Mark Broadbent
Here’s another crazy idea…
THERE MAY NOT BE A SPECIFIC CALL ON YOUR LIFE
So many people believe that God must give us a specific call. I agree that GOD CAN GIVE ME A SPECIFIC CALL. But I don’t believe that I necessarily HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIFIC CALL.
HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS…
1. Why is it that we always hear people say God called me to be a doctor, or a lawler, or a youth pastor, but never a cleaner, or a garbage man? Surely if God was calling people to all spheres of life, it wouldn’t just be the higher paying jobs?
2. Why is it that God must call me to be a youth group leader, but I don’t need him to call me to be friendly to the guy at the bus stop? What makes formal ministry more important than informal ministry?
3. Why do I need a new specific call when 2000 years ago Jesus called me to “make disciples of all nations”?
4. Why do I feel the need to be sure when clearly the apostles weren’t even always sure about what to do?
…etc
I could ask other questions.
HERE IS MY MAIN CONCERN…
When we planted a church almost 5 years ago, we had no idea if God had called us or not. We just desperately longed to see our unbelieving friends come to faith. And planting a church was the best way to do it.
If we had waited until God gave us a specific call, we would never have planted the church.
Am I really supposed to feel guilty for starting a church to reach non-Christians? Could it be possible that we were disobeying God by trying to ‘make disciples of all nations’? Surely not.
I think there are numerous ways in which we can ‘make disciples’, but so many of us are stagnate because we have not received a specific call.
What if we get to heaven and God says:
“I called you to make disciples…What were you waiting for? You missed the one opportunity you had in all eternity to see people come to faith. You missed your reason for being on earth and not in heaven. And now you are here in heaven it is too late”.
Feel free to agree/disagree…
Agreed.
When I graduated high school I went to Japan on high school exchange at the same time as I started dating a beautiful, sweet Aussie girl who loved Jesus but had no desire to live overseas for the rest of her life. I struggled with the idea of calling because I saw myself as equipped in many ways to serve as a missionary in Japan for the rest of my life but didn’t feel any ‘special calling’ to do so. On the other hand, I had my amazing girlfriend waiting for me back in Australia. I had an important decision to make – I was truly at a crossroads in my life. I prayed for every night for a long time about it hoping God would give me a ‘sign’ or make it clear what his will was for my life. The short answer is that nothing like that happened whatsoever. So, in the end I decided to go with the hot girlfriend and live my life serving in Australia as I figured God has people he has appointed for salvation here as well. And this strategy has seemingly worked out fine so far. It is definitely harder to act as a missionary in your own culture though I think!
Interesting. Being part of that church plant, I felt a very clear call by God to be involved. Otherwise it would have made no sense going to a different church from my family.
This is the old thorny will of God issue. How clear is God’s will? I think it depends on personality, circumstance, sensitivity to the Spirit, theology, and how God is working. I do suspect that some people would never be game to say that they know God’s will (outside Scripture) and others would not do anything significant without God’s personal call.
The Bible is full of God calling people to do things (including the disciples), but true, there’s no mention of anyone being called to clean (unless you include the Levites – but their calling was by birth).
So if Mark’s comments set people free to serve God without waiitng for a direct call – that’s great. If on the other hand, they suggest that we don’t need to seek God’s will for our life and future because it doesn’t matter to God – then I think that’s dangerous.
Couple of things, I don’t believe God must do anything. He’s God, whatever he says or chooses to do, is right. He might be compelled to act, since he is Love, just as we might be compelled by the love of Christ to act in a certain way, even plant a church.
I’m with you Mark, a specific call need not be essential for us to be employed in a particular circumstance, and I’m surprised that there are some who would try to make you and/or others feel guilty for acting without a “call”. By the way, what does a specific “call” look like??
It’s a pretty subjective thing isn’t it? I tell people I’m called to Chaplaincy, but that is just language that is common and I think they’ll understand. My experience is that God “threw” Chaplaincy to me as an idea when I was asking for something significant to do with my life. I left for a time, and was reluctant to return, until I felt God ordered me to get back to it. literally..”If you love me you will obey me and I’m telling you to get back into the school” was what I heard God say to me. But Chaplaincy is what I do. Who I am is the calling “Come follow me” is the calling. In that sense, we all who’ve heard the Gospel have the same calling.
Fundamentally, I believe God loves all of us desperately, and wants to see us ‘win’. He knows us intimately and so will lead us (if we’ll follow) into jobs/experiences/relationships that can improve us, drawing us closer into Christ. I think God speaks to us and leads us in whatever ways he knows that we’ll understand. His call is firstly one of being. Being in him, reconciled to him. What we do comes from that.
By the way Mark. Good on you for being courageous to “put your stuff out there”. I respect and admire that. Keep it up you’re doing a great job.
Awesome thoughts guys.
I should just mention John that when I said ‘we’ didn’t have a call, I should have said ‘I’ didn’t have a call. I think I was trying to use inclusive language. Some of us felt a specific call, but I’m not sure what I felt. I think I was confused
Also, just want to highlight that I think ‘seeking God for guidance’ is an awesome thing to do. Its Biblical, and it is part of what it looks like to live surrendered lives.
In no way am I suggesting that we should just do what we want. The call on our lives is to love God, love others, lay down our life for the cause of the gospel. I don’t think I should just go oversees for the fun of it, buy whatever I want and do whatever I want.
Everything I do must be for the sake of the kingdom.
Yeah this is cool, it’s great to have the space to be able to kick some ideas and thoughts around. Thanks for making the space guys, and for putting in some hard mental yards to bring it together.
I agree that we can’t do what we want, it has to do with our being slaves to righteousness (Rom 6), but tell me if my understanding of freedom is a little loose when I say that it is my slavery to Christ that makes me free to go overseas for the fun of it, and buy whatever I want. Is that too far? There being no condemnation for me releases me from all pointing fingers, and I can do whatever I want. No?
I think I’m comfortable with that line of thinking. Just trying to get a handle on real Grace.
Hi Dave
Obviously as far as our salvation goes, I agree – we are free to do whatever. We bet the farm on what Jesus has done for us. Our lives contribute nothing.
I think Martin Luther’s quote is helpful…
“A Christian man is most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone”.
Of course we are free to go oversees, buy what we want, etc
But if I want my life to count, if I want to serve others and make disciples, I must make my self a slave to God and a servant of all.
We are no longer our own, we were bought at a price, and our hearts, ambitions, hopes, dreams, resources, opportunities, relationships, career, etc all belong to him. We submit them all to him for his purposes.
What do you think?
Yes I like that quote from Luther Mark. It’s the tension we live in. (And I use tension in a poitive sense.)
On the one hand we are incredibly free. Our sin (past, present, future) has been paid for. We can do anything we like and know that God’s grace is ours. Nothing we do can separate us from God’s love and his ultimate approval (Rom. 8). Wow, that’s real freedom.
On the other hand, we’ve given our life away. We have taken up a cross. We have no say – it’s all God’s. We are complete slaves. We have no rights except to obey Jesus and serve others.
This is one of the tensions that makes the Christian journey unique. We’re growing free from guilt and legalism and free from pride and selfishness at the same time. If we only head in one direction, we don’t grow in maturity.
My advice would be – by all means we can go overseas and spend what we like, as long as we are sure it’s a trip through which we head in both directions.
Clear as mud?
Well said men. Luther’s quote is good, I’d have to tweak it a bit, but I’d be splitting hairs. It’s very relevent to the conversation at hand and serves us well. even just to expose the tension that is the Christian’s lot.
The tension makes the journey interesting, alive, both heart breaking and victorious. I’ll be glad when it’s over, and I’m glad it’s still going.
At the end of the day, peace has to do with what you’ve been writing about John – the pursuit of God and having his heart. I’m finding there is peace and rest even when the pursuit is desperate, because I know that my Father loves me.