My call to ministry was not a flash of light, an audible voice or a burning bush.
It was a process over time. In fact, after sensing God’s call I “ran” from it for a little over a year. Instead of pursuing full-time ministry, I followed my college degree program in Criminal Justice and worked as a Private Investigator.
Over the course of that year God’s voice became clear and my call inescapable. God’s loving and patient hand wrestled me down to a lifetime call in full-time ministry.
I have loved God and His church in full-time ministry now for over 35 years. I could not then or now imagine doing anything else.
There was a time when I thought most men and women experienced something similar. That is no longer the case.
God moves in very different ways for different reasons to call whom He chooses into vocational ministry.
I will admit there was a time when I was cautious about whether or not someone was serious about their call. My perspective has changed.
I still firmly believe each person should step into ministry without any sense of being double minded or opportunistic. They should be fully and seriously committed to God’s purpose. However, how that plays out may look very different from person to person.
(Vocational ministry is not limited to the local church, but the context of this post is focused there.)
Three trends in the “call” to vocational ministry:
1) Who God Calls
It was only a generation or so ago that most of the individuals called to full-time ministry were young adults in high school or college.
The “next generation” of vocational church leaders no longer refers only to young adults. I love the young millennials who are responding to a call to full-time ministry, but there are other age groups as well.
Here are three examples:
- There’s an emerging group of adults who were in full-time ministry that stepped out for a season into the business arena. They now consider returning to the church. It’s not a huge movement yet, but this group intrigues me.The reason they capture my attention is that they know and understand the local church and they chose to return. I love the church, but it’s not easy, and this group knows it. They have experience, and now have more maturity and resolve.
- There is an increasing group of adults (called “Half-Timers”) who have been in business or nonprofit for perhaps 15-20 years and sense God’s call to vocational ministry. They bring a wealth of experience to the local church. This group isn’t new to the church environment, but we only have about 20 years of the Half-Timers slowly moving to vocational ministry. Bob Buford began to write about it in 1997. My point here is that this group is increasing, and we are wise to pay attention to this group, to help many pursue ministry.
- There is a growing group of Boomers, a huge group in fact, who are taking earlier retirements after about 25-30 years in the workforce who sense a call to vocational ministry. They have no desire to retire fully.They are sold out to God and have served faithfully for decades as volunteers. Money is not the issue; many would serve for a modest salary. This has huge potential for moving God’s Kingdom forward.
