Answering the Call

We just completed our Fall Group Connection yesterday afternoon, and officially kicked off five new Life Groups!  Five new Life Group facilitators are beginning the same crazy journey that you all began, and are probably feeling some of the same anxieties as they begin this uncertain journey.  So let's remember to keep them in our prayers and offer any support we can. 

After training these new facilitators, I thought a lot about you and all of our Life Group leaders.  I thought about my personal call to ministry and what initially might have brought you to be involved in this great ministry.  For most of you, I have no idea why you got involved in Life Groups.  Maybe you've been a leader for many years and just automatically found yourself serving in this area.  Maybe you were chosen to lead a group and reluctantly jumped in, not quite knowing what to expect.  Maybe you were a co-leader, the main leader stepped down and you were there to fill the need.  Maybe your group grew so large that you had to start a new group and you chose to lead that new group.  Maybe Life Groups just seemed interesting and you thought you would give it a try.  Or maybe, just maybe, none of that junk really matters in the long run.  Maybe it was for something bigger.

Regardless of what may appear to be the reason that you began leading Life Groups, it's really insignificant when it comes to the essential reason behind it all: Being called by God.  No matter what circumstances occurred that got you to this point, behind each door that opened and each star that aligned, behind it all was the call of a holy God that chose you to lead the group of people that you meet with each week.  As one of my seminary professors once told me, "When you feel confused, burned out or question why you are doing what it is you do in ministry, forget about it!  Always go back to and remember the call of God."

Let me share some thoughts that I shared with our new facilitators this morning.  First read Isaiah 6:1-8, and then join me in these thoughts. 

In this passage, we read about the calling of Isaiah into ministry as a prophet of God.  Our first thought might be to think that God was speaking specifically and directly to Isaiah when He said, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  But the truth is that Isaiah only "overheard" God while He was calling out to the heavenly beings that surrounded him.  It was Isaiah that took the initiative to answer God’s call.  Isaiah wasn’t forced into serving God.  No one twisted his arm or made him feel guilty if he declined.  He simply heard God's all, realized that the stakes were high, and answered.  No questions asked, just “Send me!”

Think about it.  How often have we thought that there will be plenty of time to serve God?  How often do we feel that we’re just not ready?  How often have we thought that our past failures will keep us from serving God in a worthy manner?  How often have we thought that we just weren’t good enough, or others are more qualified?  Isaiah wasn’t good enough.  He wasn’t necessarily ready and there may have been others that were much more qualified.  But God revealed to Isaiah that the only requirement for serving Him was something we often forget: just being available.

God seeks people who will readily answer His call simply because it is Him who asks.  He doesn’t want us to pass a test first, clean up our acts or dwell on our past failures.  He wants screwed up people that will humbly, impulsively and radically answer, “Send me!”  God isn’t looking for ability, as much as He is looking for availability!  Let us all continue to be available, and answer when He calls!