My Sense of Calling
We each have a Call. As Oz Guinness rightly says, "There is no Calling without a Caller." Our Call is that life-giving burden we carry deep within our souls that can never truly wither away, disintegrate or evaporate. Our Caller placed it there and so it is there to stay. Whether we know Him or not, He is calling us to know Him, enjoy Him, follow Him and to courageously step into that which is ours to do for the sake of the Kingdom.
Our Call will always align with the needs of our world. From time to time, as we come across unmet needs in this world—especially those that align with our Call—our longing to make a difference in this world will be re-awakened. Often then we will feel a clear challenge to do whatever it takes to leave in your wake a legacy of blessing.
Some time ago, I visited the Wright Brothers Museum in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The place honored the legacy of two amazing men, Orville and Wilbur Wright. About half way into my walk-about, I was riveted by the quote by Wilbur Wright from 1899: "I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible for man." Four years later they made their first powered flight.
Surprised by how those words gripped me, I scrambled to write them down on someone's used museum brochure. Later, when alone, I returned to that used brochure and the scribbled quote. I felt compelled to write.
This is what I wrote...
“I have been afflicted with the belief that within a church context where people have received life from God, where Scripture is held in high regard and viewed as inerrant, it is possible to 1) share God’s Saving Grace with a bold humility and anchor God's people in sound teaching and doctrine 2) help people experience God's healing grace thereby, one soul at a time, equipping God's beloved to discover and embrace their call and 3) to help people on their journey discover and develop the Call placed deep within them.
I believe it is essential for the well-being of the redeemed soul to awaken and nurture its longing for an ever-deepening attachment to God.
And, I believe that the church becomes irrelevant to the people of its day when it fails to figure out how to mentor, guide and usher its leaders and its people into the healing presence of their Redeemer.
I believe that sanctification is love in relationship. We are meant to journey together in community with others on a path of Healing Grace.
I believe that the work of sanctification will happen best in our churches when 1) church leaders are spiritually and emotionally healthy and 2) when they are being supported by their church to actively engage in their own spiritual journey."
Wilbur Wright
I found I had awakened to some strong desires-- my own sense of Call:
1) To provide a safe context where budding and seasoned leaders can come to attend to those places in their souls where they are least like Jesus.
2). To help dismantle within God's beloved the "false self structures" that keep them bound in old and unwanted patterns of behavior.
3) To help God's children form a secure attachment with their heavenly Father so they can experience a healing grace that enables them to love, live and lead with increasing emotional and spiritual maturity.
4) To help budding and seasoned leaders on their journey to discern His voice, answer His Call and follow Him well.
I believe that is why I am here.
"See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19