The Call

I became a pastor to tell people about and introduce people to Jesus.

Plain and simple. That was my heart's desire thirty years ago when I packed up all my earthly belongings and moved to Wilmore, Kentucky so that I could attend Asbury Theological Seminary. Honestly, at the time, I was planning to go into campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, but since I was also getting married right out of college, and because they would not allow your first year of ministry to coincide with your first year of marriage, I decided to go to seminary and "see what they knew." The hand of God was working in that as well because it was in those months that God clarified my call to be a pastor.

I remember when I was younger saying that a pastor's job had to be the most boring job in the world. What else did they have to do but preach on Sunday morning? (Admit it, some of you are thinking the same thing!) But God opened my eyes and my heart to that calling during those first few months of marriage and into the first semester at seminary. One question, asked by Dr. Robert Mulholland at our orientation session, rang in my mind and heart: "Can you imagine yourself doing anything else? If so, you should go do it," he said. By December of that year, I was fully committed to being a pastor.

I answered the call to be a pastor because I wanted to tell people about Jesus.

What I never counted on (and what no one told me) was all the other STUFF you have to deal with as a pastor in today's world. The unwritten expectations—like "You must keep everyone happy" and "if people are unhappy or if they leave, it's your fault." Managing conflict. Preventing (or, more often, attempting to prevent) conflict! The paperwork. The meetings. The denominational politics! There are days that such things consume the hours of a pastor's life to the extent that you wonder if Jesus was even a part of your day!

I was called to tell people about Jesus.

I'm hoping and praying that someday we can get back to the purpose of the church. It's not about making ourselves comfortable. It's not about our own preferences. It's not about getting our way, being taken care of or having our favorite color of paint on the wall. It's about Jesus, friends. It's about his Way! The church exists to give witness to the living Jesus and to be an outpost of the kingdom of Heaven. It is a counter-culture in the midst of the prevailing culture. It is a place where all are welcome and all are equally called to repentance and new life. I pray we remember who we are because if we're not distinctive and different from the world around us, we have no purpose and we might as well close the doors.

I am called to tell people about Jesus, and that's all I really want to do.