The Confusing Language of Calling

While J.D. is away traveling, I (Ike Miller) will be posting a smattering of his greatest hits, thoughts on Church Philosophy and possibly some guest blogs.  J.D. also will be posting intermittently with thoughts and updates from his trip so be sure to check in for those. 

In the post below J.D. offers some thoughts to challenge our "language of calling" and suggests that knowing our vocation may be more about obedient discipleship then it is about waiting for a particular experience God's of revelation.  

Feel free to leave your own comments or you may read previous comments on this post here. 

It is common Christian parlance to say “I feel called to do so and so…” What we’re usually trying to communicate is we feel that God has given us a specific missional assignment in God’s Kingdom. I wonder, however, if that language is not misleading and harmful. Where do we really find biblical support for all these special “callings”?

Christians never need to be “called” to live missionally, it is inherent in being a disciple. To become a disciple of Jesus means you begin to evaluate your talents in terms of how they can best be used in the spread of God’s Kingdom. Say you are a businessman, and you know your talents are best suited for work in the marketplace where you can do excellent work to the glory of God and benefit of humanity and use relationships there to testify to Christ. You don’t have to wait on a call to begin to do so. When you become a disciple, you begin to immediately live missionally, no longer for yourself, but for Jesus. You go to work each day doing your work for the glory of God, the benefit of humanity, and in pursuit of proclaiming Jesus.

If that is the case, then if you realize that your talents can be best be used in God’s Kingdom by using them overseas to benefit a poorer nation and you can use your skill there to testify to Christ, why must we wait on a call to do so? I say this because we have so many people sitting around waiting on some warm-fuzzy, goose-bump-inducing vision from God before they will even consider serving overseas. If your talents can best serve God’s Kingdom by using them overseas, why would you wait on a call to do so? You have alrady been given that call!  To do what is best with your talents for the Kingdom of God is not a special calling God gives to some disciples, it is the duty of all disciples. Maybe we’ve invented the whole language of calling to mask the fact that most Christians have never started to live missionally, as disciples. Personally, I think the parlance of calling is evangelical heresy.

So, let me say it clearly: I DON’T THINK YOU NEED TO BE ‘CALLED’ TO GO OVERSEAS. No more than I think you need to be “called” to live missionally wherever you are. I don’t think you have to wait until God spells out “Africa” in your Cheerios one morning. I think you, as a disciple, have to ask, “How can my talents best be used in God’s mission all over the world?” If the answer is that you can be part of an overseas community-building, Jesus-preaching project, don’t wait for a “calling”. Pack your bags.

Instead of “calling,” maybe what we should be looking for from God is GUIDANCE. Maybe our prayer should go like this: “God, you did not give your talents to me for me, simply to live where I want to live and make a ton of money to live luxuriously. My talents are yours—dedicated to doing all I can to extend the message of your Kingdom all over the world. Guide me in seeing where I can be most beneficial on earth.” If you’re not willing to pray that prayer and obey what God tells you out of it, then you’re not really a disciple of Jesus.

I owe this insight due to a vigorous discussion I was in with a group of the greatest guys on earth I get together with every other Friday—future church planters and pastors and Christian entrepreneurs.

Comments

[Baker]

Thanks for reposting this. This is one of my favorite posts from this blog and I find it to be very helpful and affirming.

[serveHimdaily]

I recall as a teenager being brought to hear charismatic, funny, happy "youth evangelists" who were experts at getting young people to "come forward" (like at a billy graham event). People would come forward to get "saved" and people would come forward to acknowledge being "called into the full time ministry".

Of the friends of mine who were "called" at these emotional events, less then half of them went into full time "professional" ministry. The evening they responded, they told everyone God had 'called' them. But now what? Also, if at least half the "callings" were later revealed to be emotionally induced, not true callings from God in the (rare) Biblical sense, what about the salvations?

One 'youth evangelist' in particular I recall, I think his name was Clayton King, said at one of these events as he was trying to draw people forward, "If you feel nervous right now, in the pit of your stomach, that is probably God calling you to the ministry." Yeah... umm... that or you're a nervous teenager who does not want to stick out, friends of yours are getting up in public, you aren't used to being in front of a crowd, and you're a little anxious about it all. Gotta wonder what people are up to sometimes.

[curious]

"If you’re not willing to pray that prayer and obey what God tells you out of it, then you’re not really a disciple of Jesus."

Maybe I'm missing something. But this seems to be the same "confusing language of calling" you speak of just above. I mean, what exactly do you mean by, "obey what God tells you out of it." It seems like you're gravitating back to the belief that God whispers thoughts and statements into our mind about what we should be doing. I'm a firm believer that God can speak to me. In Scripture, He spoke to men. But nothing is ever mentioned of him speaking inaudibly. I also must acknowledge that of the billions that have lived... very few are said to have been spoken to by God. For the rest of us, we simply have Scripture to go by. We are not obligated to obey some conviction or thought just because it sounds good, we felt good thinking it, and we think it may have come from God. Maybe it didn't come from God! Is He the only supernatural power? Are there not demons that also, perhaps, can speak with thoughts and induce incorrect convictions... often as if they are 'angels of light'?

I often wonder exactly who a lot of people are following when they are following "what God said" (and it isn't written in the Bible).

[Jamie Steele]

Sounds like someone has been reading Olson's book on missions