Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

What an incredible journey God has invited us on at Christ Church. It’s only been a little over a month since we launched (blasted off, really!) and it’s been a LOT of fun! A sweet woman came up to me before worship last Sunday and said, “I haven’t been this excited about going to church since I was a child!” Many of us can relate. God has been faithful!

I have been asked to share my faith journey and the story of my call to ministry. As I think about God’s call on my life, it’s important to remember that we all have a ‘call story.’ God calls into ministry each and every one of us who claim the name of Jesus. 1 Peter says …

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Ministry is not reserved for the few, for the professionals. We are all ministers of the Good News of Jesus. 

It was my sophomore year in college when I sensed that God was calling me to vocational ministry. I had prayed to receive Christ as a junior in high school – on a beautiful, cold night in Colorado at a Young Life ski camp. But it wasn’t until three years later that I began to pursue God daily. My father had passed away, which was extremely difficult for our whole family. But as a result, I found myself seeking God in new ways, and God began to ‘show up’ everywhere. I began to see him at work around me. And I began to trust him. It was critical at this time that I was surrounded by friends who were also seeking Christ, along with a mentor who was discipling me. It was an exciting time. I was learning what following Christ as my Lord looked like. 

But to be honest, it was also a scary time – this sense that God was calling me to give my life to him in ministry. I was hesitant for a number of reasons – but mostly because I knew, better than anyone else, how inadequate I was to this call. I knew my life, in many ways, was a mess. I knew my own brokenness. “Why me, Lord?”

It reminds me of an ancient proverb I read about a young girl whose daily chore was to go to the river and collect water for her household. Suspended from a pole across her shoulders were two water pots. One was perfect, but the other was cracked. So, by the time she got home each day, the second pot was only half full. After some time, the cracked pot, ashamed that it was unable to function properly, asked the girl, “Why do you keep using me when all I do is leak?” The girl smiled and replied, “Have you seen the beautiful flowers that grow along the path between the house and the river? They only grow on your side. And it’s because, every spring, I plant seeds on your side, knowing you will be faithful to water them as we walk home. What you thought to be your flaw is actually a gift.”

In spite of my sense of inadequacy, as if by some miracle, I began to see God using my life in the lives of others. It became obvious that it was God’s work, not mine. It led to my decision to attend Asbury Seminary after college, where God continued to confirm that he could and would use someone like me for his purposes. 

It’s something God has reminded me of many times over the years, particularly during the difficult season of separating from Central and the United Methodist Church, a church and denomination in which I thought I would serve the rest of my vocational ministry. 

But God is faithful. And God is inviting each of us into ministry. And maybe you’re like me, thinking – “My life’s a mess.” “I don’t know enough.” “I’m not good enough.” Whatever it may be, God can and will redeem our lives into something beautiful for his kingdom as we give ourselves, more and more, to him.

His call on your life may look different than his call on mine – but his desire is the same – to pour into our lives in such a way that we become an offering to him and to others. Each of us is God’s special possession, chosen and called by him. 

At Christ Church, let’s find out together where he takes us!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!