All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 3

February 21, 2009

At 11 AM, I went to the workshop on Called to Ministry. Dan (the minister over the workshop) said that he would keep it informal. He said that in the bulletins at the church he grew up in, the preacher always would put in the back of the bulletin the names of all the people who helped. One of the things the preacher would put in the back of the bulletin under ministers was everyone. Dan said that he wanted to increase our awareness for diverse opportunities when it came to Ministry. He said that if people don’t know what function they are supposed to serve, he had some material available that could help them possible figure it out. The first question Dan said we should ask if considering full time ministry is "Have I thought about this?" The second step if you feel you are called is to go tell your pastor. Dan said that the first conversation we have is spiritual. The pastor can then guide you in where to go from there. He said the goal of this workshop was not to recruit people to become ministers but to help them find God's calling in their lives.

Dan said that pastors are around Christians a lot, so if somebody's passion was to share Christ with non-believers this may not be their calling. He had us all introduce ourselves by saying our names, colleges we were from, and why we chose this class to attend. After we do this the thanked everyone. He asked if we thought that pastoring is some high calling. One student (BJ from Sam Houston) commented that if someone is a certified forklift driver and have an accident, they are held more accountable for it than someone who is just goofing around and has and accident. The point being that pastors are held more accountable than other Christians. Dan mentioned Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12:29. He said that God has not made us all the same. We all have spiritual gifts. Pastors can give you resources and tools if you are confused as to God's calling in your lives. Dan mentions a couple of books that would be useful in this area. One of which is "Answering God's Call for Your Life" – by Robert Roth. Another book is "Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation" – by William C. Placher. Another book is "The Call – Finding And Fulfilling The Central Purpose Of Your Life". Yet another is "The Call to Servant Leadership – Biblical Reflections" by Simon Parker.

Dan mentioned how army commercials always make the army look so great, when in actually there is a lot of work involved. The same is true with ministry. Like the army, there are people shooting at you figuratively in the church. Dan says that church ministry is awesome and that the pastor will give you a book if you are interested in preaching in the Methodist church. He said that being a pastor is only one of the options available for ministry. He said that it is ok to do a ministry inquiry process. He mentions some other great ministries available including public schools and movie making. He mentions that he is going to show a video showing people whom God called and how it has affected them. Josh said that we should not neglect where we are now and the opportunities available to us where we are. He said that the process involved in becoming a pastor shouldn’t discourage us and that it is there to help not hurt. The video is shown and a couple of things mentioned in the video is that youth can be an asset in ministry, one person was encouraged to become a pastor, pastors are birthed, and one person said that it was a culture of calling.

Dan said that there are many places in the Bible where people are called. He gave us a list of some of them which include the following: Abraham – Genesis 12, Deborah – Judges 4:4-22, Hanna and Samuel – 1 Samuel 1, Elijah – 1 Kings 17:1, Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:1-19, and Isaiah – Isaiah 6. Dan said that we have options to test our callings. He said that for two years he went to Michigan. He anteed an All Campus type of event and the pastor lead him and others through a guided prayer. He told them to imagine that they were in a movie theatre and what is on the screen is what God wants them to do with their life. Dan took this experience and ended up on a mission trip to Africa, seminary for three years, and finally on a mission trip to India before the picture became clear to him where God wanted him. Dan said that we want to know what is ahead ten steps from know but God wants us to just focus on the 1st step. He said that the time we seek God the most is when we are confused.

Dan went on to talk about other Bible callings which included: Paul – Acts 9, Mary – Luke 1, Timothy – 2 Timothy 3:10, and Nicodemus – John 3:1. Dan prayed for us and we were dismissed.