When I started pastoring, I had little doubt I would remain a co-vocational pastor indefinitely. I enjoyed my corporate job. I clearly understood my calling to pastor. In what I thought was an ideal arrangement, I served my church in the evenings and on the weekends while maintaining my day job. But after two years God called me to serve another church full-time. The season of ministry changed. My income went down, and my stress went up. But—for the most part—I remained content.
A certain (uncomfortable) peace comes with following God’s call.
A few years ago, I started a group in my church dubbed “Project Shepherd.” The goal of the group was to equip men called to lead the church—future preachers, pastors, and missionaries. When I floated the idea to my church, little did I know two dozen men would step forward and acknowledge God had called them. The group was four times the size of my first church.
Hearing them verbalize their callings brought back emotions from the beginning of my calling. I was certain God had called me to pastor. I was not certain exactly what that meant. The guys in my Project Shepherd group knew they were called, but like me, the did not know what was next. The common theme with this group was the question, “How do I know what I’m supposed to do?”
I shared with my group three filters for early discernment: position, church, and place. These three frames can help narrow a calling.
Position. Some church leaders are called to a specific…
… Read More
—
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.