Western Hills United Methodist Church, El Paso Texas

During our graduate school years, my father paid the plane fare for my family and me to come home during the Christmas holidays.  Attempting to save all the money we could, we never took the same route since different years meant specials by different airlines through different airports.  The pre-Internet years made that an even larger challenge for us and travel agents.

One of those trips, and I can no longer remember which one, we had an extended layover with a new experience for our two sons – a moving sidewalk.  Due to the need to keep them preoccupied as we waited for our flight to be called, the boys and I spent a good deal of time on the sidewalk.  They competed to see if one could run down the corridor and beat the other to the of the walk while the other stood on the belt, and all sorts of other competitive experiences.  I noticed, and helped the boys notice, signs that pointed the way to places we needed to go, how to exhibit moving sidewalk etiquette and how to avoid “standers” as well as high speed walkers as we played.  As I reflected on that experience, it reminded me of the call to ministry.  It was very much like that period of my life.

I had answered a calling that had grown inside me for a long time, started a process of education to make sure I could do it as well as possible, met obstacles and challenges along the way, and all the while aware that I seemed to be in a process that was taking me somewhere without fully knowing what would be at the end when it was completed.  It has continued to be that way ever since.

Next Tuesday evening, we will meet together in our sanctuary to hear about the call to ministry in the life of one we know well and despite the nature of her not being a native El Pasoan, she is one of us.  She has stepped onto a moving reality for her that is as unique as she is, but with some very common elements that all calls to ministry embody.

We will meet with her for at least two reasons.  One, anyone can believe there is an inner urge from God to go preach.  If there is not, it is disastrous for that person to pursue that urge, no matter how strong it may be.  That is where the church has its role.  The church must, along the way, not only acknowledge that God is still calling persons to ministry but that our responsibility is to help examine the source of that calling and the gifts and graces of the person.  When the inner sense of a call meets with the validation of the congregation, then both church and person can be reasonably sure the experience that is unique to each of us is indeed real.

We will also meet because this is a moment of validation and celebration for the ministry of our church.  It means that ministry has happened in various and wonderful and even hidden ways, so much so that someone senses the call of God to pursue ministry. We are not “standers” on the belt moving forward, we are participants in the call who help point the way, can even stand in the way and can help move things along as we participate with someone who senses a call.

See you Sunday, and see you Tuesday, where we will celebrate His call to each of us to minister in His name.

Blessings,

Mark