Ministry vs Calling

In the book “The Sacred Echo” by Margaret Feinberg a statement is made that gave me pondering material early this morning.

“Your calling never changes…But your ministry, well that can change every five minutes. The problem is that all too often we sacrifice our calling for the sake of the ministry. The ministry becomes so important, so central, that we lose the most important thing.”

As soon as I read that, my mind began to search for areas in my life where my calling is suffering because of a ministry path. I find scripture that tells me to make my calling sure, but no place that locks in ministry style. In fact, I am finding more and more that ministry variety is a fantastic tool to help us in our calling. Cultural trends will cause us to adapt ministry to the society. The laity is highly educated today, there is less trust in central authority than there was 50 or 60 years ago. There is a weakening of denominational loyalty, meaning that people are less likely to choose to be under my ministry simply because their parents or grandparents were. There is also a weakening of clerical authority as many ministers have damaged the Kingdom by poor choices and moral failures. These trends are a result of “Ministry” taking precedence over ‘Calling”. Prioritizing our thinking will keep our ministry fresh and in line with our precious calling.

2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,