Check the 4th post in this 6 part series HERE. It will give you a link to the other posts if you like. The final post will be up tomorrow. We’ve been looking at what it means to be Called. Not HOW you get called, I’m not sure I can explain that one. I’ve been sharing from my heart some things about the Call, ESPECIALLY some things I’ve seen in my dad over the years as he pursued the Call of God on his life.
#4 The call is TOUGH. One of the things I’ve learned about the Call, whether in full time pastoral ministry or ANY Call from God to do whatever…it is TOUGH. Specifically with full time ministry, when someone comes to me and says “I feel called”, one of the first things I tell them is “I’m going to try and talk you out of it.” Your reaction right now is probably similar to what they give me, “Why would you do that?” FIRST, because it’s tougher than you EVER imagined. SECOND, because if I can talk you out of it, then you aren’t really called.
I don’t think I realized it until I was in ministy, but now looking back I can see how tough it was on my dad. I remember one time in high school coming home (probably late) from a night with Sabrina. It was definitely past my dad’s normal bed time but as I pulled up, I saw him sitting on the porch. I thought “Uh oh, I’m in for it now.” But as I walked up to him I could tell he wasn’t there for a conversation with me. I didn’t know this then, but later I found out that he was out on the porch having a conversation with God. God was stirring his heart with a new call for a new church. He couldn’t sleep. I know it was one night of MANY that ministry kept him awake.
I remember demanding people in my dads life. I remember critical people. I remember beginning to understand how closely watched our family was because “We were called”. I remember the long nights or the early mornings where I’d see my dad by the fireplace praying or reading his Bible. There are probably too many times to count that my dad and mom had conversations I never knew about, in which they discussed how TOUGH the Call was. BUT he never stopped chasing that call. He’s still chasing it today.
I’ve come to learn that ministry isn’t glamorous. It’s tough. I think for some people going in they don’t realize the level of hurt they will endure or work it will take. The sleepless nights. The tragic phone calls. The gut wrenching conversations. Seeing people NOT make it spiritually is THE most difficult thing for a pastor to see. The spiritual responsibility that a pastor carries is overwhelming at times.
I know, maybe I’m not painting a pretty enough picture. Why do I say all those things? Because every time I go through a tough time in ministry, I’m reminded that if my dad is still in it, I can be too. The call is tough, but if you’re called, what else are you going to do? Run? The TOUGH parts of the call, at least for me, are FAR better to endure than the anguish in my heart of NOT following it! If you are Called, DON’T STOP!
Toughing it,
Jeff
