From: "Rebecca Strand" [email protected]

I believe, as a teacher, that I am "called." It is a missionary roll - especially in a high impact school of transient teenage students, low income, high mobility, and diverse racial background. Why else would I have left my job in commercial real estate two years ago to take a 50% salary cut to be among the low income people of King County, Washington?

From: Mark A Inman [email protected]

Wow, great subject. Some of us as ministers do preach that all are called by God to serve Him. I don't believe that the only ones who should visit a sick friend, or call on a neighbor, or even witness to others about their lost state are ministers. The Bible seems to be quite clear on this one. Each one of us is called to serve God with our lives.

And I personally believe that every job that we do whether it is secular or Christian should be secondary to our first call to do the will of God.

It is encouraging to find that College Students are seeing their lives goals as a more important decision then simply finding a job and fulfilling their own desires. Three cheers to them! There has been a lot of talk lately about the importance of taking religion outside of the church. I agree with that, but there needs to be some guidelines. It is not okay to live a life which is contrary to God's Word. We must be careful that while we are out there living our lives in the world that we are avoiding situations and circumstances which will cause others to fall.

Take for instance the crossover Christian Music star who allegedly, got a divorce from her husband recently and remarried a famous country singer. What is the message that she is sending to her fans?

What about the Christian movie director who not only makes good Christian movies but also makes some questionable movies with improper language and insinuations?

So the question, which seems to be a personal one, must be asked by each individual. Can I do this secular activity and not compromise Christian beliefs and doctrine? Will this activity cause another person to stumble? If we measure every activity by the Bible it may help us in our search for career opportunities.

Can a person without a call make it in the ministry? I did have a call from God upon my life and so I am not sure that I can look objectively from a non call perspective. I can however, tell you that there seems to be times within the ministry which are so trying, that without the calling of God upon my life, it would be very easy to quit.

The call at times, is the holding factor that redirects those thought of bailing. With as many pastors leaving the ministry today as do, I wouldn't want to be attempting this lifestyle without the call of God upon me. To me, the call is very important, it is the glue which keeps me motivated to continue in the ministry.

--Pastor Mark Inman; Milton, DE

From: [email protected]

I tend to agree with your students -- to a point at least. Every Christian is called to ministry. Every one of us receives gifts and abilities for the common good of the church. When each one does his/her part in love the Body of Christ grows and matures.

Everything is ministry in the sense that every kind of work can be a service to others and to God. Every task in the church is a necessary function of the Body of Christ. None of them is different from the others in the sense that all are given by the same Spirit, for the same purpose and can change the world through the power of one God.

However, in emphasizing the necessity of every Christian doing his/her part, we must remember that some parts of the Body are treated differently than others. (This is true in the physical and the spiritual.) Some parts are honored with constant public exposure and they're judged more strictly than others. Some parts are so special they are honored by being kept hidden.

Some parts are honored by being "vital organs" -- without which the Body cannot function properly.

I believe the persons Jesus gives to be "some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11). These parts often receive constant exposure. They are judged more strictly by both humans and God. Serving in one of these ministries requires something unique -- a special call. Self-appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers will collapse under the pressure.

No one is equal to this kind of ministry. Only God's grace and his call to serve will see a man or a woman through a life of ministry in this way. --Mark Haines

From: Mark Mason [email protected]

We gain much, not the least of which is regaining the concept of the priesthood of all believers. That is a healthy thing. You can educate the "shallowness" of their call-theology out of them - but woe be unto the prophet who must teach a church out of the entrenched clergy-laity mindset!

- Mark Mason, Vienna, WVa

From: "James Petticrew" [email protected]

I don't think the understanding of vocation and calling that you are describing is a new thing at all. I think the understanding of vocation you are describing is, in fact both profoundly biblical and characteristically Protestant. Alister McGrath in his book on Reformation spirituality comments " The reformers rejected the vital medieval distinction between the sacred and secular. There was no difference of status between the "spiritual" and "temporal" All Christians were called to be priests and that calling extended into the everyday world. Christians were called to be priests in the world, purifying and sanctifying its everyday life from within. Luther stated this point succinctly: "What seems to be secular works are actually the praise of God and represent an obedience which is well pleasing to him" There were no limits on this notion of calling." I personally hope that this return to our Reformation roots among young people will see the end of that well worn but very unhealthy phrase "full time Christian service." That phrase has been used almost exclusively to describe the calling to work within the Church yet Luther was right, the call to "secular" work is every bit as much a call to "full time Christian service" as the call to the pastorate. There should be no part-time Christians who divorce their faith from their profession.

Having said all of that, perhaps not everything that some Christians may want to describe as a calling is actually a calling from God. I have my doubts that God calls any of his people to be involved in the production of some of the latest sexually titillating and graphically violent offerings from Hollywood. I wonder if God would call some of his people into the advertising industry that seems intent in stirring up so much greed and self-centeredness as well as exploiting so many weak people. Perhaps some vocations can never be callings?

--James Petticrew

From: Jerry L Steen [email protected]

As a former youth leader in a church in the early eighties, I observed one thing with my group. When a Missionary came and told of their ministry, suddenly several youth felt "called to the missionary field". When an Evangelist came, some felt "called to the evangelist field".

I think that the approach of the youth today, as you described it, is more practical and stable than I have seen in that group. However, I feel that it could fall short in this way. While some may be called to various fields, I still believe there is a special call for the ministry. To say less than that is to discount the special status of the minister. It sounds much like those that those that doubt the experience of salvation or sanctification because they have not experienced it. They may be limiting God with their inability to understand that God is personal and interested in their lives.

Personally, I have experienced that kind of a call and am grateful that I had a definite call. Otherwise, I might have wandered away from the ministry. Satan will do his job of discouraging, but God will give evidence to you that you are in His will.

Pastor Jerry Steen, Liberty Center

From: Matt Guthrie [email protected]

As always, an interesting article and much food for thought. As someone recently out of seminary after a mid career change, I find myself on both sides of the perspective listed here. I'll respond to the easy ones first.

I think the origin of this view stems from the success of lay ministry in today's society. More and more churches are recognizing the value of active laypersons in many of the church's functions. It has also proven to be a great measurement of discipleship. Plus, the Great Commission doesn't say, "Only the pastors go out....." although one may try to argue that it was mainly his disciples present. We are all called to exercise our gifts for the glory of God and it has somehow earned the name "ministry". It is the exercise of the gift in this fashion that would of course be considered a gain.

The post-(post?)-modern shift plays a significant role in this viewpoint. As an older Gen Xer, I have grown weary at times with the secular/sacred rift in American society. It is a perspective that appears to be unique to Western culture. Countless papers and articles have been written using this separation as an explanation for the many woes we now experience. As my generation and those after us struggle to bring the two back together, allowing holiness to pervade our entire lives, it only becomes natural that everything we do would suddenly become "ministry". That's not necessarily how it should be, but that's how it is right no