If you can do anything else, do it!?

A recent conversation has me thinking back to the time I was exploring my "call" to ministry.

Let me tell you right now I never heard a voice say "Be a pastor, plant a church."  The phone never rang, a light didn't draw me in, nothing dramatic happened.

When I was growing up, whether intentionally or not, a message got communicated:

"If you can do anything else, then do it, and don't go into ministry!"

That's a lot of pressure!
It also creates a false hierarchy in the church: "Everyone has a part to play, but you know, the most important parts are pastors, missionaries and worship leaders."

The bible says that Jesus is the head, and we are all his servants with an equally vital role to play in the body of Christ.   (See Romans 12:3-8 and Ephesians 4:1-16.)

When I looked at my life as a young man I realized that I could do many things.   I could have gone to law school and taken my father's place in his law firm.  After all, the world certainly needs some Christian lawyers to pursue the cause of justice in our world.

The truth is that we are all called into ministry.  Minister simply means "servant." We are all servants of Christ and His church.  So every Christian is a minister of the gospel.  We just have different roles in this mission.

After some time and prayer, I figured out that God had already called me to faith, and called me to serve Him.  Then I figured out that I wanted to serve the church.

So Christian, here's the deal: God has already called you to be a minister.
God has a place for you in the body of Christ.
Figure out where that is.  Then do it!