the loss of a sense of vocation
i think part of the evangelical tradition's emphasis on "saving souls" has been its loss of a sense of kingdom and therefore vocation. we have lost Kingdom of God language--partly from the Romantic movement and subsequent theology of Schleiermacher and some strange warmings of the heart. we have made Kingdom a heart thing...rather than a world thing. as a result we have made vocation all about ministry of the heart--or soul, rather than about Kingdom.
"are you called to ministry?" heck yes, i am. am i called to be a pastor? still working that out. people passionate about the reign of God in Jesus have been funnelled to pastoral ministry--even if lacking gifts of leadership and administration; even if loving geography and criminology. for this reason i am glad i have friends called to economics, geography, criminology, and even pastoral ministry. they have grasped vocation as something bigger than professional ministry. vocation is about Kingdom...and Kingdom is as big as Romans 8 let's us think it is (the cosmos, btw). may God (continue to) call workers to astronomy and foreign affairs; to computer science and literature; to shoe stores and High Schools.
"are you called to ministry?" heck yes, i am. am i called to be a pastor? still working that out. people passionate about the reign of God in Jesus have been funnelled to pastoral ministry--even if lacking gifts of leadership and administration; even if loving geography and criminology. for this reason i am glad i have friends called to economics, geography, criminology, and even pastoral ministry. they have grasped vocation as something bigger than professional ministry. vocation is about Kingdom...and Kingdom is as big as Romans 8 let's us think it is (the cosmos, btw). may God (continue to) call workers to astronomy and foreign affairs; to computer science and literature; to shoe stores and High Schools.
posted by Aaron Perry at
3:58 PM
6 Comments:
hey, this sounds just like what I learned in Kingdom, Church, and World class last summer. (Did you take that class? It's a good one). It especially sounds like the book, "The Other Six Days" by Stevens. I think all should read it before going off to ministry schools.
The dreaded c-word. *shudder*
Thank you for that post. Gives those of us not in some kind of offical ministerial position some credit. I feel like I am touching lives like crazy at work lately way more than I ever did while attending BBC or leading worship or doing a missions internship. I'm serving God as a teacher and call center worker...go figure!!
AP,
Good post, definitely something I've been munching on for the last year now. It's confusing being a waitor, youth pastor, and seminarian. At BBC there was a lot more "being" now its a lot more "doing". I'm still not sure which "vocation" I am headed for, it is a theological question more so than a biblical one. It hurts my head trying to figure it out. Still, i do not fault Bible college profs, administrators for trying to "funnel" people into vocational ministry. While it is definitely not a perfect system, hey, we need church leaders (not nec. the Maxwell type, but you know what I mean), people to proclaim the Gospel and paint people a picture of God's kingdom etc. There aren't too many institutions doing that effectively (family, public school, church).
Mother Teresa once said "Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus." I think this simple sentence speaks more than most books. I also think it frees us from becoming obsessed with our work, from seeing our identity in a job or a ministry rather than in Jesus.
John
hey joe,
just to clarify, the (at least immediate) fault is not that of Bible College profs (who taught me how to think and brought me to where I am, partly!), admin, etc. the fault is with the church and a truncated view of salvation. of course, this shouldn't come across as too negative--it just shows that the good news is better than we sometimes admit. reason to celebrate!
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