You can read my first two posts on the Call HERE and HERE. In honor of Father’s Day, and to share some things that have been on my heart about what it means to be Called, I am taking some traits I saw in my dad concerning the call and talking about them here.
#2 The call has ONE opinion. First off, If you are going into ministry because someone you admire is in it, or someone told you that you’d be good at it, you are a…ok I won’t say it today. That is TOTALLY the wrong reason. If you change your ministry, say things differently or don’t say certain things that you know you should because you are afraid of what someone might think…you might be a…doing it for the wrong reason.
Listen. There isn’t a human on this planet that should change, manipulate or maneuver WHAT WE DO IN MINISTRY. YES, I understand we are under authority in our churches or denominations. YES, I understand that we might work for another pastor in a church where we lead. But know this. There is NO human opinion that matters when it comes to the Call. GOD has an opinion and it is THE opinion.
1 Corinthians 4:3 3 As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. 4 My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
If you are in ministry, you’re lying if you say human opinions don’t weigh on your heart and mind. I want people to like me. I want them to think I’m a good leader. I want them to believe in what I’m doing. But you know what? When it comes down to it, I could care less about how I might be evaluated by any human, GOD will examine me and decide. That should drive what we do in EVERY area of life, ministry or not!
Now my dad may not say things the same way I am, but I saw (still see) in my dad an UNWAVERING commitment to the call of God and not ANY human opinion. I remember times some of his closest friends would say things that hurt him deeply about decisions he made to follow the Call. I think as pastors kids my parents protected us pretty well but I know he’s received fall out for messages preached, ministries started, moves he’s made, people he’s confronted ALL as part of trusting in GOD’S OPINION ONLY!
My dad also received praise and honor from people too. But I believe he even took that with a grain of salt. You HAVE to, otherwise you’ll begin seeking the PRAISE of those same people and not God.
When you follow the Call of God, people are going to say HORRIBLE things about you. Other Christians will claim you AREN’T following God and seek to bring you down. People will pick apart your messages. They will question your every move. They will doubt your ability to lead. They will PRAISE you and they will BELITTLE you. It is in the moments of praise AND criticism that we trust in only ONE opinion.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. I saw that in my dad. Even when family doubted his decisions, my dad FOLLOWED THE CALL!
One of the hardest ministry decisions I ever made, was made because I saw this in my dad. Very few people know the ins and outs of that choice for me and our family. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. But it was ONLY the opinion of God that mattered in that moment, and it was seeing my dad do the same that helped me make that decision.
If you are called by God, to WHATEVER you are called to do, there is only ONE opinion. Listen ONLY to it!
Listening to God,
Jeff
