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I’ve been writing here recently on the subject of call and vocation.  I firmly believe that our call or vocation flows from discipleship to Jesus Christ.  That is why the terms “call” and “vocation” do not solely or primarily apply to those doing “ministry” in a professional or other ecclesial sense.  Call is a disciple’s life. 

Often, people I am discipling or counseling are flustered when I propose that we should seek the will of God and expect an answer.  Nevertheless, I must continue to propose that the entirety of a disciple’s life is subject to the will of God.  There is nothing that can be set aside.  By becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, we have submitted ourselves to a long, deep obedience to Jesus in order that we may be children of our Father in Heaven.  This obedience is long, because it will last the rest of our lives.  It is deep, because it touches every fiber of our being.  It touches every place where we have to make a choice. 

At first, this might seem overwhelming to disciples who realize that they do not know what God’s will is or how his character works.  Nevertheless, over time, through being discipled and mentored and through the discipleship norms of the called community - the church - a disciple discovers how to discern and do the will of God.  As maturity develops, certain things become a given.  Other things are still battled out day to day. 

One of the first habits of this kind of discipleship that may develop is the perpetual, momentary inquiry as to what God desires us to do with the next moment or the next several moments.  Surprisingly, even when we have a relatively structured day, we have a lot of moments in which God may speak.  We have a lot of moments in which he can guide us into something we never would have expected.  This could occur in conversation, in thought, and in action.  Often, this is strengthened by mini-pauses between events, so that we may listen to God’s “well done!” and discern further direction.

There is no escaping this long, deep obedience, once we have committed to discipleship.  God will not allow any part of our life to escape transformation.  And this is to our benefit.  For we must always remember that any untransformed, unredeemed part of our life will not survive the transition to the New Heavens and the New Earth.  God found it good, right, suitable and excellent to put that part of us there in the first place, and now he still finds it good, right, suitable and excellent to be transformed into something that we will have for eternity. 

Thus, such submission to transformation - as unpleasant as it may be - is worth the effort, the pain, and the difficulty - in order to have something that will last.  So let us away with the survival mode tactics of what I can get away with and still be in the will of God, or it hurts too much so I’ll wait, and dive in!  We will find the reward worth the struggle - and more.

The subject of Vocation, or Call, has generated some very good reflections in the comments over the last week or so.  I find it a bit difficult to respond to comments that are almost as long as the post (if not longer), since there’s so many rabbit trails to go down!  :)  Therefore, I propose an alternative solution: I’ll try posting more on vocation and call and deal with as specific a topic in each post as I can manage.  Then, we can generate genuine discussion through rather briefer comments. 

Now, that said…

One of the issues that seems to be the most pointed in the comments is the question of discernment: how do we differentiate our will from God’s?  If we desire to do something, is this a desire from God, “from the flesh”, or somehow a mixture of the two? 

When our will is the primary factor, experience tells me that we will pursue something even while doors are closing to the pursuit one after the other.  All the while, the open door (often one we don’t necessarily desire) stands open, until we, either crowded back toward the open door by all the other closures, or finally letting our will submit to God’s, end up going through the door that was open in the first place.  For me, one of the best examples was the pursuit of Graduate School until I finally submitted to the call to pastoral leadership in a local congregation.

In the meantime, the frustrations mount that the ends we are pursuing do not turn out as we like.  We may even try to dive in to the wrong thing just to get the tension over with.  (Yeah, tried that, too.)  In the end, though, as we start listening to God, we begin to discover (if we allow it) what it is inside us that drives us in such a stubborn direction.  And it’s rarely on the surface.  And it’s often rather difficult to disclose to others, if not impossible.  And yet God heals it as we pursue what he really desires. 

By contrast, when God’s will is dominant, it’s much more like a learning experience.  God’s will and his purpose may not be clear - any more than algebra may be or have been for us.  Ultimately, though, like higher math, if we are willing to discover and learn, the will and the purpose becomes clearer and the applications start to make sense.  In such a learning experience, there will be trial and error.  Sometimes we will have to work backward to the point where we messed something up (such as a vain attempt to divide by zero) and re-work the whole issue.  We will discover as we grow that there is more we didn’t know, and become content with what God is doing. 

Usually, need or pain triggers one response; faith based in the goodness of God, the other.  And we tend to mix the two, don’t we?  I painted as stark a contrast as I could for emphasis. 

What sorts of discernment issues grow out of this contrast?

After a few conversations recently, I am again reminded of the nature of God’s call on our lives.  When God calls us, he does not “need” us.  His motivation is blessing.  He desires to bless us.  So he calls us.  The things to which he calls us are the vectors and the means by which he blesses us - even now.  When we run from God’s call, thinking he is asking too much, we run from God’s blessing.  God cannot bless us as much or as fully if we disobey rather than obey. 

This runs alongside the call-burnout issue.  We think we have to do so much - this activity, that activity… we end up so hyperactive, we don’t know what to do with space and silence except that all the stuff we’ve packed away comes to the surface.  So then we blame God about how tired we are (since he has called us) or what we’re going through (because it hurts) and then don’t want to listen to what happens in the silence and so run harder and further. 

And all God wanted was for us to do what he called us to do: no more, no less.  A long time ago I decided to follow God’s call - wherever that led.  I decided to let God do as much as he possibly could.  And it has led me to some very surprising places.  Not the least of which is Warren, Ohio.  It’s been a tough call, so far.  Crazier by far than anything I’d imagined.

But God’s blessing has been greater than anything I’d imagined, either.  And it isn’t over yet - not by any stretch.  This week, I’m preaching on Isaiah 49:8 - 16.  In that passage, God’s people feel overwhelmed, abandoned by God and unable to fulfill their calling.  Yet, even so, God chooses to bless them.  They’ve been failures as his covenant people.  Yet, he chooses to give them something greater than they had to begin with.  He even wants to bless the journey back from exile into the land of promise.  He’s not just blessing the land, he blesses the journey too.

No, we have not been forgotten.  We will not be forgotten.  But we must pursue the call to receive the blessing.  We must pursue the call of God and no other calls.  This is the Word of the Lord; Thanks be to God!

So I’ve continued my work of prayer this week, seeking God’s vision and direction (while not neglecting my other pastoral duties).  It seems like I’ve been interacting with God at a very deep level regarding some issues we’ve been experiencing in our Congregation.  And the conversations I’m having reinforce what I’ve been praying for. 

I think we as followers of Jesus tend to under-play extended periods of prayer as valid for Christians - espeicially “professional church leaders.” 

I’m realizing it needs to be more balanced, now.  Definitely more time for prayer - in solitude and in groups.  No doubt about it. 

Now… how to get that to take hold congregation-wide…

Today, I finished the re-formatting of a discipleship unit I did back in January-February 2007 on evangelism called Acts 29.  Now, it is chapter 3 of the Vital Faith curriculum.  Chapter 3 (Acts 29) takes the approach that we have all been written into the Great Story of God - the one described by creation, fall, incarnation and participation - and as we tell the Good News, we tell others about how we participate in the Story and how they may as well.  It helps us boil down the contents of the faith to “news” that can be proclaimed, and helps us over the hurdles about talking to others about our faith. 

Of course, this is totally dependent on two factors: being in close proximity to non-Christians, and living a genuinely Christian lifestyle.  The Vital Faith curriculum here, as elsewhere, assumes a level of community spirituality in order to fill in the gaps. 

I began work on Chapter 4 today, and I am about 3/8 of the way through.  Grace and Peace.

As I said last week, Saturdays are often my days to prepare the sermon. 

It’s not procrastination.  Really, it’s not.  I actually worked ahead on the sermons for Advent, so that they were done well before the time of delivery.  And that worked pretty well.  That’s actually my preferred mode of operating, truth be told.  Work ahead, be ready, make sure all the widgets are in a row, or whatever.

But several things conspire against early sermon prep these days.  First of all is busyness.  Sad excuse, right?  Well.  That’s the one I have control over, and I do think that if busyness were the only factor, this would all be dealt with summarily. 

Second, we have groups that read the Bible together.  These groups read the passage I’m preaching on, along with the other lectionary passages, in the week prior to the big preach.  (Ok, so maybe just the preach…)  I draw from the reflections in those groups as the sermon takes shape: sometimes from what is heard and said, and sometimes from what is not.  It is an important exercise in exposition and interpretation to listen to the voices of those who are reading the Scriptures around you.

Third, there’s the Holy Spirit.  He shows up when he’s good and ready.  Sometimes, it’s the middle of the night.  Other times, it’s not.  Whatever the case, I usually need some good “getting quiet” time to hear him.  Which probably goes back, in part, to the busyness thing.  Well. 

But the sermon for tomorrow is done, and we’re going to hear from God.  Amen?

Brian McLaren posted the following quote from Mike Huckabee:

As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say, “That’s a terrible statement,” I grew up in a very segregated South, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I’m going to be probably the only conservative in America who’s going to say something like this, but I’m just telling you: We’ve got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told, “You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie. You have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant. And you can’t sit out there with everyone else. There’s a separate waiting room in the doctor’s office. Here’s where you sit on the bus.” And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder and resentment. And you have to just say, I probably would too. I probably would too. In fact, I may have had … more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

- Mike Huckabee, offering his perspective on the preaching of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. (Source: MSNBC)

He then adds:

I’ve been dismayed to see so many white pundits take more umbrage about Rev. Wright’s statements (some of which are, no doubt, offensive) than they do about the racism that created the anger, insult, and hurt out of which those statements arise. By amplifying their offense at Rev. Wright, they demonstrate their relative insensitivity to how destructive racism has been, and in so doing, they add to the anger, insult, hurt, and misunderstanding - perpetuating the vicious cycle. Their impolitic responses make Mike Huckabee’s response look all the wiser. Way to go, Mike. That’s leadership worthy of the adjective “Christian.”

What’d'y’all think?