SESSION 04: CALLING
PASSAGE TO EXPLORE
Ephesians 4:1–16
WHAT IS GOD CALLING YOU TO?
One of Paul’s most compelling descriptions of church life is in Ephesians. In chapter 4, he calls the Ephesians to live a life of love—full of forgiveness, humility, gentleness, and love. In particular, he tells them to be united in Christ. In this context, he explains the gifts that God gave to the church:
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Notice that this teaching on spiritual gifts is in the context of describing a fully functioning church. It’s about the way we live together as the church. And it involves all of us. The reason God has given gifted people to the church, Paul says, is so that the “saints” (i.e., every Christian) can be “equipped for the work of ministry.” It’s through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment that we build the church family up. And notice that this only happens when the “whole body” is functional, “when each part is working properly,” when the church body is “joined and held together by every joint with which is it equipped.”
It’s true that the “apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers” are meant to equip the church, but there’s no indication that these gifted individuals tell the members of the church body specifically how to function. Presumably, once equipped, the church members simply embrace the gifts they’ve been given and serve one another in whatever way seems best to them in each situation.
As you have sought to identify the ways in which the Spirit of God has been empowering you, you have also been invited to keep an eye open for the needs around you. Have you sensed an overlap between your passions and abilities and the needs of the people around you? In all likelihood, those areas of overlap are mostly unique to you. There may be other people around you with similar gifts, but they’ll likely notice different needs. There may be other people around you noticing similar needs, but they’ll likely be approaching those needs with a different type of empowerment from the Spirit.
One way to look at this overlap is in terms of “calling.” What is God calling you to do? God calls all of us to many of the same things: loving our neighbors, loving our spouses, bearing each other’s burdens, etc. But your unique calling will look like the tug you feel on your heart toward the meeting of a specific need with the quirky uniqueness that fits who he has made you to be.
When we wait for a pastor to create a structured ministry opportunity for which we may sign up, we may easily miss the specific needs that God is calling us to meet. Church ministries can give you the opportunity to serve dinner to a group of hungry people in your area. That’s a wonderful ministry that meets a real need. But don’t miss the specific person in your neighborhood or workplace or church family that needs help with groceries. Church ministries can give you the opportunity to join or even teach a Bible study, but don’t miss the opportunity to recognize a few people in your church family that could use some encouragement and investment, a few people you could form into a small group or prayer group or Bible study or accountability group.
If you have the gift of teaching, you could wait for a pastor to ask you to preach. Or you could find someone to disciple—a younger believer who could grow spiritually as you explain the Word of God to them and help them apply it to their unique life situations. If you have the gift of healing, you can simply pray over a sick person and watch to see what God does.
It’s not that church ministries are wrong—they’re often wonderful! It’s that ministry leaders become bottlenecks. Actually, it’s more than that. Part of the problem is empowerment. The church body needs to be empowered instead of waiting on the pastors to give the green light to every service opportunity. Think how much a church could accomplish if every member was looking for ways to bring the love and care of God to their real-life situations! And part of the problem is imagination. A pastor can only think of so many serving opportunities. When the system relies on pastors creating sign up slots that allow people to serve in prepared roles, our ministries will be so predictable. But think of the potency of a church in which each member uses their imagination to see and meet needs!
When each church member seeks and follows the Lord’s calling, the result will be unpredictable transformation. That type of church would identify so many more needs than a pastor could uncover. That type of church will function with so much more diversity and creativity than any pastor could bring to bear. A church in which “each part is working properly” will have a potent unpredictability that would be exciting to be part of!
CULTIVATING YOUR GIFT(S)
This approach to following God’s calling in the use of our gifts will require each of us to be consistently attuned to the Holy Spirit. We’ll have to listen to what he may be saying. We’ll have to be attentive to his promptings. And we’ll have to keep listening over an extended period of time (for our whole lives, actually).
It’s one thing to develop an opinion on our spiritual gifting in a theoretical sense. It’s another thing to get busy, to get active, and in that context to explore where God might be leading us. You won’t know what your gifting is until you listen to the Spirit’s prompting and then try a few things. If you sense the Spirit working through you, then you’ve discovered your gifting. Søren Kierkegaard said that never trying anything is an easy way to “lose oneself.”* By “lose oneself,” he means that God has created each of us to be something unique, and God patiently and consistently invites us into an ongoing discovery of our true selves. If you see some needs that you try to meet through your best assessment of the gifting God is supplying to you, you may well encounter failure. Maybe that situation will be too complex or difficult. Maybe you’ve mis-assessed your gifting or the need you thought you saw. That’s okay. But by trying and failing, you’ve learned something. And you’re fine tuning your awareness of God’s calling. You won’t lose yourself by trying something and failing. But you could easily lose yourself by being too afraid or too apathetic to try anything.
WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?
Many Christians never get very active in the church or their community because they don’t know much about spiritual gifting or God’s design for a church in which every member is active. Now that you’ve worked your way through this study, that’s no longer an option for you.
You may hold back from using your gifts in a specific context because you’re afraid that you might be operating in ways that your church leadership wouldn’t approve of. Take this session as a green light to get out there and try some things. If you’re unsure, speak to a pastor. But if you’re sensing God’s call to get involved in a specific area, don’t wait for a pastor’s approval. Try something. If you need resources or if it would help you to process the ministry opportunity with someone, that’s a great reason to reach out to a pastor. Pastors love empowering people to do the work of ministry.
Similarly, you may hold back because you’re afraid of failing. Don’t let that stop you. So often, our definitions of success and failure are driven by worldly standards and not God’s standards. All that matters is faithfulness to what God is calling you to do. We can safely entrust the results to God. And if it doesn’t work out, then we’ve learned more about our gifting and calling and we can talk to the Lord about what he’d like us to do next.
Lastly, many are held back from using their gifts due to busy schedules. This is a real concern and it should be taken seriously. We simply can’t do everything. But being busy isn’t a good reason for complete inaction. Based on the biblical passages we’ve explored in these sessions, God has given you gifts and he does expect you to use them in some contexts. You don’t need to do everything, but you should do something. Happily, the approach to using our gifts we’ve outlined in this study gives lots of room for you to creatively seek God’s calling in the context of what you’re already doing. Is God calling you serve your family, or to bless someone you work with, or to befriend other parents as you watch your kids play sports? None of those things require extra time, only intentionality in the midst of your current schedule. But God may ask you to stop something for the sake of starting something new. The only way to know is to speak to him in prayer and listen for his promptings.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
What have you been trying? How is God leading you to try something now?
As you identify needs around you, is there anything you notice that you believe others miss?
Is there anything you think you might be unusually good at addressing? Or even just adequate at addressing in cases where no one seems willing or able to do even an adequate job?
Are there any obvious needs you see, perhaps needs that everyone can see, but that still require more people working to address?
Is it possible God is calling you to act in one or more of the areas of need you identified in the previous session?
What do you believe God is inviting you to do in this season? Who is he calling you to serve? How? Where? With whom?
Is there anything you need to stop in order to start this new act of service?
Spend some time in prayer. Ask God to guide you in identifying and utilizing your spiritual gifts. Thank him for your gifts and pray for a healthy motivation as you seek to serve the church and the world through his power and guidance.
ENDNOTE
* Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, trans. By Bruce H. Kirmmse, New York: Liveright Publishing Company, 2023, 45.