Discerning God's Call
27/06/12 05:36
What is it that God is calling us to do? That is the question for our congregation. It has always been a part of the life of this congregation. Towards the end of the 1870’s, as the congregation was being organized in a frontier town in the midst of an often-violent shift of cultures as immigrant people flooded into what had previously been the exclusive territory of indigenous tribes, the question was in part answered by the simple fact that the new congregation was the only Christian congregation in the new town. Serving all of the people, regardless of their faith background was essential. The congregation was not formed in agreement on the fine points of theological doctrine. It wasn’t founded on the need for all of the people to agree. It was founded on a principal of unity amidst diversity.
The service to which the congregation has been called has varied over the years. In the 1970’s as the congregation neared its centennial, it was called to work with other congregations to bring relief and support to those most affected by a devastating flash flood. No longer could the congregation rely on a position of exclusivity. We weren’t the only church in town, and hadn’t been for a long time. We were called to work together with other congregations and Church Response was formed in the process.
Today we find ourselves in the midst of a community with declining church population and growing numbers of churches. There is increasing pressure to view ministry in market terms. Cooperation between congregations is not high in our community as each sees another as a threat in an increasingly competitive rush to obtain members for the purpose of sustaining institutions. In too many congregations the focus has shifted from “What is God calling us to do?” to “What must we do in order to survive?” Apparently Jesus’ teaching hasn’t quite found a home: “Whoever seeks to save his own life will surely lose it.”
Exciting answers to the question of what God is calling us to do are emerging every day. Emerging ministries in our congregation range from a firewood projects to conversations about partnerships with a non-denominational emerging church. We have quilters and crafters and artists who use our building to produce their work and contribute to the ministries of the congregation. We have become a gathering point for new ideas and creative people.
The question isn’t just a corporate question. It is also a question of the individuals who participate in our congregation. “What is God calling you to do?” From the perspective of faith formation, everything in a congregation’s life is an opportunity for spiritual growth. God doesn’t count success and failure in the terms of our culture. God sees the opportunity for spiritual growth in projects that are labeled failure by some.
As a pastor, all of this demands that I keep looking for the opportunities for spiritual growth for the people that I serve. Equipping the saints for their ministries means not just finding leaders for the position that the church has created, but more importantly, discovering what positions have to offer individuals in terms of opportunities for growth. It can be a tricky match. Because our congregation works with an effective nominating committee, I am not the one making the choices. I do, however, have a responsibility to assist the nominating committee in finding a prayerful process that focuses on faith instead on institutional maintenance. That is a real challenge.
As the Bible teaches, the Spirit blows where it will. It resists our human efforts at control. Pastors who try to manipulate people or the calling of God rarely are effective in leading congregations. What is needed is not manipulation, but the art of recognizing and identifying the Spirit’s work within the congregation.
Sometimes, when a crisis or a problem comes to my attention, it is an invitation of the Spirit. People grow and learn and change from the challenges of life. Grief can be a teacher, if it is allowed to do its work. Spiritual direction doesn’t come only from formal counseling sessions. It can come from carefully crafted prayers, from formal liturgy and from music. It can also come from genuine listening, supportive fellowship and informal conversation. It blows where it will.
One might think that practice would make one better at discerning God’s calling. This may be true. There may be some wise individuals who are more accomplished at the process than others. But I have always found it to be difficult to know for sure what God is calling. After 59 years of living and 34 years of ordained ministry, I still have trouble discerning the difference between what God wants and what I want. I form visions in my mind and I become attached to those visions. I can even convince myself that those visions are from God. What I have learned, however, is that I need the fellowship of other faithful people to discern just what God is calling me to do. Others who are honest with their opinions and feedback can help me to see where God is calling me to be and what God is calling me to do.
As I think about this summer at our church and ponder the directions that God is calling us to go, I know that my role in the congregation is shifting slightly. I have enough years with this congregation to have become part of the established structure. As God calls us to new ministries and a new future, I need to become practiced at humility and more careful about listening to new voices. I am positive that God has a future for this congregation beyond my time as its pastor. The church that God is preparing for the next 50 years and the next century is vastly different than the existing institution. Of course, God can accomplish divine purposes without my assistance. God can accomplish what God wants even if I’m headed in the wrong direction.
But isn’t it nice to be a part of God’s plan? Isn’t it good when at least I’m not working against God’s purposes?
The questions are too big for one blog. They keep rolling around in the back of my mind. As we have been taught over and over again, “God has yet more truth and light.”
The service to which the congregation has been called has varied over the years. In the 1970’s as the congregation neared its centennial, it was called to work with other congregations to bring relief and support to those most affected by a devastating flash flood. No longer could the congregation rely on a position of exclusivity. We weren’t the only church in town, and hadn’t been for a long time. We were called to work together with other congregations and Church Response was formed in the process.
Exciting answers to the question of what God is calling us to do are emerging every day. Emerging ministries in our congregation range from a firewood projects to conversations about partnerships with a non-denominational emerging church. We have quilters and crafters and artists who use our building to produce their work and contribute to the ministries of the congregation. We have become a gathering point for new ideas and creative people.
The question isn’t just a corporate question. It is also a question of the individuals who participate in our congregation. “What is God calling you to do?” From the perspective of faith formation, everything in a congregation’s life is an opportunity for spiritual growth. God doesn’t count success and failure in the terms of our culture. God sees the opportunity for spiritual growth in projects that are labeled failure by some.
As a pastor, all of this demands that I keep looking for the opportunities for spiritual growth for the people that I serve. Equipping the saints for their ministries means not just finding leaders for the position that the church has created, but more importantly, discovering what positions have to offer individuals in terms of opportunities for growth. It can be a tricky match. Because our congregation works with an effective nominating committee, I am not the one making the choices. I do, however, have a responsibility to assist the nominating committee in finding a prayerful process that focuses on faith instead on institutional maintenance. That is a real challenge.
As the Bible teaches, the Spirit blows where it will. It resists our human efforts at control. Pastors who try to manipulate people or the calling of God rarely are effective in leading congregations. What is needed is not manipulation, but the art of recognizing and identifying the Spirit’s work within the congregation.
Sometimes, when a crisis or a problem comes to my attention, it is an invitation of the Spirit. People grow and learn and change from the challenges of life. Grief can be a teacher, if it is allowed to do its work. Spiritual direction doesn’t come only from formal counseling sessions. It can come from carefully crafted prayers, from formal liturgy and from music. It can also come from genuine listening, supportive fellowship and informal conversation. It blows where it will.
One might think that practice would make one better at discerning God’s calling. This may be true. There may be some wise individuals who are more accomplished at the process than others. But I have always found it to be difficult to know for sure what God is calling. After 59 years of living and 34 years of ordained ministry, I still have trouble discerning the difference between what God wants and what I want. I form visions in my mind and I become attached to those visions. I can even convince myself that those visions are from God. What I have learned, however, is that I need the fellowship of other faithful people to discern just what God is calling me to do. Others who are honest with their opinions and feedback can help me to see where God is calling me to be and what God is calling me to do.
But isn’t it nice to be a part of God’s plan? Isn’t it good when at least I’m not working against God’s purposes?
The questions are too big for one blog. They keep rolling around in the back of my mind. As we have been taught over and over again, “God has yet more truth and light.”