Decisions of Faith & Calls to Ministry The Important Role of Camps & Retreats This spring I wrote an article for the Camp/ Retreat Leader E-mail Network. It was sparked by a series of recent contacts initiated by bishops, district superintendents, lay leaders, clergy, general agency staff, and a number of you now serving in camp/retreat ministry. These conversations resulted in the recognition that the camp retreat experience is particularly relevant in responding to one of the most important dilemmas of our time: The need for Christian spiritual leaders within the church and within society as a whole currently outpaces the number of persons preparing for spiritual leadership. Some of our greatest advocates urge us now to fully appreciate the pivotal contribution of camp/retreat settings and experiences. Journeying out of our normal routines and rhythms heightens the possibility of learning and living differently. This includes unmatched opportunities to discern new ways that God may be calling people to live and serve based squarely on the love of Christ. In the spring article I promised to provide some reflections on decisions of faith and calls to ministry that you can use in your staff training. Lifting up these two themes will help staff and volunteers to be sensitive and proactive when opportunities arise to help people consider God's direction for their lives. Let's begin with some definitions. Decisions of faith are formed within a growing trust in the love of Christ to the point that we make daily choices to seek God's guidance in shaping who we are becoming and in setting our priorities. We seek to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, rather than being directed by fleeting desires. Calls to ministry highlight long-term commitments to service that meet a true need in the world. They could be calls to ordained ministry as an elder or deacon or calls to help make a difference as a layperson through a vocation or an avocation. Callings, in some way, involve a measure of spiritual leadership in guiding, helping, and healing. Callings are as varied as the needs and hurts of people and of all of creation. A good way to approach these topics is to study Scripture to see what we can learn about decisions of faith and callings. I will only lift up three passages under each topic, as a sampling (all NRSV). For more ideas about encouraging people in a life of faith, see "Twists of Faith and Spiritual Preparation for Christian Leadership." The intention of this article is to engage the imagination of your staff about how to encourage decisions of faith and explore calls to ministry through the relationships and experiences you offer. Decisions of Faith Discussing the Scriptures Acts 8:27-36: . . . Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this Scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?" Insight: Reading and discussing the Scriptures is one way for us to hear and respond to God. Philip was open to the nudges of the Spirit to step out with courage and to begin a conversation with the Ethiopian. Philip connected with what the Ethiopian was already interested in. That conversation led the eunuch to make his own profound decision of faith, to become baptized, to live as a child of God. Led by the Spirit Galatians 5:22-25: By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh [life apart from God] with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Insight: Decisions of faith involve inviting the Holy Spirit to shape our very being — who we are becoming and how we relate. If the Holy Spirit is the source of life, then it is important to be guided by the Spirit. How do our programs and teachable moments help people learn to listen for the direction of God? If we open ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit, then our lives will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and so on. When this is missing, the existence we choose is often marred by the opposites of these fruits of the Spirit. It is a natural reminder to seek the Source of Life, and not to depend solely on our own insights. In making decisions of faith, what would produce the fruits of the spirit in the long run? Questions & Real-Life Situations John 8:2-12: Early in the morning [Jesus] came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"; They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."; And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said,"No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Insight: The way Jesus responded to and asked questions made people reflect more deeply on situations and on God's desire or will. Jesus' grace and honesty play a powerful role in his spiritual leadership. Repeatedly, combining real-life situations with poignant questions leads to decisions of faith. (continued . . .) Camp Memo 2001 PDF File | Page 2 of Decisions of Faith & Calls to Ministry | | Share Our Worlds — Help Needed | | Share Our Worlds — Giving Partners Form | | The Role of Creation in Faith Formation: Avoiding the Pantheism Controversy | | Camp/Retreat Ministry Certification | | Resource Review | | Mark Your Calendars | | D. Min. Group Forming in Camp/Retreat Ministry | | Camp/Retreat Memo Archives | | Camp and Retreat Ministries Home | Articles | Links | Staff | | Comments | Directory | Events | Employment Opportunities |