As a student worker, I often have conversations with students about whether God may be calling them into the ministry. This is a nebulous, and therefore, difficult question. Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological
Seminary in Mill Valley, CA
tackles the question of God's call much like a conversation with a youth or young adult.
The two recurring themes in the idea of “call” according to Iorg is that it brings new information and new responsibility. He relates the various uses of the word “call” in the English language and shows how they mostly fit these themes. Iorg's his own definition of call is
a profound impression from God that establishes parameters for your life and can be altered only by a subsequent, superseding impression from God. [8]
The second chapter discusses three different kinds of call by God.
Universal Call to Service and Growth –
God calls every believer to serve in the Kingdom and to grow as a disciple.
General Call to Ministry Leadership – Iorg
does not like the term “vocational Christian service” as a bivocational call is
equally valid. Nor does he like “full time Christian service” as all Christians
are called to serve full-time. He prefers the term “ministry leadership.”
A Specific Call to a Ministry Assignment –
Iorg begs the question a little here. He says that some may ask if ministry
assignments are not just jobs like any other. He says “no,” but doesn’t say
why. In short, this idea of call is simply like the call of a pastor to serve
in a local church.
Chapter three lines out three ways that God calls someone: through sudden experiences (crisis), through reasoned decisions (contemplation), and through the prompting of others (community). Iorg illustrates each of these with examples of his own experience of calling.
Next, Iorg describes the kind of person God calls using examples from the lineage of Jesus in Matthew. God's call includes people who are unexpected, immoral, anonymous, and inconsistent. Of course this is not the checklist God uses to call people. Iorg simply is trying to expand the field of choices.
How one discerns God's call is difficult to define. Most called people say they "just know it." Iorg makes a brief attempt in chapter five. One can discern the call through inner peace, confirmation by others (particularly spiritual leaders and family members), effectiveness in ministry (not necessarily success in everything), and joy in the ministry (particularly when working with people).
In chapter six, Iorg states that a real call
gives one confidence, perseverance, authority, and humility. Confidence comes
from the fact that God is with one in the process and he would not choose
someone who could not do the job. Perseverance comes because the call
supersedes any adverse circumstances. Finally, God’s call leads to humility. The best line is
“your ministry is a received
ministry, not an achieved
ministry.”
[83] (italics mine)
The last two chapters addresses to calls that Iorg believes stand out: missions and senior pastor. He doesn't really expand the understanding of the calls. He spends more time instilling a sense of importance, purpose, and seriousness in these to calls.
Summary Evaluation
Iorg has done a decent job of trying to clarify some of the nebulous aspects of God's calling. In the long run, he really doesn't help one do a better job of answering the question "Is God Calling Me?" I'm not sure anyone really can. Many times Iorg's arguments seem to be more experiential rather than Biblical. They aren't unBiblical, they just draw more from his own experiences rather than on chapter and verse. Still, he provides clarity on some issues of calling and provides the reader with a decent platform from which to begin evaluating the question, "Is God Calling Me?"
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