Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, July 25, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: We are equipped to do what God calls us to do.
It can be tempting to think we are only called to do that which we are equipped to do. But Jesus often calls us to do things we’re not yet equipped to do.
When I started in pastoral ministry many years ago, I was excited because I felt called to equip ministers. In other words, I thought my job was to teach, equip, and support the members of the congregation to go out into the world to do God’s work. What I didn’t realize is that the members thought they had called me to do the work. So, I got busy learning to do the work. When I finally decided to leave ministry many years later, it was in part because, while I was now equipped both to do the work and to equip others to do the work, I still felt strongly called to be the one equipping others. I started a business (Clergy Stuff!) that gave me a more solid platform to equip others.
If you are in pastoral ministry, you have likely been called to do the work and to equip others to do the work. Discerning between the two can be helpful as you figure out who’s going to do what, and as you learn to let some of it go so others can pick it up.
Your members, whether they’ve figured it out yet or not, have also been called to do the work. And resistance you feel from them might be because they don’t feel equipped to do the ministry you’re asking of them. You can assure them that God has sent you to teach, equip, and support them, that they can be called first and equipped second. They will learn on the job, and with your guidance and support, they will thrive.
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
