I never felt a "calling to ministry." It just happened. I respect those who have had a calling experience to be in ministry, but honestly, these stories leave me confused. Isn't everyone who places their faith in Jesus and begins to follow him "called" into ministry? For some it might be serving on a church staff. For others the calling might be serving as a full-time mom or a plumber or an engineer. Each of these is a sacred calling. We all interact with other human beings, and we all represent Jesus. We are all called into a sacred vocation. We're all on mission.

Perhaps I'm more sensitive than most to making a distinction between those who are called (into full-time ministry as a pastor) and those who aren't. About one third of the people at our church are college students. We also have a lot of young families. Members of this generation have serious reservations about trusting the church. And they are wary of building a hierarchy of those who ...