"Called"

How do you know that you are being "called" into ministry? After going through several interviews for a ministry position, I've been told by several caring friends that I need to be sure I have been "called" into the position. But when I press further, most I ask can not give me a solid answer as to what a "calling" looks like.
According to Michael Anthony in Management Essentials for Christian Ministries, being called in God's service can include miraculous calls such as Abraham, Moses, and Gideon in the Old Testament. However, this is unusual. In the New Testament, when Jesus began selecting his disciples, he simply told Simon Peter and Andrew to "follow me" (Mt. 4). Some people experience a deep assurance, a firm inner conviction that God has spoken to them, calling them to the work of ministry. For most ministers, however, the sense of call is more ambiguous, more tentative (http://www.exploreministry.org/).
It seems God most often chooses ministry leaders based on their inner heart condition. "Patriarchs such as Abraham Isaac, and Jacob were certainly called into a special relationship with God based on little more than the condition of their hearts and the sovereignty of God" (Anthony, p. 22). Look at King David. When God spoke to Samuel he was very clear that although men look at the "outward appearance" God is interested only at what is in the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).
So what does this mean for me? Do I only need to be sure that my inner heart is right w/ God? What about skills? David certainly did not become a King over night. The twelve disciples went through three years of mentoring side by side with Jesus before becoming a "formidable ministry team" (Anthony, p. 23) . Look at the apostle Paul. He also went through three years of "orientation" before "his engagement in the gospel ministry" (Anthony, p. 23). Although Paul was a learned scholar of Judaism, "his Arabian sabbatical was designed to train him in the true meaning behind the prophecies" (Anthony, p. 23). See Galatians 1:17 and Acts 11:19-26.
So I need my inner heart to be right with God but I also need skills and training. That is why I am at Talbot, to learn the skills I need to minister more effectively to children. That takes care of the skills and training bit. But, what about my inner heart? I can only cry as the psalmist David did in Psalm 139-"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me...Search me, O God, and know my heart".



Reference notations:
Management Essentials for Christian Ministry Edited by Michael Anthony and James Estep
Biblical References from New International Version copyright by International Bible Society
The Fund for Theological Education website www.exploreministry.org

Rumination

Rumination:1 : to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud 2 : to engage in contemplation (Merriam-Webster).

Why choose rumination as the title of my blog? Because someone else stole my first choice of musings! The idea of my blog is to engage in musing or contemplation of my everyday experiences especially as I engage my mind at seminary.

Seminary has certainly opened my mind to engage in deeper thinking than I would normally do on an everyday basis. I love it! I'm definitely my father's daughter. I love to learn . Keep it coming! I only wish that I could spend more time digesting all that I'm learning. It comes at me so fast that I can't hardly digest most of it.