I’m told, and I vaguely remember, that when I was a young boy I would put on a tie from my father’s closet, set up a small pulpit and preach to my room. I’ve always had a sense of God calling me into full-time ministry, and that calling has been confirmed, shaped and sharpened over the course of my life.
I have 5 children. As of now, none of them appear called into full-time ministry. The older three are gifted in many ways and called towards different directions in life…and I couldn’t be happier about it.
I’m happy not because I don’t want them in ministry (I love ministry and being a pastor). I’m happy because I believe the highest calling in life is not to be a pastor or in full-time ministry (though that is a high calling), but to be a Christian. And because I believe that, to my knowledge I have never once intentionally put an expectation or a burden on any one of my children to be in ministry. I’ve never said nor implied that since their father is a pastor, so would they.
My calling, my children’s calling, your calling is to serve God and others by His grace in the sphere of influence He’s assigned to you and gifted you for. We do this as Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ.
In the medieval church the Sacrament of Holy Orders divided the world into the “religious” and the “secular.” Those who went into full-time church ministry were put on a completely different spiritual level. They were above the rest. But during the Protestant Reformation Martin Luther insisted that all forms of work are God-honoring callings. To be a farmer, a craftsman, or an artist was as much a vocation and calling from God as a preacher or a pastor. Or, as in my children’s case, a Marine and tradesman, a social worker and an occupational therapist. (My daughter-in-law is a teacher, my future son-in-law an EMT and County Sheriff in training.)
My children’s future may include full-time ministry and it may not. Either way, as their father this much is true: I am extremely excited, not the slightest disappointed and abundantly proud of each of them as they grow, discover their gifts and pursue God’s calling on their life. And as your pastor, I’m proud of you as you use your gifts in the field of labor God has both prepared for you and prepared you for. You are called!