18 Years Changed My Thoughts on Calling

Today I have some special for you – a guest post! It’s by Craig Harmann, who you may already know from his writing over at Church Music Makers.

Craig has been in ministry for 18 years and while he’s felt “called” to ministry this whole time, what he believes “calling” IS has changed over the years.

Here’s Craig’s story:

Calling is a word that I’ve had a very unique connection with. As the child of a Lutheran pastor, my dad was “called” to a church. What did that mean? The congregation, after prayerful consideration and deliberation believe that God was calling this person to serve as their pastor, youth minister, music director, whatever the case may be. This was not a contracted position and in the strictest Lutheran definition, could only be severed through preaching/teaching false doctrine, living an unbecoming life or renouncing their faith….or so I thought.

I sort of followed in my dad’s footsteps, just not as a pastor. I never wanted to be a pastor. I went to a Lutheran college, got my degree and was going to teach in a Lutheran high school. The teaching position I was placed in was at a Lutheran high school in Portland, Oregon. It was a rough first year, and with 3 weeks left in the year, I was told that…..my contract wasn’t being renewed. WHAT? How was this possible? Well, because it was two branches of Lutherans coming together for the school, it was possible. In my naivety, I didn’t think that would be an issue and I just assumed it would be what I thought it would be.

In my second full time church position, I had to deal with my “call” being terminated. This wasn’t because of anything I did, but had everything to do with the congregation making horrible financial decisions, a pastor who had grand visions, but didn’t live in reality, and I was the casualty. After I found out that this was happening, I said to the pastor that he needed to defend the fact that I was called to the church. He didn’t. So there I was, standing up in front of a congregation voters meeting, trying to explain and defend my call to the congregation and that this could not happen. It did.

Looking back on all of that after about 16 years (in the first instance) and 12 years (in the second instance) with hindsight, wisdom and maturity, my thoughts on “calling” and “the call” in the Lutheran church are very different than when I started. I’m currently “called” to my congregation that I serve, but I view that call a whole lot differently than I had in the past. While I do not doubt that I am called by God to serve the church I serve, “the call” that can not be terminated except in specific instances is a thing of the past in my mind. That’s good and bad. To me, the bad part is that it puts the focus too much on the whims and desires of the congregation and the “business decisions” (something the President of the congregation in the second position told me that cutting my call was), and not always put the focus on God and His plan and desire. It also makes me ministers (pastors, teachers, musicians, youth ministers, etc.) more of “independent contractors” than servants of God in that location. The good is that there may not always be the best fits and those fits may bring more division than unity, and so the opportunity to bring unity and division is easier if this recourse happens. But from my experiences, that’s few and far between.

So, after 18 years of ministry in the church, how do I feel about calling? I still know that I’m called to serve God as I play the organ, direct choirs, work with children, teach music lessons and fill the roles I fill in my congregation. But being a husband and a father is my primary calling, and that was something that I didn’t always see modeled well for me as a PK. We are all called to various roles in life and in the church. No one role is better or worse than the other. Just as we need pastors to preach and minister, we need musicians to play and sing. We need ushers and greeters to serve and all roles filled in our congregations. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” We are a body and we are all called to play a role in that body. How we view ourselves and how we view our role goes a long way in how our role, our calling plays out in our lives and in the church.

Craig Harmann is the Minister of Music and Celebration at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas. He has been married to Heather for almost 15 years, and they have two adorable daughters, Ella (10), and Emily (8). Craig loves connecting with other church musicians and blogs at www.churchmusicmakers.wordpress.com.

How about you? Do you feel that you are “called” to your ministry in the church? Here’s a podcast conversation if you’d like to think more about this topic.