WIM Blog

To even use the word ‘call’ in some circles is regarded as either superstitious or mystical.  It is seen as the cause of many problems for young Christians who are often  seeking to find out what it is ‘that God is calling them to’.  Even for some of us who are ‘in’ ministry, when a ministry role doesn’t quite work out, we may find ourselves saying, ‘But I thought this was where God wanted me to be?’  Or, on leaving a ministry role, someone will sometimes say to us ‘What ministry do you think God is calling you to now?’

So why use such a problematical word in a conference title?

First because this is a conference for women who are in ministry be it full time/part time or lay/ordained.  Such women on the whole believe that they are where they are because God has opened that opportunity for them. i.e. ‘called them’ to that ministry.

Second because this belief can cause us problems if we find we are unsuited for the role or if there is opposition to changes we might wish to bring in, or if we are unable to live up to the expectations of either the team leader, of the team or of the parish.  In the secular workforce, faced by similar difficulties we’d just move on, find another job with a group heading in the same direction as us.  But ‘in ministry’ we are reluctant to be so pragmatic …because….God…

Third because when we find ourselves in turmoil because a ministry hasn’t worked out as we’d expected….when we had prayed before deciding to join this particular work and research had confirmed this as a good place where we would be of use, and when others had so lovingly confirmed our suitability….we will begin debating if we had misunderstood the ‘signs’ or whether it is godliness is to stay on rather than to resign?

Lastly, when we have not been able to find a ministry role here we may ask: Is this God’s way of ‘calling’ us to another place or to another country or to a different job?

The call of God is a call to ministry, in fact it is at the very heart of ministry. 

However unless we understand this call correctly, we’ll flounder when ministry becomes difficult; our confidence will be undermined when people question what we are doing; our resilience will fail as the exhaustion of ministry sets in or when our hopes for what this ministry could be, fall through.

So what is this call to ministry?  How do we live with it?  How do we live for it? And in what way is it the very foundation of who we are, how we live and what we do?

I will be leading a Bible Study on this at the mini conferences planned for February 2010 – see the Events Page of this web site for topics, electives, times and other details.  Tell others you know, bring them with you and enjoy this time of thinking about women’s ministry together.