A Call to Ministry Essay

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Gospel Freedom

My experience of ministry has been exciting and at times difficult. It is because there are times when God tests my faith and in those times I have doubt not only in my own abilities, but the abilities of others. The call to ministry as many can attest to, is a process. It may begin with a dream or another person's affirmation of one's spiritual leadership ability, or even something as simple as finding joy and purposes in a specific ministry-associated task. For me, it was my enjoyment of various aspects of ministry and the personal freedom I feel from it. I found my passion through expression in service and getting the message of God to others.

By learning from them their life stories and then applying lesson from the Scripture to their foibles and toils, I was able to grow and form my own identity. Although I found my personal freedom in the Gospel and in Christ, others may feel as though Christianity and religion in general can be very limiting, restrictive, as discussed in one text. "Many of them now dismiss Christianity as a hard-nosed, embarrassingly backward and overly repressive community. Some regard it as a silly and laughable anachronism. Others have become bored by it, or impatient with its perceived reluctance to change comprehensively" (Kennedy, 2006, p. xii). While there some religious communities that are repressive and follow only tradition, Christianity as a whole has evolved and become something that adapts and changes according to the needs of the people at the time.

I never saw religion as a limiting experience. That is because God and the Gospel has added meaning to my life. What was before something that lacked significance, now I have a purpose, an understanding, and a faith. I see people now for what they really are. I see how lost the world is and how much they need to be guided into a life that is filled with direction, with purpose. That is why the call to ministry for me was a strong one.

That call did not limit me. It expanded my horizons. It gave me confidence in my abilities. It helped me grow as a person. Freedom can be felt in so many ways. I found freedom through God's word because God showed me that the world does not have to be so dark and unyielding. The world can be filled with hope and love, and peace.

Being religious, believing in God does not limit me. I think this so important to repeat because freedom comes from the faith that believing in God and reading the scripture brings. "But while Zwingli uses the fact that the apostles are not tied to one place mainly to demonstrate the contrast to the office of bishop with his ties to one diocese. Calvin emphasizes the freedom that arises from the boundlessness of the Gospel itself" (Borght, 2007, p. 61). As Borght wrote, the Gospel brings freedom. It does not create limitations. Limitations come from the self and from others, not from the Scripture.

Among other things, religion has brought me a deep sense of belonging. I recall the time when I watched a documentary of a tiger cub that was afraid to explore the world. He went to his mother for assurance and then felt confident to move about freely. This is how I feel about religion. Religion gives me the assurance and confidence I need through faith and community so I can go explore the world. "The Christian freedom of the gospel is a freedom of solidarity, in which the freedom of one person is not a threat to another, as often was and still is the case with liberal, bourgeois freedoms, and also with communist freedom" (McManus, 2003, p. 148).

So many people feel as though religion is made to control the masses, to control the self. I do not that is the case. Religion at least for me, helps me connect to strangers, to the people I would have never otherwise interacted with. My faith gives me the strength and the wherewithal to continue my journey even when I must face obstacles. It is through the stories and experiences of Christ and Moses, and Paul that I feel confident that bad times will pass. "Schillebeeckx knows that, if the gospel is to be alive and saving for human beings who suffer and doubt, it is incumbent upon the theologians and preachers alike routinely to take hermeneutical risks in uncovering the reality of communion with God and each other in experiences of suffering (McManus, 2003, p. 109).

Human suffer that is true.

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Every living thing suffers. That is how life continues. Through suffering people grow. My belief in the Gospel, my belief in God helps me realize that faith can give me the tools I need to march on in the face adversity and suffering and smile, because I know that these obstacles are not the end of me, but the beginning of a new and important experience.

People live and die sometimes with no purpose and no meaning. Faith gives meaning. Faith gives purpose. And while some feel as though being tethered to something, being anchored is a way to hinder someone, that is not the case. Having a base, a foundation strengthens the soul and creates a world of possibility, rather than a world of confusion. "The gospel of the Kingdom does not describe an alternative reality; it rather bestows meaning and dignity upon this reality that often seems so meaningless and unworthy" (Neuhaus, 1992, p. 20).

I want to give a specific example from my own life that shows there is freedom in the Gospel. There is joy in God. I was told by an acquaintance of her grandmother's death and how she saw her grandmother's body on the floor with a blue face and eyes rolled up. She was like a mother to her and when she saw her like that, she fell into deep mourning. Although she managed to have her grandmother buried, she still felt depressed for months after.

She told me she felt lost and hopeless. She said she did not know who to turn to and where to go for solace. It was then I told her of Paul and his belief in Christ and the Resurrection. He believed that one day all of God's people will come back and walk among the living. That was how he brought peace to his followers and stability to his church.

When I told her of this and I showed my support, offering her a shoulder to cry on and a place where she could share her story, she felt better. She felt connected. Sometimes people someone to listen to them in order to deal with the pain. Humans are social creatures and when religion offers a place for a person to share and heal, that to me is not a limiting experience, but a freeing one. "The support, understanding and prayers of my sisters and brothers from the Sunday School class were so wonderful that only God could have move them to so much sacrifice" (Wagner, 2005, p. 276).

Positive experiences can be had by having faith in God. It is all about being open to the experience. "God the Son, enters into the center of our personal freedom if we but hold ourselves open to it" (Schillebeeckx, 1963, p. 78). When a person does not open his or herself up to God, but instead simply goes with the motions, that person cannot gain the freedom and faith that comes from reading Scripture, that comes from believing in God. It is just like painting on a canvas with no intention of drawing any shapes. One can put paint on a canvas, but if one desires for it to be meaningful, one must choose to paint with purpose, adding shape and definition to otherwise meaningless blobs of color.

The best part of the church today is not just the community or the support. The best part is that the church is evolving and adapting to today's needs. Society has changed in the last few decades with women desiring to take up the call of ministry and participate in areas that were otherwise restricted to only men. This is a great opportunity now for everyone to fully take part in the church and become what they envisioned.

The Bible and God does not end with what was experienced decades before. Rather it begins now with what is happening today. Movies, social media, songs, they have all been used to preach the word of God and to show the beauty of faith. One does not simply have to talk to people to get the message of God out there. People can tweet, can Instagram, they can write Hip Hop songs all to show the wonder and beauty of God.

The call of ministry does not have to be one way. It does not have to be boring.….....

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