What’s Your Ministry?
I haven’t consciously set out to blog about my journey of finding a new church home, but as that’s a major part of my life right now, it’s only natural that I should share some of that journey here. As those of you who’ve been regular readers for at least the last few months know, I’ve been struggling with trying to find a church where I feel like I fit in, where I feel like I belong and am not just an observer—whether it’s as a single adult in a congregation where marriage is the key to fitting in or whether it’s as a “recovering Baptist” attending churches of different denominations/worship styles.
Yesterday marked the third week I’ve visited the church I’m feeling increasingly called to. (I don’t see myself making a decision to join before the end of the year, because I want to make certain that this is definitely the right church, a long-term church, before making the commitment to joining this church as well as going through whatever red-tape I have to go through to become a member of a different denomination.) So I figured it was time to start visiting Sunday School classes. I read through the list of classes on the church’s website and chose one of the first listed. Here’s part of the description from the website:
. . . We share values of love for “family” (including our biological family
as well as family as defined by close, caring relationships).
We value respect and tolerance for others while working toward
justice for the disenfranchised, responsibility toward the global
community, and the search for truth. As we strive to follow the
example of Jesus, we welcome all people to our class regardless
of age, race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation,
culture, socio-economic status, political position, disability, or any
other defining characteristics. We have members of 35 years,
and we also welcome newcomers throughout the year. . . .
Now, what I did not realize was that the statement “We have members of 35 years” was not referring to age but length of membership in the class. But still, it was quite enjoyable as the guest speaker (this class apparently does not have a regular teacher but a succession of guest lecturers) was teaching out of Jonah. (Oh, and I’ve been told by several life-long members of this denomination that they don’t consider themselves as very strong when it comes to knowledge of the Bible. It was amazing to me how many of these people ages 55+ had to “pass” when the teacher asked the class to go around the room and tell the story of Jonah, even after she’d been teaching from the book for three weeks!)
The Sunday School lesson made a very interesting juxtaposition to the sermon, which was on finding our call to service. As you probably already know, the crux of the story of Jonah is that God called Jonah to serve—by going to Nineveh and telling them that God was going to judge them for their sins. Jonah tried to run from God and the calling, but as we all know, you can’t run from God. So Jonah got to chill out in the belly of a great fish for three days before being belched back up onto the land and the next time God called, Jonah went to Nineveh. (Observation: the book of Jonah does not record the actual message God gave Jonah, only the message that Jonah gave the Ninevites—that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days if they didn’t repent, but not what would happen if they did repent.) When the Ninevite king heard Jonah’s message, he dressed in sackcloth and repented, and he ordered every person and animal in the city do the same. God relented and withdrew His judgment from the city because of their repentance. Jonah, who’d wanted them to be punished (total annihilation) was furious when it didn’t happen. And he sulked. (“This is exactly why I didn’t want to come in the first place. I knew You were going to make me look a fool!”) Like a child, he sat down and pouted. God looked on him with compassion and made a plant grow up overnight to provide him shade. But did Jonah thank God for it? No! So God sent a worm that ate the plant and it withered the next night. Jonah got even angrier. And then God did something that I love. He started in with the sarcastic, rhetorical questions*: “Who are you to get angry with Me? Did you cause the plant to grow? But you cared more about the fate of a plant—which came to life overnight—than Nineveh. Shouldn’t I have more compassion for 120,000 people (and the animals), whom you were willing to see destroyed, than you do for a plant?”
Jonah didn’t want to do the service God called him to do. God not only had to call him twice, but had to go to extreme measures to ensure Jonah would go the second time God called him. One of the most interesting contrasts in the story of Jonah is Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2 and Jonah’s reaction to God’s saving Nineveh in chapter 4. He goes from saying, “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; that which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD” at the end of his prayer from the belly of the fish to saying, “I have good reason to be angry, even to death,” when God asked him why he was angry about the plant withering away.
So I went from this lesson about someone who went and performed his service reluctantly—and then got angry with God about the compassionate and loving result—into the worship service in which the message drew from 1 Corinthians 12:4–12, which discusses the ways in which we are each uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit for service. I’ve taken many spiritual gift surveys in my adult life, and they always come back with the same results—my top gifts are administration, teaching, and leadership; my bottom/non-existent gifts are mercy, hospitality, and giving. So, logical areas of ministry/service for me are as a teacher, on committees, or as an officer in organizations like the choir or my writing groups. The two main points the pastor made were that we are all called to ministry and we are all gifted for ministry. But we cannot allow ourselves to be browbeaten into thinking that any area of ministry is more important/more glamorous/more spiritual than any other. We must be fully attentive to God’s presence in our lives and what our gifts and talents are and what God’s given us a heart for.
“God calls us to those places where the world’s greatest
needs and our greatest joys intersect.”
He is not going to call us to do something of which we are not capable. Nor is He going to call us to do something that will make us miserable. It was not God’s calling upon Jonah’s life that made Jonah miserable. It was Jonah’s attitude toward the Ninevites and response toward God that made Jonah miserable.
I’ve mentioned many times that it was not until I was in my late twenties that I realized God was calling me to pursue publication. And while others may see my writing as a ministry, I see it as a vocation—because for me, it isn’t the stories I’m writing that is my ministry. It’s the connections I’ve made with people—the people I’ve been able to mentor through the writing groups in which I’ve been involved and through the blog. It’s the people I’ve come to know because they contacted me after reading one of my books. It’s the opportunities I’ve had to go out and meet people I never would have met before through speaking engagements and book signing events. It’s the new venues of opportunity I’ve had to meet people from all over the world that I see as my main ministry (in addition to my local writing group and, hopefully soon, being an active part of a local church congregation).
So what is your ministry? Where are you seeing God at work around you? To what do you feel God is calling you? Where are you encountering Christ? What gives you your greatest joy?
*For my favorite list of God’s sarcastic, rhetorical questions, see Job 38–41.
Comments are closed.
KayeDacus.com 
To answer your question, I have no idea to what God is calling me. Nada.
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Jason, I read your blog post (the one you didn’t want to publish) about this topic last week. That’s probably why these two lessons Sunday struck me so hard.
Do you think it’s better to be aware that you do not know what ministry God is calling you to and to be in that “waiting phase”—waiting for Him to reveal it—than to run out and jump neck-deep into a ministry (because you “should” or you “want to”) and then discover that wasn’t where God wanted you?
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Wait until you see what I’m posting in about half an hour. I’m probably going to burn a whole lot of bridges I shouldn’t be burning.
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Poor Jonah. He’s just plain irritating, isn’t he? LOL
In my forties, I’m finally realizing that our personal ministry changes with the different phases of our lives. At one time, I was passionate about children’s ministry. I realize, now, that I was passionate about seeing that my children had the best our church could offer, and at that point, my gifts of administration, leadership, and service led me to that arena of ministry. God blessed the ministry when we were between staff members, but now? Now we have a bonafide Children’s MINISTER, and it hit me a few weeks ago, that he has to make it his own ministry – not an extension of what I think should be the church’s children’s ministry.
I’m in transition, now. I’m not in children’s ministry anymore. I’ve ALWAYS been passionate, gifted, and highly involved in music, and I’m discovering a gift for writing that I only acknowledged about two years ago. I’m involved with a blog with nine other ladies, and every time it’s my turn to post, my husband asks me why I don’t write a devotional book. I’m working on a novel. Who knows? Maybe my novel is to be my vocation, and my blog posts my ministry? Right now, I’m just waiting to see what God thinks about that . . . while I run a library!
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I fully agree that God gives us “seasons” in our lives for the ministries He calls us to. To me, that’s a sign that we’re growing and maturing and changing ourselves, if we find ourselves following Him into different areas of ministry during different times in our lives.
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My primary vocation is serving as a wife, mother, and homemaker. I also work as a writer and editor and work for Rhode Island Right to Life, a pro-life organization. I think that all of my vocational work is also ministry, so I am blessed in that regard. As far as straight up ministry, I think it’s hospitality…I love, love, love showing hospitality. It’s a challenge for me at times, as an introvert, but even when it wears me out, it leaves me feeling energized.
Glad you’re finding a church where you fit!
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I’ve always looked at my vocation as at least a place of ministry, if not a means for ministry. Back when I worked in the corporate/newspaper world, even though I was working in advertising, which is definitely not a ministry, through my position as the executive assistant for the department, I got to minister to my boss and coworkers by going above and beyond my job and doing little extras for them or encouraging them or supporting them or being the one they could talk to in confidence when something was going on. Even though the job stressed me out and there were days I hated being there, I would always look for the opportunity to do something like that for one of my coworkers. It made the day better for both of us.
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Much of my life has been in ministry mode. I was a pastor’s wife for several years and involved in camping and youth ministry. I’ve also been quite involved in women’s ministries and teaching through the years. I serve with my women’s conference team where I get to use my organization and creative skills. I also serve on the leadership team and teach a small group Bible studies.
One important lesson I learned though from W. Glyn Evans, author of Daily with the King, is that it is important to be mission minded. On the way to your mission, you may pass ministries by, as there are so many that one can participate in. And that’s ok. Sometimes we are called to participate in what is right before us, but overall we should be discerning and prayerful about what we choose to do. God’ has gifted us all and I think if we are receptive to his direction our gifts can be exercised as a spiritual act of worship to him. Taking a spiritual gifts inventory is helpful. And I when I “feel” led to do something I wait for his confirmation through the affirmation of others.
Writing certainly opens up much opportunity to minister to others. I consider that my mission, and my mission field.
But most of all I think it is a matter of the heart and learning to love our neighbor – those to whom we come in contact with. Those are divine connections. Some seasons it has been as simple as ministering only to my family when we were going through a difficult time and allow the blessing of being ministered to by others. Other times it has been developing relationships. It isn’t always something on a to do list.
I’m glad you are finding a church that you like, Kaye. It’s a big step. It’s also a tough time in a sense as you find your nitch and others learn about your gifts. Be blessed!
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I love that quote, Kaye. “God calls us to those places where the world’s greatest
needs and our greatest joys intersect.”
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I’ve heard that the most accurate interpretation of the passage we now call the Great Commission is “As you go, make disciples. . . .” In other words, we don’t have to be called into foreign service to be a “missionary.” God calls us to share his love with everyone we come in contact with: at home, in our communities, at work, through our gifts and talents. Or, as you stated, to start by learning to love our neighbors.
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I agree… to an extent.
I also think that God stretches us outside of our comfort zones as well. If we only serve in those areas were it’s easy, or our natural inclination, where we can do it with our own strengths… then how is God glorified through our weakness?
“I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me”
and
“‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
I totally agree that we need to serve God with the abilities that he’s given us, and serve him joyfully, but don’t discount the things that you don’t do as well. Those are the places that GOD can be glorified even more, let us lessen and HIM be lifted higher.
Moses is an awesome example of this!
So glad you’re finding a church that fits you! I’ll be praying that God will lead you and send you to the exact church He wants you to be in.
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Following God’s calling into ministry is never easy, nor something any of us could do on our own strength, no matter how confident and secure we are in the gifts He’s given us. In being called to teach, for example, even though He gifted me with the love of teaching and the desire to do it, I have to fight against my own introverted nature every time I get up to do it. As someone gifted with leadership but not with mercy, I constantly have to struggle to make myself give others the benefit of the doubt and allow them time to catch up/catch on—to slow down or help them along even though it goes against my human nature which tells me to just move on and let them either follow me or be left in my dust. When I serve on committees, it’s the same thing—I have to depend on God to help me overcome my cut-and-dry, let’s get this done NOW, mentality and allow others to hem-and-haw and beat around the bush before we get down to business.
I firmly believe that God has a very sarcastic sense of humor . . . and gives us strengths and callings in certain areas in which we are sure to need those gifts we DON’T have so that there’s nothing we can do BUT depend on Him to meet those callings.
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Oh, in my comment I hope I didn’t make it seem like we should only serve if we are comfortable. That certainly hasn’t been my own experience. The Lord surely stretches us and we need to be ready to respond to what he puts before us. What is that saying . . . the Lord equips those whom he calls. I think if we remember that it will give us confidence when the time to serve comes.
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About three or four months before I moved in Nashville in 1996, I went on a retreat with the singles group from my church. We were focusing on spiritual gifts at this retreat, and when I sat down to fill out my SG profile, I really didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it—because I’d not only done several before (so I knew what the results would be) but I’d actually taught it before.
So imagine my surprise when FAITH came out as my top spiritual gift. Not Leadership or Administration, which are always my top two, but FAITH. It wasn’t until many months later, after I came to Nashville with no job, no place to live, and no one here I knew that I realized God had been working in my life for a while before I even knew I’d be moving to strengthen my faith so that when He called me to move to Nashville, I would be more than willing to take that leap of faith and come here. As someone with a top gift of Administration, pre-planning and preparing for every possible contingency is extremely high on my priority list (and I hate change, which is part of my ISTJ personality). Even though this wasn’t necessarily a call to a specific area of service (though when I think about all the ways in which I’ve served, all the people I’ve met/taught since I’ve been here, maybe it was a call to service in Nashville, where I never would have thought to come on my own), it was definitely God’s calling on my life to do something completely out of character for me.
That’s why when people ask me what brought me to Nashville, the only answer I can give is, “God.”
Never, in the fourteen years since then, has faith ever again come up as one of my top spiritual gifts. (Though I kind of wonder if maybe last year, in the couple of months before I was laid off and made the decision to go freelance, if I’d taken a SG survey then if it might have spiked again.)
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Currently I’m leading a women’s Bible study group at our church. We had been doing mostly Beth Moore studies, but this year we just finished a Jennifer Rothschild study and getting ready to do a Kelly Minter study. It’s a small but faithful and fun group and while I do not feel at all qualified, I do feel called, so I give it to Him each week and let Him equip me.
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