Call to Ministry — Constant and Changing
After more than 40 years of ordained ministry, including 12 years supervising and deploying clergy, I am impressed with how the call to Christian ministry is both constant and changing. Distinguishing the permanent from the temporary in ministry is a mark of excellence, requiring theological sensitivity, grace-formed self-awareness, and compassionate community.
The permanency of our call lies in baptism, not our ordination or certification. Baptism is the source of our identity as beloved children of God and the basic call to live our God-bestowed identity. Nothing supersedes that fundamental call to be who we are, sons and daughters of God, created in the divine image, redeemed in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to share in God’s mission.
No other call trumps the call that is inherent in our baptism. When identity gets tied up in other calls such as ordained ministry, serving a particular parish or position, academic pursuits, or professional status, the basic baptismal call gets compromised. The context of ministry then easily becomes a means of proving our worth and establishing our own identity.
A young pastor grappled with whether to remain in ordained pastoral ministry. He had struggled in three congregations and had exhibited signs of emotional and spiritual collapse. He admitted to a loss of passion and energy for his vocation. When a mentor raised the question of his call to pastoral ministry, he said, “But that’s who I am. I can’t give up my identity.” Then he pleaded, “Speak to me a word of grace.” The mentor responded, “The word of grace is ‘You are baptized! You are a beloved child of God and no one can take that from you.’”
The context in which we live out our baptismal call varies from person to person and from time to time. The God who calls us into ordained ministry may also call us out of ordained ministry. And, the One who calls us to a particular place often calls us to a different location. But, wherever and whenever we serve, our primary calling is to live our identity as valued and redeemed sons and daughters of God and sharing in God’s mission of salvation.
Since my ordination in 1965 as an Elder in The United Methodist Church, my vocational calling has led me to pastor five congregations, serve as a bishop of two episcopal areas, and now as a seminary teacher. The decision to leave each context has been fraught with ambiguity and uncertainty. Some of the changes resulted from circumstances beyond my control—specifically decisions by bishops and committees and changing health realities. But even in those circumstances, deciding among options required persistent prayer, sharing with colleagues and friends, and willingness to risk making the wrong decision.
I now realize that more has been at work in my own life and call than my own decisions, the decisions of others, and the intrusive future-changing events. In the midst of all the changes is the mysterious work of the One who declares in our baptism, “You are mine. I know you by name. I have redeemed you.” That which is constant amid the changes of Christian ministry is the grace of God, God’s presence and power to forgive, heal, and transform any circumstance or context into an arena for living our identity as children of God and sharing in God’s mission in the world.
This month’s spotlight features two pastors, Tim Bukowski and Greg Du Bois, who in the community of an SPE peer group, reconsidered their call to ministry. Greg remains in pastoral ministry; Tim left the pastorate. Both Tim and Greg continue in ministry! Both remain faithful to their fundamental call bestowed in baptism. Both illustrate the call to ministry as both constant and changing.
God’s grace remains the constant and permanent reality amid the changing contexts of our ministries!
Kenneth L. Carder is professor of the practice of pastoral formation at Duke Divinity School and a senior fellow with Pulpit & Pew: The Duke Center for Excellence in Ministry. He was bishop of the Mississippi Area of the United Methodist Church from 2000 to 2004 and the Nashville Area of the UMC from 1992 to 2000.
