“Those of us who live in this window of history must consider ourselves uniquely appointed by God.”
- Erwin McManus, An Unstoppable Force
During the 1980′s, President Reagan stated that he sincerely believed that God had placed him in the position of President of the United States; just twenty years later, President George W. Bush had much the same message when asked about why he ran for office. Voters, of course scoffed at the presumed arrogance that these two men seemed to have in believing that they were the only ones ready at that point in time to take this nation where it needed to be. Politics aside, I firmly believe that God places individuals in their respective positions in order to affect the greatest good for the Kingdom.
Why is it that we only believe that ministers are called of God? A good friend of mine recently resigned his pastorate at a successful, healthy, growing and vibrant church in order to take on a position elsewhere in the denomination outside of a “church” situation. He expressed to me that many had asked him how he could feel confident in taking on this “non-pastoral” position when he knew in his heart that God had called him to preach. His response: preaching is not the only type of calling that God places on our lives. As a pastor, I know full well that God often moves us in directions that we do not foresee and that are quite often out of the scope of what we originally understood our “calling” to be. But getting back to my original question, why is it that we only believe that God calls pastors?
A small-town plant in the mid-west was destroyed years ago; this plant was the source of income for the majority of the town. After the mess was over and just as everyone was about to gather to begin cleanup, the CEO called a meeting in which he invited the entire community, along with the workers of his company. Convinced that the CEO would announce the closing of the business and imagining the worst, the community gathered one evening, depleted of energy and devoid of hope. As the boss stood up, he announced that the company would be rebuilding the plant and that in the meantime, all employees would continue to receive their paychecks and benefits. Talk about a Godsend! This CEO was, undoubtedly appointed by God to lead that company – and that town – through a very difficult season of life. He was not a preacher and did not even serve on staff at a church; he merely followed the Scriptural command to love his neighbor as himself and make himself available for God’s purpose.
The church in America (and in fact, the entire world) is in serious trouble; we live in a society that is becoming increasingly spiritual but decreasingly Christ-like; we have atheists and pluralists and postmodernists and just about every type of worldview possible, but we are devoid of real Biblical truth. I have heard some say that these are dark days for the church. I have heard pastors say that we need to abandon ship, lock up the doors and prepare for heaven. But if my heart is in tuned with what God is doing, I would have to say that I am excited to be called to live, preach, and be Christ-like in this society. I am excited about what God is going to do! If history teaches us anything, it is that out of the most destitute and helpless struggles in humanity arise the greatest outpouring of God’s Spirit on the Church. The days leading up to Pentecost weren’t exactly the easiest times to be a Christian; but once God poured out His Spirit, Christianity took off like an Arizona Wildfire, spreading across the globe and transforming our world.
The times are dire and it is not the easiest period of time to be a disciple of Christ, but you are called out to be just that – we are called out to be just that. The Church is called to be the transformational instrument by which God will pour out His Spirit upon the earth; will we accept that call?
Filed under: Leadership
