Follow The Call

"I will lay down my life and my all....to follow the call."

It's a voice that comes to every person.....
We may not recognize the voice at first...but it is there...
The voice breaks through every language barrier and strikes the heart of every man and woman.
The voice brings with it's message......a call.
A longing....
An invitation, if you will.....
A call to follow the source of REAL life.
A call to follow Jesus.

I'm big on remembering events and moments that happen to me.
Such was the case on May 20th. It is a red letter day in my own story.
May 20, 1994.
Vicki and I had been on a spiritual journey for over a year. In fact we had been doing kind of a spiritual tug-o-war since 1991. I was feeling drawn to the Vineyard and she wanted no part of it. She was happy and content at Central Methodist, which had been our home church since 1980. I "Gee-ed" and she "Haw-ed" (If you've never plowed with a mule, then these terms have no meaning to you). 

On the last Sunday of September, I as with her as we attended the evening service at Central. We had greeted friends and had the usual small talk before the service, and had taken up the usual pew that we deemed "Our place to sit." As we were waiting for the service to start, I noticed Vicki sitting there with an unusual look on her face. I asked her, "What's the matter, are you alright?" She just stared at me...tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes...She said, "I don't belong here anymore."  God has spoken to her and confirmed that she was to join me on this spiritual quest. I had no idea where we were to go (at the point Vineyard was still out of the picture), but I knew our days were finished at Central. The people at Central were our friends. They had taken us in at a very dark time in our lives, and had loved us and cared for us. Taught us and nurtured us as God grew us up. Now it was time to "leave the nest", so to speak. 

There were several missteps on this journey. Several times where we thought we had arrived and found the place where God wanted us. But the call didn't let up and we moved on. 

On May 20th, I was sitting outside of Mid-South Electrics, eating my lunch and finishing up a book I was reading titled The Open Church. I won't go into specifics but the book was about returning the church to the people. Little did I know that it was just another version of John Wimber's concept that "everyone gets to play"...or everyone is called to engage in Kingdom work of Jesus.

I remember finishing the book, closing it and throwing up a prayer of "Oh God! I want to be a part of something like this." Immediately I heard God say, "You do it." It scared me to death. "Me? No, Lord you got it wrong.I want to be a part of something like an open church." One more time the voice came..."You do it."  I knew that I was to start a home group, or as the Vineyard calls them..A kinship meeting.

After work, I drove to the church we were currently attending to meet with the pastor and tell him about what had happened. He didn't receive it too well, when i asked for him to bless this home group. It didn't fall within the parameters of the way he felt church was to be conducted. After all, I had no training...I had not been to seminary....I was..(here it comes...) A lay person.
I knew that I had to do this. If ever anything burned inside me, it was this call to start this home group. I shared with him the call and my need to pursue it. I acknowledged his authority over the church but asked if he would bless me and release me to follow what  was hearing. He was very gracious, as he blessed Vicki and me to go where we felt God was calling us.

I immediately called Jim Bentley, pastor of Gadsden Vineyard Church, and told him what was going on. "Jim, can I come and start this group under your covering as a pastor?" Jim gave a resounding "yes" and that was the beginning that has lead me to where I am today. Full circle back at the Vineyard.

If I ever find myself driving down Sutton Bridge Road and I happen to pass by where Mid-South use to be, I am reminded of that warm day in May when God said, "You do it."

Understand that The Call will take you in the direction God desires you to go in. It is always tied to Christ, but the way it is played out in every one's life is different. The main thing is that you hear.....you go.
I will lay down my life and my all just to follow The Call.

God on you....
mb