Still Waiting

I’ll be blunt — very few of you have responded to my challenge to write out your call story and submit it to me.

Don’t think you’re hiding from me — I see you out there! I know you might think this is too challenging, but I want to persuade you to try anyway!

Come on, it’s fun!

Perhaps the reluctance to answer “The Call Project” comes from a sense that you haven’t actually been called by God. One person wrote me to say this very thing: “This is very difficult for me, because I don't think I have had a call to tell you about.”

Maybe, because you haven’t been knocked to the ground by a blinding light like Saul, or heard an audible voice from a burning bush like Moses, that you haven’t been called.

But I will restate what I said in the sermon two weeks ago — every Christian has a call. That is, in fact, what it means to be a Christian! It means to have received a mission from God, to be included in the story of what God is doing in the world. When you decide to follow Jesus, you are necessarily charting a different journey for yourself than you would have walked otherwise.

The life of faith is a journey into the heart of God, and the heart of God is full of love and compassion for the whole world. Or to put it in the words of Paul, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

If you have the heart of God and the mind of Christ, then you will be full of a love that breaks for the pain and anguish of the world. When you have that kind of love, you will be unable to carry on with business-as-usual, because business-as-usual for most of us is a life of wealth accumulation, personal and family security, and the pursuit of leisure. You will be unable to walk the streets of the city without seeing people through God’s eyes, and you will suddenly be able to see through the illusions and fantasies of modern life. You will be attuned to injustice and inequality. You will ache for people who have no hope.

And you will want to do something about it.

The whole point of the church is to gather folks who want to do something about the world’s condition in the name of Jesus Christ. That’s why Kessler Park UMC exists, that’s why the United Methodist Church exists, that’s why Christianity in its myriad forms and permutations exists.

I will repeat: every. single. one. of. you. has. a. call.

It may sound like a whisper to befriend unlovable people. It may be merely a hint of interest in a child with learning disabilities. It may be a vocational draw toward a job in the non-profit sector. It may even be to pursue theological studies for the sake of becoming a pastor.

If you haven’t heard the call yet, then all you have to do is get quiet enough to listen. If everyone is called, as I believe, then everyone has access to that call. God speaks. We have to learn to listen; we must develop the capacity to hear God.

Let me reissue my challenge — please write down your call story and send it to me so that I can share it with Eric. If you struggle with putting it into words, here’s a simple template to use, based on my sermon on May 12th:

“I was __________________________________________ (your situation before the call), when suddenly _________________________ (the call arrives), and now I ________________________ (your response).”

Give it a try — I know you can do it!

The Call Project

In Sunday’s sermon, I announced what I’m calling “The Call Project,” in which I’m asking each of you to write down and submit a brief version of your “call story.”

What’s a call story?

I explained in my sermon that a call story is a personal story about when and how God called you to fulfill your own particular shape of ministry, whatever that might be. (This is different from what people used to call their “conversion story,” which narrates how and when someone became a Christian in the first place.)

I believe that every Christian has received a unique and personal directive, or “call,” from God which should determine and shape one’s life choices. For a few of us, God’s call is to full-time, specialized ministry within the church, which we call ordination. But for most of us, the call is to embody the love of Christ in our vocations, whatever they might be, and to embrace our spiritual gifts. 

While I believe that every person has been called to some kind of ministry by God, I also believe that not every Christian has actually responded to the call. That means not everyone has a call story … at least not yet.

That’s partly the role of a pastor — to help lead people into hearing and accepting the call of God on their lives. I know I’m doing my job well only when I see you responding to God’s call to mission, service, or compassion. 

That’s why “The Call Project” is important to me, especially at this moment in time. Before I leave, I would like to know from each of you how you are responding to God. I would love to celebrate your call story with you, as well as to pass the story on to the next pastor, Eric Folkerth. 

In my sermon, I argued that every call story has the same basic three-part structure. That story usually goes like this: first, you are making your way through normal, everyday life when, second, a crisis occurs. This disruption or interruption leads to a sudden recognition of your call from God. If you accept the call, then the third stage takes place, in which you begin to live into a new reality, open to God’s guidance.

When you are ready to write your story, try using the following sentence prompts: “I was ____________ (part one: status quo) when ________________ (part two: crisis/disruption), and I realized that God was calling me to ___________________ (your call), and I responded by ________________ (part three: new reality).”

Using that structure, here is how my story of how I was called into the ministry: “I was studying filmmaking in college when, one night as I was praying before bed, I clearly heard God call me to be a preacher, and after I had graduated with my film degree, I responded by enrolling in Perkins School of Theology and beginning the path toward ordination in the United Methodist Church.”

Using the same structure for Saul in the New Testament, here is his story: “I was going to Damascus to arrest Christians when I was blinded by a bright light on the road and heard a voice from heaven which told me that I was to be an ambassador for Christ, and after being healed of my blindness by the kindness of Ananias, I responded by becoming an apostle to the Gentiles.”

See? Your story doesn’t have to be long and complicated, but short and to the point. You’re welcome to use the prompts I’ve given above, or to write something free style.

Please take a few minutes to write out your call story and send to me at wes@kpumc.org. It will bring joy to my heart, and I’ll make sure Eric sees it. Even more important, you’ll see it written down for yourself, a reminder of the divine purpose for your own life.

Oh, one more thing — if you haven’t yet, please take the time to upload a picture of yourself to the church directory on Breeze. If you don’t think you can manage it yourself, we’ll have volunteers take pictures of you after worship over the coming weeks and help you do it! This will also be extremely useful for Eric to get to know all of you.

Just in Time for Lent

It’s common tradition to burn the previous year’s palm branches from Palm Sunday to use on Ash Wednesday. I would like to suggest instead that we use the ashes of what’s left of the United Methodist Church for our service next Wednesday.

Because frankly, not much is left. The Traditionalist Plan which passed General Conference on Tuesday effectively dismantled the denomination for those who believe that LGBTQ persons are worthy of weddings and ordination.

However, I can’t think of a better church season to enter at this point than Lent. After the shock and disappointment of General Conference, we enter into forty days of fasting and prayer.

Like the ancient children of Israel, we walk into the wilderness, not sure exactly where we’re headed, but following a rogue cloud in the daylight and a fiery pillar at night.

Like Jesus, we enter the desert, where we encounter Satan, who is eager to sell us a false dream.

Like Paul, we are thrown into prison, where we can do nothing but sing and pray, while the earth shakes beneath us.

And so, in the words of our Methodist liturgy, let me beckon you to the church next Wednesday at 6:30 pm for a service of ashes:

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church,

to observe a holy Lent:

by self-examination and repentance;

by prayer, fasting, and self-denial;

and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.

To make a right beginning of repentance,

and as a mark of our mortal nature,

let us now kneel before our Creator and Redeemer.