It's the Call

I had breakfast this morning with my good friend, Mike. He is a pastor with many gifts and graces for ministry. Every church he has served has grown in numbers and expanded its ministries. He has truly blessed his congregations.

Mike recently moved to a new congregation and is struggling through new challenges. I have no doubt that he will prevail and will lead his new congregation into faithful Kingdom work, but one of the things we discussed this morning is why we continue to bear the weight of the frustration of ministry, even though we find our ministries rewarding as well. Why do we keep on keeping on when many of our colleagues threw their ministries as pastors, education directors and youth leaders out the window years ago, going on to less stressful professions that paid better? The answer is obvious: it�s the call.

I have taught as an adjunct professor at a seminary for thirteen years and it never ceases to amaze me how many second career students quit lucrative jobs and use their savings to attend seminary. Why do they do it? It�s the call.

Why do missionaries risk life and limb and completely depend on the contributions of others in order to live? It�s the call. Why do parishioners volunteer their precious little free time to the church? It�s the call. Why do people give up vacation time to be part of work teams offering relief to those who encounter disaster? It�s the call. Why do we continue to sacrifice and serve and give? It�s the call of God.

It is not what we want; it is not what we need. It is the call.