The Village ILWIDIot

Walt Wiltschek 

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” —Isaiah 6:8 

Are you being called? That’s the question our district conference theme asks this year, and it’s an important one. ARE you being called? In some form or other, the answer is probably yes. 

Throughout scripture, we hear stories of people hearing, dodging, questioning, fleeing, accepting, and answering calls from God. Men and women, young and old—many of them seem like most unlikely sorts to receive such an invitation, yet there they stand as heroes of the faith. Sometimes the call was big, sometimes small, but each one played a unique role in God’s unfolding story. 

Outgoing Eastern Mennonite University president Susan Schultz Huxman, in an earlier article, mused, “Wouldn’t it be nice if like the young man Samuel (in 1 Samuel 3) we could all hear a ‘clarion call’ for how we can best serve God in our lives and then eagerly respond to that call?”

Admittedly, we don’t typically hear a voice calling or booming from heaven. We don’t have face-to-face conversations with God or Jesus or angelic messengers like those saints of scripture so often did. Can we really say, though, that we never hear God calling us? 

At our district Potluck Experience this past spring, many of the speakers shared that God’s call typically came through people who knew them well, that relationships were key to the invitation. “When we’re called to something, we see things differently,” one speaker said. “Every single moment is an opportunity,” another added. 

Some of that calling and answering is happening in our district. In a three-month span from August to November, we’ve had or will have two licensing services, an ordination service, and a commissioning (formerly ordination for term of service). We have at least four other people exploring calls to ministry and taking courses. We have many others answering calls as volunteers at camps, on various district teams and committees, and elsewhere (although we can use more!) Our district Ministry Leadership Development Team will be offering a “Calling the Called” equipping session at district conference next month, providing some further resources and ideas for those who might be feeling that tingling of the Spirit. 

At a Council of District Executives meeting earlier this year, Bethany Theological Seminary president Jeff Carter said, “We are not responsible for the answer, but we are responsible for the call.” Whose gifts have you called out and encouraged lately? And who might be calling to you to use your gifts to serve Christ and the church? Are you being called?