“How do I know where God wants me to serve?”  Prior to attending seminary, I made decisions by praying to God, seeking godly counsel from family and friends , looking for the open door , and then made my decision accordingly.  But those pre-seminary decisions were not framed in terms of “calling”.  When I attended seminary and was looking for my first place of service, I was introduced to this idea of “calling”.  A “calling” happens when God initiates a summons to serve Him by imparting His gospel of salvation in a certain location.  Thus, when considering a  “calling” to a church staff position, it is encumbent on the candidate and the congregation to listen to God’s voice to see where He is “calling” us to serve.  

I didn’t realize I had an issue with a “calling” until about four years ago.  I could see that being back in Austin to take care of aging parents was going to be necessary, especially as it related to my Dad. My  reading of  I Timothy 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” caused me to yearn for Austin so that I could fulfill this mandate.  Could I initiate moving to Austin and have God’s blessing, or did I need to wait to be “called”?  I felt paralyzed and trapped in making the decision – until I learned “Go until you hear no” introduced by Erwin McManus. 

Erwin McManus, a pastor who wrote “Chasing Daylight”, describes the principle of “Go until you hear no” through multiple biblical illustrations.  The illustration that impacted me the most is in Acts 16:6-10.  Paul and his cohorts are on mission to share the gospel.  They attempt to preach the gospel in the province of Asia, but while on the move they were kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching there.  But the team was not deterred.  They  attempt to enter Bithynia to preach the gospel, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.  Paul goes to sleep that night and has a vision of a Macedonian man begging Paul to “Come over to Macedonia and help us”, so Paul woke up and concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel to them.  This passage freed me.  McManus makes the point that Paul was always on the go to serve God.  Paul wasn’t praying about it for weeks on end, talking to a variety of ministerial colleagues to get their advice, and then waiting for a clear sign that destination “x” was his next place of calling to preach the gospel.  The point was that Paul was always going, and he knew WHY he was going (to share the gospel), he just didn’t necessarily know WHERE!  

The first successful application of “Go until you hear no” was moving to Austin.  It was freeing to know that I could initiate serving God without a “calling” by positioning myself to serve my parents in their time of need.   If I was on the wrong track, the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Jesus would stop me.   I look back on this process and realize that God kept the doors closed until He was ready to release me in His perfect timing.  But the success was being proactive in looking for opportunities to move here. 

One of the results of moving to Austin was not having a teaching ministry.  Teaching is how God has gifted me in the body of Christ.  I teach.  I have a passion for it.  I study on how to become more effective as a teacher.  I listen to top Christian speakers as they communicate God’s word to learn how to be more engaging.  I LOVE to teach.  So you can imagine the intense void I felt when I arrived in Austin having to start all over, find a church home, and then plug into the life of the church with my spiritual gift of teaching.  This is when I began another application of “go until you hear no.”  Just as Paul was always on the go to share the gospel, I have been on the go to teach in my church home.  

My first opportunity came at a Women’s Retreat  within the first three months of joining.  I kept “going” by offering to lead a Wednesday PM bible study the following month.  Several of us tried to get this up and running, but the Spirit of God apparently had other plans for me.  I have kept “going” as a regular substitute teacher in a dear Couple with Kids class over the last 6 months.  There have been times I have felt placated and pacified, but now I have an open door to launch a Sunday School class for women who attend church alone starting 5/15.  This appears to be an answer to a longstanding prayer for a permanent teaching ministry, but time will tell if God brings women to the class or not!  I am confident that if God has something else in mind for me, His Spirit will tell me no to the current opportunity, which means I will just keep “going”. 

I continue to grow in applying the principle of “go until you hear no”.  I encourage you to serve God in whatever capacity you feel honors or pleases Him with your gifts.  If you desire to serve God, be active in the process.  Stay on the “go”.  Let God pull the reins.  If He thinks you are going in the wrong direction, His Spirit will stop you.  His purposes can’t be thwarted by us anyway, so I think He is just thrilled that we would show interest in serving Him without passively sitting on the sidelines waiting to be “called”.  GO find a place of service.  

Thanks for listening.  I’ve got to go. 

Blessings,

Lee Ann