From the Desk of Pastor Brandon

Good morning, Reader,

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about calling. He is at a point in his life where he is trying to figure out what's next, and he is struggling with what he is called to do.

This is a question I have had to wrestle with a lot over the years because I have spent so much time training and developing students for ministry and training pastors in their leadership effectiveness. What inevitably comes up in those conversations is the individual's calling and what they are supposed to do.

As I have processed this question in so many people's lives, including my own, I have realized there is a primary misconception about the calling we have on our lives from God. Too often we confuse our calling with our vocation. These are not always the same thing.

For example, I am a pastor by vocation, but I believe the calling I received my first week in Bible College was to train and equip pastors for long lasting ministry. I was on my way to being a pastor before I received my calling, and I have lived out my calling despite the positions of ministry, or nonministry, that I have helped over the last 25 years.

When we lock our calling into our vocation or work position, we can get thrown off when we get fired from our job, or life circumstances send us in a different direction. At the same time, we can potentially miss when God opens doors that don't fit into our vocation, but do fit into our calling.

God's calling on our lives should be empowering and life-giving. It doesn't mean it will always be easy, but when you are in the midst of God's direction in your life, it is fulfilling.

Sometimes our vocation and our calling align, but not always. That's okay. There have been times in my life where my vocation was a means by which I fulfilled my calling. Consider Paul, the Apostle. He was a tentmaker, his vocation, that provided a way to plant churches, his calling.

If you are struggling to know your calling and how you fit into God's redemption story, then spend time with God and allow Him to expand your perspective beyond your vocation. You may be surprised at what doors he opens up for you.

For Disciples of Jesus

For Pastors and Church Leaders

When I was younger, we had a lot of kids in on our street that would play together. Many of them were boys, and we would play this game where one person would stand in the middle of a circle and fend off attackers. I remember how hard it was to stand in the circle, with kids on every side of me, and try to defend myself when I couldn't see all of them.

What I learned over time was not to look at any one attacker, but instead, to look at the ground about 4 feet in front of me. When I would look at one person, my head had to quickly snap back and forth to try and keep an eye on everyone, but inevitably someone would come from my blind side and try to take me down. But, when I started to look in front of me, I became aware of everyone, even those behind me. And it allowed me to respond to any movement I saw. My awareness became heightened when I looked down rather than when I was focused on an individual.

In our attempt to adopt servant leadership, we have simplified it to simply being willing to help people in whatever their needs are. Unfortunately, this isn't really what servant leadership is, and isn't whaty Jesus modeled for us.

One characteristic of a servant leader is awareness. This is our ability as pastors and ministry leaders to be acutely attuned and receptive to our physical, social, and political environments. We understand how our presence effects the environments we walk into, the people we interact with, and the ministries we lead. We don't get locked into our own perspective, wants and desires, but are instead gain clarity from our awareness of what others need, even when it doesn't align with what we want.

Even in our desire to serve others, a true servant leader has the awareness to develop necessary boundaries that allow us to delegate, empower others to fix their own problems, and challenge others to grow. There were many needs Jesus could have simply met, but he allowed people to struggle at times, wrestle with difficulties, and even seek out solutions for themselves.

As pastors and ministry leaders, may we discover how to walk in true awareness of all that is around us, so we may be more effective in how we lead our churches, ministries, and God's people.