Change Of Calling?

Episode 56:  Life With Father

Father:    [Reading a letter from his sister] Kathy, Kathy, Kathy.                    How could you think of such a thing?
Henry:     [Bursting into Father Mulcahy’s tent] Father, I’ve got                    to talk to you about my wife.

Father:     My sister wants to leave the order…She’s such a        

            fantastic nun. I’d stack her up against any nun in the  

            business…God smiled on her from the start. Imagine a 

            basketball scholarship at the Holy Name Academy. She’s 

            been teaching. She loves children. Now she thinks she 

            might like one of her own…Now she wants my approval. I 

            don’t know what to tell her. I don’t know what to say.

Father Mulcahy is busy attending to the diverse spiritual needs of different faiths in the camp at the same time trying to come to terms with his sisters desire to leave the ministry.  While performing a circumcision on a Jewish baby he realises that the joy of motherhood is just as legitimate a calling for his sister.

There exists within my spirit a deep tension every time I hear about one of my colleagues leaving the ministry!  I cannot hide my disappointment in losing godly and competent leaders who exchange their calling or vocation for another direction.  Are they right or are they wrong?  That is not mine to judge!  My disappointment lies in the loss of good leaders who have the capacity to lead great change from within our organisation.  While there are many reasons why people change career paths or even pursue their calling through alternative pathways, I wonder how the following questions are reconciled:  Is a calling conditional upon circumstances?  Should our own purposes supersede a divine purpose?  When is it right to step outside of a covenant relationship?  In the context of Christian leadership Reggie McNeal asserts, “Christian leaders certain of their call allow it to become the centre of gravity for their life experiences.”  Whether your calling is secular or sacred it needs to be grounded upon a deep conviction that will remain steadfast through trials and resistant to the allure of other offers.

Discovering Your Purpose

Episode 30:  Kim

Trapper:  Maybe this is why I was sent to Korea.
Hawkeye:   Maybe, but I wouldn’t underestimate your draft board.
Trapper:   Up until now I felt my being here was senseless. For  
           the first time I think I have a real reason for being            here.

A wounded Korean boy who was brought to the 4077 was thought to be an orphan, prompting Trapper to write to his wife at home about adopting him.  After receiving positive news from home, the mother of the boy turns up looking for her son. 

For most of my life I have been driven by a clear purpose which has come from a strong calling from a young age.  Yet, there was a season in my life before that calling became a reality when I found myself in an interim job where I lacked any real sense of purpose.  The difference between then and now is that without purpose I was unmotivated and lacked incentive, but with purpose I am highly motivated and have a clear vision for the future.  I believe John Maxwell is right when he says, “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life.”  Discovering your vocation or mission is like having the fuel that drives an engine. Purpose gives you focus, energy and passion to pursue your particular calling, leading to a life of meaning and fulfillment.  Leaders with purpose build successful teams by inspiring those they lead to discover and fulfill their purpose also.