How many calls did you get yesterday, through phone or text or email? If you're a Christian, you get one particular call every day -- a call to serve. But you're probably already serving at church, as volunteer or staff. So you know about serving. But God doesn't just tell us to serve. He calls us to serve. And the calling makes a difference.
In his book The Call, Oz Guinness reminds Christians that we have both a primary and secondary calling. In our primary calling, Jesus calls us to himself. In Ephesians 2, Paul talks about our primary calling in verses 8 and 9: we are saved "by grace," "a gift of God - not by works." Then, in verse 10, he turns to our secondary callings. "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Knowing our secondary callings is crucial to avoiding burnout, constant frustration and feelings of insignificance as we serve. Wouldn't your life be healthier, and wouldn't your service be more rewarding, if you were doing just those tasks God prepared for you? Continue reading.
Finish this article, including:
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"Lord, what are you calling me to do?"
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Calling Powers our Service
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Calling Frees our Service
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Called to serve together
Question: Nominating Process
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A reader asked: "I would like some 'Do's and Don'ts' about nominating committees and the election process in churches. Also, is it good for a pastor to serve on the nominating committee?"
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How to recruit the Millenial generation (ages 20-35) and why it's so beneficial to do so -- that's the topic of "How Engaging Millenials will Improve Your Whole Organization," filled with statistics from the 2012 Millenial Impact Report.
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"Volunteers Unlock Life Stories and So Much More" describes a great way to pair volunteers and people in need in health care settings, but the idea can be applied in Sunday school, a Seniors group, and even in families.
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What does the recent Superstorm Sandy have in common with the recent presidential election? Volunteers! But in "The Perfect Volunteer Storm," Susan Ellis notes that "volunteers whose adrenalin spikes at the thought of an election battle do not necessarily get excited at personally working with the elderly or children, and vice versa. Volunteers who jump at the chance to help people in crisis may not jump to help with long-term, day-to-day operations of a nonprofit. This does not make either group apathetic, uncaring, or uninvolved. Just as we choose paid jobs to match our interests and personalities, we roll up our sleeves to help with causes in different ways. Volunteer resources managers [and church leaders -- KK] need to expect these differences and strive to connect with the right volunteers at the right time for them and for the activities to be accomplished."
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