Called: Hearing and Responding to God's Voice

Introduction

I’ve always been envious of those people—you know who they are—the ones certain from the time they were twelve years old that they want to be a lawyer, teacher, doctor, firefighter, or counselor. They relentlessly pursue that one dream, achieve it, and then spend their lives living out their vocations. The word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, which means call.

My life has been a bit more circuitous than that, as I imagine yours has been. Even those who appear to be living with singular purpose and direction probably have lives more circuitous than they appear. The truth is that our lives have been shaped and directed by multiple callings. I have, at various times, been intentional in discerning and pursuing the call to be a teacher, wife, mother, and United Methodist minister.

Sometimes, as with my call to be a teacher, those callings come deep from within and are just a part of how we are created. They simply cannot be denied. There is a scene in the movie Chariots of Fire¹ where the main character’s sister chastises him for wanting to set aside, for a short time, their ministry as missionaries so that he might pursue an Olympic running career. In response to her disapproval, he says, I believe that God made me for a purpose, . . . but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure. Sometimes we pursue a path because it is obvious that God has planted a skill or a desire deep within us that cannot be denied. When we live this out, we feel God’s pleasure. And sometimes, as with my calling to be a minister, we wonder where in the world that seemingly crazy idea came from, and we need to spend time determining if it is God’s voice we hear or just our imagination gone wild!

Everyone who is a Christian is called. We are called to follow Christ’s teachings and serve as his disciples. Those who are baptized into the Christian faith are called into the ministry of making disciples of Jesus Christ, for Jesus gives his followers in the Gospel of Matthew the imperative, Go . . . make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20). So, while all who are followers of Christ have the same call, each person is gifted and called in unique ways to live out that call.

This book was inspired by the joys and struggles I encountered in my own call to ministry and the ways the narratives of six biblical characters have informed and given shape to my own faith journey.

Several years ago, my husband and I sponsored a friend to attend a weekend spiritual retreat called The Walk to Emmaus. As part of the retreat, sponsors are asked to participate in a worship service offering prayers for the attendees. It concludes with Communion being served to those who are sponsors. It was during this moving service that I experienced the surprise of God interrupting my day-to-day life as a stay-at-home mom and setting me on a trajectory I could never have imagined.

Before the service began, the spiritual director and leader of the retreat tapped me on the shoulder and asked, Would you mind helping serve Communion at the end of the service? Flattered by the request, I said, Of course, I would love to help.

That’s great! We’re going to serve by intinction, so as each person comes forward to receive Communion, I’ll tear off a piece of bread from the loaf, offer it to them, and say, ‘The body of Christ, broken for you.’ Then you will offer the cup. As they dip their bread into the cup, you will say, ‘The blood of Christ, given for you.’ When the appointed time came to serve, feeling highly honored to participate in this holy moment in such a profound way, I jumped into my job with reverent enthusiasm.

As I cupped the chalice in my hand and offered it to each person, saying, The blood of Christ, given for you, something surreal happened. Through a crystal-clear thought I sensed God saying to me, "This is what you are supposed to be doing."

For months afterward (actually years, if I’m honest), I reflected on that moment. I wondered, "What does this mean? Does this mean I’m supposed to be more involved in lay leadership in the church? Does it mean I’m supposed to enroll in seminary to become a better-educated Sunday school teacher or small group leader? Or does this mean that God is calling me into ordained ministry? I found myself wondering, Is this God’s idea, or just my crazy right-brained creative imagination?" Discovering the answers to those questions did not happen quickly, or all at once! Like Abraham, whom God leads by faith to the uncharted territory of Canaan, I discovered these answers slowly as God led me to the uncharted territory of seminary and ordination, a land God would show me, one stage and one step at a time.

As I’ve responded to God’s various calls in my life, I’ve discovered that answering one call usually prepares me for the next. Answering the call to attend seminary led to being invited, at the same time, into the new world of working on a church staff. I am forever grateful for the wisdom of my then senior pastor, who said, If you are even thinking about going into ordained ministry, you need to see what life is like on the other side. It’s very different than most people imagine. One part-time position on staff led to another and another, each progressively affirming God’s call to ordained pastoral ministry and leadership. Traveling the territory of seminary, ordination, ministry, and just daily living as a wife, mother, and friend, as with most callings in life, has been filled with a mixture of exhilaration, awe, gratitude, doubt, and heartbreak. The road on this winding journey of answering God’s call has led through both smooth and rugged terrain. This journey has been filled with the humble knowledge that no matter how skilled or unskilled, how worthy or unworthy I feel in each stage, God wants even me to help fulfill God’s purposes. Answering God’s call has led me to places and ministry I could never have imagined! That continues to fill me with God’s pleasure.

Called: Hearing and Responding to God’s Voice focuses on the call stories of six biblical characters and their responses to God’s voice and call in their lives. We see through these stories God interrupting the lives of ordinary men and women, people like you and me, calling them to and empowering them for unique and extraordinary lives of service that bring hope and transformation to the world. Through these six people who seem least likely to do great things for God—through old and barren Abraham, the young boy Samuel, the underestimated Esther and unlikely Mary Magdalene, the reluctant Jonah, and even the faithful Beloved Disciple—God gives birth to a nation, provides prophetic leadership, wisdom, and salvation to God’s children, and entrusts the proclamation of the message of Christ’s resurrection to a world in need of life and hope.

As you read these stories, I hope you will see yourself in each of the characters so that you may hear and respond to the unique calls God has placed and continues to place on your life. May you experience the intimacy of God’s voice in your ear. May you know that you are a beloved and invaluable agent in bringing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. May you be awed to know (and experience) that the God of the universe, the same God who called Abraham, Samuel, and Mary Magdalene, calls you, too, to an extraordinary life that you could never imagine on your own! As you hear and respond to God’s voice in your life through these characters, may you and those around you feel God’s pleasure. These stories of faith are a constant source of encouragement and inspiration in my faith journey, and I hope they will be for you, as well.

Chapter 1

Father Abraham

It was my second year of seminary.

The thrill of studying at the feet of esteemed professors was beginning to wane. I had formerly been praised for my creative culinary skills, but now my family was tired of eating macaroni and cheese and fast food. Our ten-year-old daughter actually exclaimed at one point, Mom, our meals have become atrocious! While my husband probably shared her sentiments, thankfully, he was wise enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

The rigorous workload of reading approximately 400 pages of dense theological material each week and writing papers between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. (after the children were in bed), coupled with the normal demands of being a mom, wife, and church employee, was taking its toll. I was exhausted, grumpy, stressed, and beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake by going back to school. The incredible support of my husband was one of the few things that kept me hanging on.

One frustrating day when I was walking from theology class across the grassy lawn between Southern Methodist University’s campus and the gothic towers of Highland Park United Methodist Church, where my family and I attended (and I worked part-time), I blurted out, Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why don’t I just quit! Immediately, those questions were answered audibly as from my own mouth came the words, Oh yeah, because God called me here. It was a sobering moment, but also a moment of encouragement and recommitment.

Answering God’s call is often thrilling and exhilarating, like the beginning of a new relationship or marriage when each partner can’t wait to discover more about the one they love and step into an unknown but promising future. And sometimes, even in the midst of answering God’s call, the journey is difficult and doesn’t seem clear. As with any committed relationship, it can feel much like traveling rugged terrain in a covered wagon without a map. Most of us who hear and respond to God’s call in our lives experience both. That is certainly true for Abraham, formerly known as Abram.

God enters Abram’s life at a time of great uncertainty. Abram’s life is at a crossroads. His father and brother have died; his orphaned nephew, Lot, is in the care of Abram and his wife, Sarai, who is experiencing fertility issues. She is barren, unable to conceive. In the midst of these rugged circumstances, God seems to appear out of nowhere and says to Abram,

Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

(Genesis 12:1-4)

A theology professor of mine once said that these four verses are the linchpin of the entire Bible. Throughout Genesis, God’s children repeatedly fail in doing what God calls them to do, so God chooses one person through whom God will enact God’s purposes for the world: Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. That conversation will change the trajectory of Abram’s life, and our lives, forever.

The Christian family’s story of origins begins in the opening chapters of Genesis with the creation of Adam and Eve, but it takes off in earnest with the story of Abraham. The first eleven chapters of Genesis tell of God’s great love of creation and of humanity’s bent toward violence, self-seeking power, and evil. Humanity began to want to be like God—to want to be their own god. Then comes the story of how God calls one person to journey to a new land, setting aside that person for God’s purposes. God promises to bless this man with a family that will become a nation, a blessing, a light to the other nations of the world. That family is asked to live in such a way as to reflect God’s light and love, so that everyone will be drawn closer to God and begin