A Good Enough Call/Job*

*Many of us, especially in the fields of education, law, medicine, and professional ministry, refer to what we do for our livelihood as a “calling.” If we support ourselves financially by doing something we feel “called” to do, then we are privileged indeed. Many people have “jobs” that pay the bills but these sources of income do nothing for their souls. This post is specifically for those seeking new calls.

On any given day, I know dozens of people seeking a new call which in professional ministry means a new position in a church/hospital/college/non-profit/school. A new “calling” seems to mean that we are switching vocations all together: from nursing to professional ministry, for example. (Note: I say “professional ministry” instead of “ministry” because Cindy Bolbach reminded me on a regular basis that we are all called to ministry whether we are painters, surgeons, or toll takers.)

I am fortunate in that I have had a sense that every “call” I’ve had since ordination felt right for that time and season.

I’ve been a rural church pastor, an urban/suburban pastor, and what’s called a “Mid-Council Leader” in two different Presbyteries. I would say that each position has felt – intuitively – like something God wanted me to do even though there were plusses and minuses to each position:

• Rural Solo Pastor – I gave up privacy, anonymity, and city life for gorgeous scenery, knowing everybody in town, and a lifetime of memorable stories (e.g. the ventriloquist funeral director, learning how to hypnotize a chicken, leading worship in a circus tent at the county fair with the bearded lady and the Flying Mariotti Brothers.)
• Urban/Suburban Pastor – I gave up small town relationships and easy access to Vermont for living in the shadow of Our Nation’s Capital and a congregation of transient people who moved in and out of the area based on elections and military assignments. And there were even more stories (which I cannot share here #SecurityClearances)
• Mid-Council Leader – I gave up children shouting “Pastor Jan! Pastor Jan!” when they saw me in the grocery store. I gave up regularly baptizing babies and writing them letters to open on their 10th birthday. I gave up preaching to the same congregation every week. But I slept better knowing I didn’t have to raise money for a new church roof or write a brand new sermon every week. I gained being the pastor to pastors, but not to every pastor because I also would have to share hard things like “it’s time to retire” or “we know you’ve been embezzling money.”

All of us want “the perfect call” – one that feeds us spiritually and pays us well and involves a modest commute and seems mostly healthy and includes people who are open to the moving of the Holy Spirit alongside us. Bonus points for a culture of encouragement and grace and good humor.

While I hope for all of those seeking a new call to find “the perfect” one, it’s most likely not out there. A new call might even feel perfect but then we learn that the church pillar is actually kind of mean and the same people who said they were all about changing the world for good in the name of Jesus actually want the pastor to change the world while they watch.

And so what about the “good enough” call?

What about asking God if this position might be the one even if the pay is not what you’d hoped for and there are too few children and the musician seems unadventurous? But . . . there’s something about the people that seems interesting and wonderful. And there’s a woman on the Search Committee who reminds you of your lovely second grade teacher. And there’s a lot of laughter. And even though you never dreamed you’d live in that part of the world, there’s something drawing you to ponder living in that part of the world.

Like I said, feeling “called” is an enormous privilege. And quite often God surprises us.