Over the years, I've heard voices calling me to ministry in expected and unexpected ways.
There are the predictable voices - the pastors I've served with as I worked through the ordination process, seminary professors who graded my work, took the time to speak with me, made spaces for me in the classroom, people in the congregation who were supportive of my call and who offered relevant constructive criticism, students in the classroom who affirmed the statements I threw out there for exploration, and those who didn't agree with me, forcing me to self-reflect and assess my views on theological stances and theories about the way to practice ministry.
I'm an ordained deacon. I am serving in ministry in an appointment outside of the local church with a focus on higher education, vocational discernment and fundraising. I've completed the mandatory (and even oftentimes pleasant!) continuing education module required in my annual conference for freshly ordained clergy.
And yet....voices still call me to ministry - they still influence who I am and how I serve. See, a call to ministry is a thing that shapes and grows over time. And even after ordination, that journey to ministry continues to form.
Today, the voices calling me to ministry include students who share about their academic and ministry interests in ways that open my eyes to possibilities for what the church can become in the coming years.
The voices include ministry colleagues in my clergy cluster who help me giggle until I dissolve in tears, and then later on inquire about how it is with my soul and ask guiding questions to open my eyes to where the Divine may be moving in my life.
The voices include the Divine's continual push to live out my call as a deacon ordained to Word, Service, Compassion and Justice in ways that transform lives and bring about a reality where it is on Earth as it is in heaven.
The path to ministry takes time - and there is no true end point. If you're afraid of exploring a call to ministry because you worry that if you take the leap you'll be "locked in," never fear. God never stops moving in our lives, and a journey to ministry is a lifetime of joy that has unexpected twists and turns along the way, and God speaks in many ways.
The purpose of this post is to encourage you to attend Exploration. The event is an opportunity for you to be in a community that will make you self-reflect on what it means to be called to ministry, and to better hear God's call upon your life. For additional details, feel free to take a look at this post from a couple of months ago.
I hope to see you in November. Tweet me with your thoughts and questions, and see you soon.
EXPLORATION is a three-day event for young adults age 18-26 to hear, discern, and respond to God’s call to ordained ministry and to explore their gifts for service as a deacon or elder in The United Methodist Church. If you have sensed God might be calling you to ordained ministry, wondered what ministry in The United Methodist Church is all about, would like help sifting through issues involved in an ordained vocation, or want to learn more about The United Methodist seminaries and theological schools, this gathering is for you. Sign up today and find us on Facebook.
