here is that it is becoming more and more clear to me that we are not merely called to "be Christian". We are called to become part of the BODY that is called THE CHURCH. To be a part of the body means we MUST serve a purpose and be active. It means we are joining the army and accepting the mission. It means we are unified with this body, even if we don't like or understand all of the actions those leading or guiding the body are taking.

Am I called into ministry? ABSOLUTELY! Guess what, you are too!!! I received my calling into the ministry the day I chose to follow Christ and was obedient to Him in baptism. The problem is that I didn't really understand my calling until recently.

This doesn't mean you have to be employed by a church, but you can't ignore the fact that you ARE commanded to be a part of the church and its ministry to the community and the world. There are a lot of "Christians" out there who are not a part of the church. Maybe they were hurt by a particular church, maybe they feel the church is flawed or compromised, or maybe they just feel that they can follow Jesus just as well independent of the church. Allow me to be so bold as to say, if you are not part of the church, you have missed your calling!!! If you think you can be a disciple of Jesus and obedient to his leadership outside of the church, you are wrong!

I know some will not like or agree with my strong words here, but I urge you to take it up with scripture instead of arguing with me about this. Spend some time really studying Ephesians 4:1 - 5:21. Spend some time studying the book of Acts. Spend some time studying the gospels and how Jesus works with his disciples.

Jesus chose the church as the means for spreading the Gospel story of salvation to the world. His Holy Spirit works in the context of the church as it unifies us together as one body. Nobody is capable of living out The Great Commission on their own. It just isn't possible. The Great Commission is for the church, not for individual efforts.

Now, I will speak just as strongly about those who are sitting in churches, but doing nothing to advance the Kingdom. Sitting in a church auditorium each week does not automatically make you a part of the body. The parts of the body have a job to do and are working. If you are just taking up pew space in some church building each week, you have missed your calling too!

When Ephesians 4:1 says to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, please understand this is a BIG DEAL. You have been called to join the church body and to impact the world for Christ. Living a life worthy of that calling requires commitment to unity, sacrifice, and discipleship.

God has called. It is time to answer that call!

(I will be going deeper into these thoughts as I preach at the First Christain Church of Monroe, GA this coming Sunday - 9/11/11 at 10:30am. Feel free to join us if you want!)