"Find Your Calling and Get Your Feet Wet"
Based on Matthew 14:25-28
Sermon Series: "If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out of the Boat", Part 3
Pastor Mike Anderson
Sunday, September 23, 2007 - GSLC-North
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25 About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, "It's a ghost!"
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!"
28 Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water."
29 "Yes, come," Jesus said.
Well I hope you have gotten your feet wet and been able to walk on water a little bit since we have started this series... anybody sinking yet? I hope you've given up the life of being a "boat potato". But if you are still in the comfort of the boat don't worry there are still two more weeks left, and I promise we will rock your boat a little bit more. More importantly I can assure you Jesus will still be out on the water saying, "Don't be afraid, take courage I am here."
I just have to tell you that chapter 3 of Ortberg's book is one of the best chapters I have read in a long time. The title is "Discerning your Calling". Ortberg deftly points out that ordinarily Peter was chomping at the bit ready to act on his inner-impulsive child. Examples being when he was on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus with the other two disciples he said, "Let us build altars for Jesus, Moses and Elijah."
In the garden, rash Peter went to cut of the ear of one of the soldier's ear to in his mind save Jesus from arrest. Even as Jesus unveiled his plan to go to the cross it was Peter who thought this was an ill-advised plan to which Jesus responded, "Get behind me Satan". That had to hurt!
But yet in this instance of "water walking", we see Peter exercising discretion and discernment when he asks the Lord, "It is really you? And if it is let me know okay!"
As we have been challenged to get out of the boat, as we have begun our Fall season together, this is not a call to do something rash or impulsive, but a call to discover our true callings. As our chapter goes on to describe, "a calling is something you discover, not something you choose". Ironically the word for "vocation", comes from the Latin word for voice. Discovering our calling involves listening to God's voice. Ortberg concludes, "You and I are the call-ees, God is the call-er.
As a pastor, I often am asked, "So when did you receive your call?" And I am not shy to describe the process of God's calling me to become a pastor. As many of you know it is a second career for me. I am glad that I found my calling before it was too late in life. But callings are not just reserved for the ministry!
As you read the chapter the assumption, which I totally agree with is, "that everybody is called to something.
Frederick Buechner describes a calling as, "the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need."
Arthur Miller writes that this is what lies at the heart of a seven-days-a-week faith as he states, "It is using one's endowed giftedness to serve the world with excellence, and through that service, to love and honor God!"
In our world our work, often called our "career", can become just a means to an end. Many people stay in "dead-end jobs" for fear of getting out of the boat, or feel locked in by others fears. I remember my Dad used to have a joke about the meaningfulness of one's job. The joke went like this:
"A man was asked about what he liked most about his job. The man replied, 'Why of course that's easy, it's the money I make! The follow-up question was "Well then what do you like least about your job? The man smiled curtly, "That's easy too, if it were not for the money I make, I'd be outta here!"
Have you found your true calling? Have you found the place where your deep joy meets the world's deep need, and you can get paid for it! I was thrilled to find out that pastor's got paid. A calling is something you discover not something you choose.
In the book there is a story I could relate to quite a bit. It is the story of a man named Parker Palmer, an educator and writer. He writes quite a bit about this notion of calling, and how each of us is called by God to do something significant. In fact may I remind you again that one of Martin Luther's biggest contributions was introducing what he coined as, "The Priesthood of All Believers", that we are all little priests reconciling our world back to God!
Well anyways Parker Palmer was rising in fame and notoriety and became a natural candidate to be the next President of the denomination he was a part of, the Quakers. The Quakers have a tradition that when one is faced with a life changing decision about calling that a group of half-dozen trusted friends are gathered for what they call a "clearness committee".
They help one to discern whether this calling is really from God, or just a pipe dream. Part of their mission is to ask probing questions that unearth one's true motives in ascribing to a certain position, or calling. In this case they unearthed that Parker's true giftedness not lie in him being an administrator, but a teacher and writer. In reality he just wanted his picture with his name that said President.
Finally one of the men on his clearness committee said, "Is there an easier way to get your picture in the paper."
Can you imagine what the tragedy would have been for him to take a position that he was ill-equipped and not passionate about, and the sense of inadequacy, fatigue and discouragement he would have faced for not discerning his true calling.
This reminded me of a principles used in business circles called, "the Peter Principle", where someone rises to their level of "incompetence".
So besides establishing your own clearness committee, what are some other ways you can grow closer to discerning your true calling, if you haven't already. Another helpful hint, was called, "Conducting Low Cost Probes". Here the idea is to keep your day job, but to test the waters of a new calling.
Maybe spend some time volunteering in that area of passion, or doing research interviewing others in that calling.
That is what happened for me. I was in business and began to feel a call to full time ministry. Instead of quitting my job, I started volunteering in ministry positions to test the waters. I found amazing gratification and results that pointed me in the direction of investigating seminaries.
I remember one small step involved writing a seminary to request a weekend visit. Just going to the seminary for me felt like stepping off the boat into a raging sea. But I remember the peace on the airplane and the intense fulfillment I felt walking on the campus of Bethel Seminary in Minnesota (a Baptist seminary, God hadn't introduced the Lutheran option to me yet!) and realizing, "Yep this might be a God Thing!"
Conducting these low cost probes allows us to put our foot in the waters, while still honoring previous decisions and commitments.
And the words that rattled over and over again in my mind were, "Be faithful with the little I am giving you and I will give you more." Soon as I was able to hear a more clear calling I was able to take that step of faith and pursue my degree in seminary and finding my way back to the Lutheran church. And I still hear these words today as we seek to be faithful here at Canyon View with our Northwood campus.
We have a lot of questions like "Are we ever going to have a permanent facility?" Where will it be? What will be relationship between North and South campuses? And I feel like God is saying, "Be faithful with those I bring you and more will be revealed!"
How about you? Have you thought about your calling lately? I have talked to many of you who are in the process of doing that? Some of you are at new stages in your life that afford more time to investigate such callings. To what extent does your current work express your true giftedness and passion?
The bible is full of examples of those who initially shied away from their callings. Moses was called to confront the most powerful man on the earth and he said, "Okay here I am send my brother Aaron!"
Jonah was told to go to the most corrupt and violent city of his time and tell them, "Repent or die.", and ended up saying, "When's the next whale leaving?" Mary was a virgin and was told she was with child and she was going to give birth to the "Messiah". None of their first responses was "Okay I'm up to the challenge let me have at it!"
But eventually through some discernment they realized that where God calls, God gifts. They were able to say like Peter, "If this is really you tell me to come to you, walking on the water." And they did.
Friends, I realize these may be challenging words that may knock you out of your comfort zone. But I won't apologize for that. Jesus is still out there on the water passing by and says to us today, "Come step out of the boat and get your feet wet!" It's never too late to walk on water!
Will you join me?