Is God Calling You

 

Are you on a personal spiritual journey? Are you feeling a call to leadership in the church? Do you want to help to invite others into considering a call to ministry?


Lutherans believe God’s call to ministry comes from both an internal call (inside us) and an external call (from people around us). Besides the need for people to serve as pastors, deacons, and parish ministry associates, there is also a need for spiritual directors, lay leaders, and people to extend external calls to those who may or may not have been considering serving the church in these ways. 

Lisa Kramme, Director for Faith Formation at the Nebraska Synod is a certified spiritual director through the synod’s Seeking the Spirit Within program and shared a bit about her experience. 

“I’d been meeting with a spiritual director for two to three years. As I drove home from a session, I remember thinking- this being a spiritual director might be something I could do! I immediately thought that while I might be sensing an internal call to the ministry of spiritual direction, I knew to also listen for an external call, that is, one or more people sharing with me that they, too, could see me serving as a spiritual director someday.  

So I waited. Maybe two weeks later my cell phone rang. It was Vera Hummel, who was at that time the director of Seeking the Spirit Within. She asked- Have you ever considered attending the discernment retreat offered by Seeking the Spirit Within to people discerning a call to become a spiritual director? I shared my story with her and asked- Is THIS my external call? We both laughed at how I was waiting for a call and it came in the form of Vera’s phone call.

I attended that discernment retreat, and while I don’t remember all of the details, what I do recall is how helpful it was to learn more about the ministry of spiritual direction from someone who also served as a spiritual director herself. Participants had opportunities to try a variety of spiritual practices through which we could listen for God, and throughout the retreat we listened well for one another.  

Following that retreat, I submitted my application to Seeking the Spirit Within.  After the application, essay, and interview, I was accepted to the spiritual director formation program and spent two years in the formation process. The truth is, I’m still being formed as a spiritual director, and I am so grateful for the excellent foundation that Seeking the Spirit Within gave me, both through the formation program as well as through the discernment retreat.”  

If you are discerning a call to leadership, spiritual direction, or inviting, the Nebraska Synod offers many resources to help with the discernment process. Visit the Sow the Seeds Initiative and Seeking the Spirit Within pages on the synod website for more information.

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