Vocation and Call
6. Why, How and What..?
6.1. Unpacking these questions
Why are call and vocation important?
- Vocation and call are intrinsic to our faith. God calls us and we respond by seeking ways to use our God-given gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities to be faithful followers of Jesus and God’s presence in the world. It can be argued that every moment of every day for every follower is a response to the call on our lives; and that all people are called by God - whether they are believers or not.
How do we indentify call and vocation?
- We can identify gifts in ourselves or recognize them in others and then use them to make the world a better place, seek justice, or carry out a specific role. Or there may be a task that needs doing that we respond to and apply ourselves to. It can be a spiritual or practical response. It can be paid or voluntary. We can equip everyone to see God at work in the world and their contribution to this as part of the people of God.
What can we do to nurture call and vocation?
We can:
- ask those alongside whom we worship and serve ‘have you thought that God might be calling you to….?’
- encourage people to name what they see in others and where God might be calling them or equipping them, whatever age or stage of life they might be.
- offer support with discerning and validating a call.
- pose these questions:
- How do you live out your faith every day?
- How might the Holy Spirit be prompting you to grow?
- Have you thought about what God might be calling you to (or away from)?
- help people to reflect on what they are doing in service to God and response to their faith, whatever age or stage of life they might be. And seeing if anything is changing or developing.