Transforming Pastoral Ministry: Calling!

For decades I was confused about calling.

I believe most of us are.

Rightly so.

After all, our calling, vocation or mission in life is often tied tightly to doing something.

In fact, when you ask someone about calling or personal mission, they will likely list off a host of things they are doing.

Ruth Haley Barton notes our rampant confusion regarding calling when she says,

“We set young leaders up for a fall if we encourage them to envision what they can do before they consider the kind of person they should be.” —Ruth Haley Barton

In the church, where we should know better, this misapprehension of calling takes on cosmic proportions.  Primarily because we spiritualize everything and thereby make it far more urgent than callings in other areas of life.

Here, for example, is a personal vision statement I lived by as recently as ten years ago.

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