We Presbyterians talk a lot about “call.” In the most immediate sense, call is the call of Jesus to follow him, to be his disciple. As we respond to that call, we will find that the Spirit activates gifts in us such as those listed in Romans chapter 12. John Wimber (founding pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship) preferred to call these gifts “gracelets” because they are charisms (the Greek word for grace). These ‘gracelets’ are the way that Christ is most manifest in and through us. I believe that these specific gifts constitute our vocation, or our ministry role no matter where we are. For instance, I may have the gracelet/vocation of teaching, and exercise that in the home, the academy, the factory floor or wherever I find myself.
A second way we use the term “call” is to talk about a specific situation in which we feel God is inviting us to serve, such as when we are “called” to serve on the Board of Deacons, the Session, in a particular congregation, a particular mission or in a particular ministry. This sense of ‘call’ is more time, place and purpose specific than our vocational call. A call to a particular ministry is an invitation to ad-minister our vocational charism in a particular situation, for a specific time and toward a specific goal.
Members of the clergy are used to attending to their call to a particular ministry. We know that no call to a ministry is forever – we are all interims. On occasion, we may sense that God is calling us to shift gears where we are or even sense that God is telling us that we have completed a particular call … we have done what God asked us to do in this place and it is time to move on to the next thing.
A wise colleague once noted that congregations (and Presbyteries), like individuals have a ‘call.’ Each congregation is called into being by God for a particular purpose and task — to serve and witness to a particular community or a particular population. For the some, the call is continually fresh and vital, but sometimes we may get the sense that we’ve begun coasting, or lost our sense of urgency to serve the community. This may be a sign that our call to this ministry is completed. If so, the congregation must listen for the next thing that God calls them to. Sometimes God invites us to stay where we are and apply our vocational gifts in a completely new way to a new end, and sometimes God invites us to celebrate the faithful conclusion of a particular ministry and then re-deploy to serve Him in a new place and time. Changes in a call to ministry are not failures… they are signs that we are being responsive to the movement of the Spirit as God sends us out to bear witness to the gospel and to serve others in Christ’s name. And that kind of faithfulness is something to celebrate!
Reflection Questions:
1. What is your (and/or your congregation’s) vocational charism?
2. Into what ministries has God called you (and/or your congregation)?
3. How is that ministry going? Is God calling you to a new thing?
1. What is your (and/or your congregation’s) vocational charism?
2. Into what ministries has God called you (and/or your congregation)?
3. How is that ministry going? Is God calling you to a new thing?
Thoughts & Images from the Heart 