Desire to serve God may develop gradually

Ji Seok Ju, pastor, Centenary United Methodist Church, 245 N. Fourth St.:

The Bible gives us many examples of people who were called by God. In the Old Testament, God called Moses in flames of fire from within a bush. Samuel heard the voice of God calling him before he was about to go to bed. What about the prophets like Elijah, Isaiah and Jeremiah?

People often ask me, “When did you receive the call?” It is a difficult question to answer because I do not have a dramatic calling story or “aha!” moment in my life.

The desire to serve God began to grow inside me when I was in high school as I led the youth group. Since then, I have been thinking and raising the question to myself: “What is my calling?”

Now as a seminary graduate who is serving two wonderful congregations, I vividly feel a sense of God’s call through relationships with my people, through the performance of the sacraments, through the proclamation of God’s word, through the community of prayer and through my ministry.

There is no standard answer on the subject of the calling, for God’s call comes to us in many ways. Yet, in order for a person to be assured of God’s call, he or she needs to talk to their pastor or spiritual director seeking guidance along with the consistent prayer. Then, the calling needs to be encouraged and verified by the community of believers.

The important thing is that when God calls us, God promises to go with us how unsure we may feel.

– Send e-mail to Ji Seok Ju at jiseokju@hotmail.com

Lord’s call creates purpose in life

The Rev. Peter Luckey, senior pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.:

Everyone is called, not just clergy. We hear an inner voice, feel a nudge, or sense a longing for a purpose beyond ourselves.

We ask, “My time on earth is short, how shall I spend it?”

Martha Conant survived the crash landing of United Flight 232 outside of Sioux City, Iowa, on July 19, 1989. Of the 296 people on board, 111 died. Martha was one of only 13 who walked away unscathed.

How did God speak to her through this tragedy? Martha Conant said, “It was like being picked up by the scruff of the neck and shaken. God says, ‘This is your only life. Just be grateful. Live with as few regrets as possible …'”

In the deepest sense, my call into the ministry is no different than anyone else’s.

However, what is distinctive about a call for clergy is that it recognizes how a person may be endowed with particular gifts suited for ministry.

How would a person know if he or she possessed such gifts? Would a voice boom down from the sky as was the case when Jesus was baptized by John?

Probably not. Most ministers point to a favorite grandmother or teacher who mentored them and said, “You have the gifts for ministry.”

Reuben Shears was a beloved, now-deceased pastor of the United Church of Christ. Pastor Shears remembers his Sunday school teacher telling him, “Reuben, you are going to be a preacher.” When asked about whether he ever heard the voice of God calling him into ministry, Reuben would say, “I never heard the voice of God. I heard the voice of the people of God.”

Calls come in many ways, through other people and through the experiences of our lives. The choice is always the same: Will you say “yes”? My favorite “yes” is from the prophet Isaiah who responded to God’s question, “Who will go? Whom shall I send?”

With these words, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

– Send e-mail to Peter Luckey at peterluckey@sunflower.com.