Who is Calling?

Krister over at Theologia, the question was posed, regarding ordination, who calls, and what does it mean to be called. Those of us in ordained ministry, do struggle with this question, or at least we should. I mean, when did I receive my call? Was it back in HS, when along with all my other friends, I decided that I should be a youth minister (something I wasn't good at), or in college, or even in seminary. When I went to Fuller in 1982, I intended to pursue a Ph.D. and teach, I only decided to pursue the M.Div. and ordination as kind of a fall back position -- glad I did! Only in time did I come to the point of serving the church "full-time."

So, what does it mean to sense a call? As Theoblogia notes, at Seminary we run into a lot of people we wonder about -- surely God can't be calling them. Indeed, we run into people in churches, and we wonder. And most assuredly, people wonder about me! In fact, in my former church, I was told pointedly by the person who orchestrated my ouster -- that she didn't think I was meant to be a pastor. Now my current congregation would beg to differ, but you see there can be a difference of opinion!

Anyway, I found this paragraph from Barbara Brown Taylor insightful:

In the language of the Church, I was sensing a call. In the Episcopal Church, however, that was far from enough. God does not ordain people directly, as more than one bishop would tell me in years to come. The Church ordains people in whom it recognizes clear gifts for ministry, and
the process of discerning those gifts takes as long as it takes. In my case, it took close to five years to go through the screening program, meet the additional requirements, make my way through the committees, and pass the exams. I also quit the process at least twice, but in the end I was given permission to order my new clothes. (Leaving Church, Harper SanFrancisco, pp. 35-36).

By new clothes she means that ubiquitous collar. I think that's one of the reasons why I've never really been tempted to return to the Episcopal Church. I don't like collars! But then that's not the point. The point is that the discernment process takes time and often we're impatient!

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