Describing My call to ministry (Don’t
miss yours)
It is a joy to be able to share with you the
most amazing thing in my life, that being a relationship with Jesus Christ and
God’s call to a vocation of ministry. First and foremost “calling” as a disciple
of Jesus Christ pertains to wherever and whatever one’s context may be with a
focus toward being a disciple who in turn makes more disciples. “Calling is the
truth that God calls to himself so decisively that everything we are,
everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion,
dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service.”[1]
This calling came to me as it has to all
humanity, a calling to know God and to be in right relationship with God through
the Son Jesus Christ and follow Christ’s way of living (my paraphrase of Romans
8:28-30). Calling in its purist form results in Christian Perfection, the goal
of God’s grace. John Wesley described it as, “The loving of God with all our heart,
mind, soul, and strength. This implies that no wrong temper, none contrary to
love, remain in the soul; and that all the thoughts, words and actions, are
governed by pure love.”[2]
I discern a specific call to a vocation of
ministry. I answered God’s primary call when I surrendered my life wholly to
Christ and the mission of the kingdom at the age of twenty-one, and haven’t
turned back. I immediately pursed Christian education at Bible College[3]
where I obtained a degree in education in hopes of teaching in the public
school system. All the while I was sensing God’s call to ministry but felt too
young and inexperienced. The inner witness of my spirit with God’s spirit and
the church has since affirmed my calling; I know I am called to serve the
church.
Admittedly, I have rebelled and wrestled
with my calling. I considered long and hard the possibilities of any other
profession but none were as sweet and pleasing as a life of service in God’s
church. My thoughts and plans always concern God and leading God’s people. My
heart has been completely renovated toward a reorientation of desires leaving
me with no other fulfilling option for life.
 |
| Licensing/Commissioning/Ordination at Fl Annual Conf 2014 with Faith, Abbey, and Rev. Bob Laidlaw (friend, mentor, and golf coach) |
I began exploring my calling upon graduating
college by serving the people and ministries of F.U.M.C, Madison as youth pastor.
As this ministry began I immediately fell in love with ministering to people and knew this was my calling.
Serving people on behalf of God brings me great
honor and joy. Youth ministry was a great privilege and wonderful opportunity,
one I committed fully to for twelve years. As the years went by, one day I just knew it was time to
pursue seminary education and ordination to become a pastor. I thank God for Godly leaders and mentors who were instrumental in my discernment process. Seminary seemed on the
surface to be an insurmountable goal, one that led me to place my predicament
and family into God’s care. God had a plan the whole time and inspired the church to fully enable me to pursue a seminary education without the worry and added pressure of debt. Youth ministry, serving others, my family, mentors, and seminary has been God’s affirmation of my calling revealing what I was created for and gifted to do.
I hope that my gifts could best be used in service to God through the ministries of The United Methodist Church. This far my calling to a vocation of
ministry has led me to serve Lee UMC in Madison, Fl. for two years and currently Druid Hills UMC in Ocala, Fl. My family and I couldn’t be more proud to be here in this great community with these folks! It has been amazing to see God's faithfulness each time we step out and trust God's lead.
Calling includes a humble submission
to the forward movement of life with God. “It’s all about moving forward in
that relationship, following wherever he leads us, as God’s child, as Christ’s
partner, friend, disciple. In relationship with God through Christ, we can
become our true selves. We discover that the more we are his, the more we are
ourselves!”[4]
Here I stand, in humble adoration, surrendering my all to God’s summons.
My hope is to faithfully live out my
calling. If done well others will also discover and fulfill God’s call on their
lives. This is my hope in sharing my calling with you, that you hear the
whisper of God’s Spirit and allow Him to move you forward into the life you
were created for. God has been, is, and will be on your
side!
God
Bless,
Pastor
Brian Sanderson
[1] Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. (Nashville;
Thomas Nelson, 1998) P. 29.
[2] Wesley, John. A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. (Kansas; Beacon Hill
Press, 1966) P. 51.
[3]
The Baptist College of Florida, Graceville, Fl.
[4]
Johnson, Reg. “The Call: Discerning
Life’s True Purpose,” 2004. IS 502. Asbury, summer 2009. P.3.
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