As Central begins the fall semester, the
seminary will receive new learners who have sensed God’s beckoning to
ministry. I am always interested in how
one sensed her or his calling. Who
helped plant the seed? What experience
of service prompted deeper reflection on the direction of one’s life? Was it a youth mission trip, a nurturing
environment such as church camp, or a quiet conversation with a trusted
leader? These narratives hold promise,
and as we listen to one another, we sense the unfurling of God’s longing for
each of us.
This past week I
heard from a former doctoral student who is now a respected professor at a
sister seminary. His sixteen year-old
son had attended youth camp and returned with a decision to pursue ministry. This did not surprise his parents overly, for
they have nurtured him in faith since his early days. Yet, removed from his familiar context, he
heard God’s summons in a fresh way. I
just hope he finds his way to Central!
God is still speaking in our day, and the church
and seminary can work together in voicing the call. I am also interested in how ministry studies
can help guide and refine vocation. Not
all who come to seminary will become pastors, although that preparation remains
focal in our mission as a theological school.
We seek to train the mind, form the heart, and inspire the spirit so
that each learner can participate in God’s great mission of redemption.
Christian vocation
is a broader category than professional ministry. Of course, congregations remain in need of
inspired leadership, and the global mission of the church requires thoughtful
and culturally competent persons. God
calls professors and administrators and denominational leaders; however, these
are not the only persons who have a vocational call.
God calls lay
leaders who will make their livelihood primarily through business, education,
health care, and social services. These
fields provide opportunity for persons to use their aptitudes, gifts, and
personal commitment to fashion a more just and flourishing world. As Tullian Tchividjian writes: “When we
reduce the notion of ‘calling’ to work inside the church, we fail to equip our
people to apply their Christian faith to everything they do, every where they
are.” Our varied vocations are, in the words of Martin Luther, “the masks of
our Lord God, behind which to be hidden . . . working in all things.”
In the not too
distant future, there will be a more comprehensive understanding of vocation as
ministry and ministry as vocation. It is
time that our theology catches up with our practice so that we might celebrate
all the ways God calls people to serve.
Such understanding grants our lives dignity and helps in crafting the
future with God.
Molly T. Marshall
Central prepares women and men for seeking God, shaping church, and
serving humanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment