I’ve heard many people talk about ‘calling’, ‘mission’ and ‘purpose’. It’s becoming almost part of our DNA as Christians now to have a ‘calling’.
One of the standard questions Christians eventually ask when they get to know one another is what that person feels ‘called’ to do. Come on, we’ve all heard it haven’t we – we’ve probably asked it ourselves, perfectly legitimately.
But calling has been undersold. It’s much more – and different – than we have been led to believe.
Calling is not just supernatural. It’s an evolutionary process, which goes on through our entire lives.(Tweet this here)
Last year Rob Bell and his family decided to leave the church they had planted 13 years ago to move to the other side of the US – away from what many – including even him – had thought was a ‘lifetime calling’.
But Rob has since called his move to LA simply a natural “evolution” of what he has been seeking to do all along – ‘compellingly communicate the message of Jesus’.
His sense of calling appears to be more of a natural, almost evolutionary process.
Rob’s journey led him into the direction he is now – which is totally beyond anything he would ever have imagined when he planted the church all those years ago. But he was doing what was right then.
At that moment.
Not knowing exactly where that would lead, but doing it anyhow.
However, Rob didn’t ‘wait’ for this call. From what he’s said it’s only as time has gone on and he’s achieved the things he has that he has ‘discovered’ this was his calling.
Discovering your calling. A calling that evolves.
What a revolutionary concept. Or maybe, it’s what’s been happening with us all along.
For a long time I wanted to be a pastor. It’s all I thought about. I was convinced it would happen someday.
In 2002 I did a gap year with YWAM. Part of this was a discipleship course, which involved a lot of writing. I’d written poetry a bit in school and had always been good at it and English generally, but had never considered myself potentially a professional writer.
However, the leaders kept telling me I needed to explore this gift. That writing was something I simply had to pursue. I was given a secret santa present during my gap year – which I still have to this day – of a lined book with pens and paper, with my name on the front.
Someone was trying to tell me something.
I took a bit of notice. I started a blog, I joined some forums, I wrote things for my church.
But still, I didn’t take the whole professional thing seriously.
All of my mind was still set on being a pastor. My eyes weren’t open.
Joining my current church 7 years ago I was given the jolt I needed. I was compelled to face the reality I always knew.
That being a paid pastor wasn’t me.
I eventually realised, I had never actually wanted to be a pastor, nor been called to it. I had made the old mistake of thinking the only way to create, write and speak as a Christian was to become a pastor.
But it isn’t.
Source: pinwords.com via James on Pinterest
Once my eyes were open to this lie, I began to take my blog more seriously. I spent more time reading and writing.
My overriding passion is to creatively point people towards Jesus. To help set people free to discover their true identity and calling, free from religious rules and boundaries. To help people navigate what can be a messy and difficult journey through life and find both God and themselves within that journey.
But at the time of my YWAM course – I had the same calling, the same inbuilt desire to point people toward Jesus . It was simply expressed differently, it was a different season. It wasn’t through blogging or even writing – but it has led me to the blogging, which has, in fact, led to creativity in other areas.
At the moment I serve through my blog – but there are opportunities for me to move into other creative areas in the coming months, and long-term I can see other creative possibilities too. My calling is evolving.
What that eventually will be, what my calling may one day look like, I have no idea. But I am learning to trust that God does. (Tweet this here)
I am learning to trust He will continue to lead me as He has done so far – with everything I have been through, the evolution which shaped me into who and what I am now.
For us all, our calling is an evolutionary journey. We must take action on what we know God is calling us to now, and trust that He has our future in His hands. (Tweet this here)
Above all, we need to have our eyes open to whatever that may be, and wherever God may be leading us.
Because you never know what might be round the corner.
Or just in front of your eyes.
What are the things that make you feel most alive?
What are your passions, gifts and convictions?
Where are you in your journey, and what can you do right now, to make that next step?
James Prescott
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Strangely (or, let’s be honest, not all that strangely, given the Holy Spirit’s MO) earlier this evening I had this very conversation about calling ‘evolving’ over time. We all felt that a calling isn’t static and that the journey to a particular calling in the here and now most probably involved other callings en route. The journey is part of the calling and it’s important to keep asking “What now?” of God as you go. We never arrive, we simply travel obediently.
That’s awesome, love it when God does things like this – really encourages me that it was right to share this. Totally agree with you, and it’s an interesting and important discussion. Thanks for your comment!
“What that eventually will be, what my calling may one day look like, I have no idea. But I am learning to trust that God does.” I think that’s really what God is interested in that we’re consistently staying near him and seeking him for our futures, not that we’ve got it all figured out. Good post. Thanks.
Thanks for your comment Wendy, totally agree. Keep reading & commenting, and thanks for the continued support! 🙂
It’s an interesting analogy, which could have some far-reaching consequences if we push it, though I’m not sure how far you intended it to go.
One of the primary factors that drives evolution is death. Two similar species with a common ancestor have slightly different phenotypes, one of which is more favourable to survival than the other, so the other perishes.
So might it be the same with callings? Either someone spends their life following a calling which was not best for them, and so they end up lost in obscurity, where no one ever hears of their work, while the tiny minority of “Rob Bell”s have their work widely circulated? Or perhaps it’s more individualistic, where you or I might try following various routes, making mistakes and learning from them as we go along.
An interesting extension of the analogy! But then, where does God and his sovereignty fit in?
I think there’s a good metaphor which helps here: God wanting us to be willing to be ‘change in His pocket’. He can use us and our gifts – or not use us – as ever He chooses or wishes, and when we submit to Him and His will we do so accepting whatever He asks of us, whether big or small, whether known or unknown. It’s a challenging metaphor, but a powerful one. Might write a bit more about this soon, so keep your eyes peeled!
Thanks for commenting again Tanya, loving your comments and the discussion. 🙂
Does sovereignty imply interference? I would argue not. The queen may be sovereign of the country, but there’s very little she does which directly affects my life. At the risk of coming across deistic, I think the same could be said of the sovereignty of God. It allows us to make our mistakes; yes, It picks us up when we fail but part of humanity is being allowed to fail – to make our own choices.
Thanks for sharing, some interesting comments. I agree with you about the ‘death factor’ – to me that ties in with the Christian metaphor of death and resurrection that you find in creativity and in our whole lives.
With your comments more directly on calling, it sounds like you are advocating that our goal should be to get well known, rather than ‘lost in obscurity’. But should our goal with our creative work merely to get well known? To me, the true creative creates from something that’s inside them, not for the applause, and because it’s true. If people like it, fine. If they don’t, well that’s not why it was created – and it wasn’t created for everyone, but for themselves and God.
Would love to hear your thoughts on that, thanks for commenting & look forward to further comments!
I probably didn’t work that too well. I do not mean our aim should be to be well-known. I was simply using that as a by-word for “measure by which we may be seen to have found our calling” – i.e. some sort of measure of success.
But that’s a whole kettle of fish for another time!
Ah cool – thought so. Yes, don’t think success or not is a measure of whether something is our calling. But as you say, discussion for another time!
For me, calling has very much been evolutionary and unfolding rather than – whatever the alternative is! However, my question is, what about when you think you have found your calling but other things intervene and you can’t do that? For what it’s worth, my response to that is here (it was my first blog post). http://tanyamarlow.com/?p=36 Calling is about more than preference, it is about obedience, wherever we find ourselves.
Tanya, thanks for your comment & for sharing your post too. Totally agree with you as well, that calling is about obedience wherever we find ourselves. Thanks again, and keep reading & commenting! JP