A VARIETY OF SERVICES BUT THE SAME LORD
Paul speaks of the variety of ministries that are part of the Christian faith. :”Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6) Consistent with that line of thought, and in line with the concept of the priesthood of all believers, Calvin emphasized that all of us have a call from God. Luther compared the vocation of the priest to that of the shoemaker. God can call a person to be a lawyer or a laborer in equally valid form as God’s call to be a clergy. The difference is one of function rather than of importance.
SPECIALIZED MINISTRY
However, there is a special category of people who fit somewhere in between those called to be pastors and those called in what we often refer to as the secular dimensions of our society. There are those who have felt the call of God in their lives, received theological training, and in many cases have been ordained, but they choose to exercise their gifts in some form of ministry other than that of a congregation.
Some exercise their ministry in the familiar structures of chaplaincy or a counseling ministry. Others work in social service agencies that minister to the poor or needy in our society. Still others find their calling in law, medicine, business, etc. Yet each understand themselves as practicing their calling. As you leaf through the Gospel account of Jesus ministry, it is significant that many of those for whom Jesus expressed admiration for the witness of their faith were what we would now call lay people – e.g. the centurion, the Cannanite woman, tax collectors ,the rich young man etc.
SUPPORT FOR THE ORDAINED
Unfortunately, they are often neglected by their denominational structures and do not receive the corporate nurture from colleagues who are also ordained. There are several reasons why the church needs to pay more attention to this category of ministry. First, theologically, they are a part of the priesthood of all believers and an important part of the ministry of the church. Second, with the changing economic structures of our society affecting the structure of the church, we are going to need to expand the use of bi-vocationalism and we can learn from those who have gone before us. Third, by recognizing the varied ways in which we hear the call of God, we encourage the non-ordained to look for signs of God’s call in their lives as well.
A SPIRITUAL EXERCISE
A good spiritual exercise for you would be to try to identify three to five identifying characteristics of God’s call in people’s lives—regardless of whether they exercise that call in a congregational ministry or in the larger world. Next, identify three to five Scripture passages that speak to the nature of faithful ministry regardless of the context. The first reminds us of the source of that which shapes our lives and the second begins to reveal the fruits of our obedience to God’s call.
In the next blogs, we will begin to explore how the church supports the ordained who are engaged in specialized ministries.
