Going pro …

God has shown flashes of His holy sense of humor to me at various times. But this time wasn’t funny, it was scary!

That’s because God decided to help me understand with clarity that He was, indeed, calling me to “full-time” vocational ministry. He chose to do this while I was attending an ordination service for a couple new ministers!

That was a long time ago, but I remember it clearly. That night I made an appointment to meet with my pastor the next day. He was a godly man I trusted, and who has been my example of a Christian man and minister throughout my adult life. He gave me some great advice. He said, “Scotty, if you can do anything else and still have peace with God, go do it. If you can’t, then do whatever has to be done to heed the call.”

That settled my future for me, and it’s been advice I have shared with many people over the years. It’s some advice we might want to dust off and put to use again in the church.

With a growing chorus of voices calling for a “radical” faith from a lukewarm church, more and more people are confused with a message that often sounds like we’re all supposed to sell everything we own and head for Africa to be missionaries.

Not everyone is called to pull up roots. But some are. The move might not be across the world, but it might be across the country, across the state, or across town. For some, it might be crossing the street to finally meet the neighbors.

Whether God’s will for us is to go or stay, the advice remains the same.

As the church, we need to be sending people into the harvest to do the Lord’s work. It shouldn’t be surprising or rare that people from our local congregations respond to such a call. In fact, we should be praying for this, and some of us need to be seriously considering it:

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields,'” Matthew 9:36-38.

We need to talk to young people about serving in vocational ministry. We need to encourage young people to consider spending some time being equipped in Christian colleges, even if their service will be in the fields of secular professions. We need to talk with those already in secular professions who may need to turn in their titles for shepherd’s work. We need to talk with those pondering retirement, who maybe should be pondering a new future in kingdom fields. We need to equip those who stay to serve faithfully and effectively where they are. And we also need to send more workers into His fields here, there, and everywhere.

So if you can have peace with God where you are, doing what you’re doing, do it all to His glory! If you can’t, then perhaps God is calling you to a leadership role in His kingdom. If He is, do whatever is necessary to respond with an Isaiah-like attitude:

“Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me,’” Isaiah 6:8.

Scotty