"Why would you do that?"

"Why would you do that?" she asked. It was an honest question that deserved an honest answer. I was at a photo studio having a picture done that would be attached to the biographical part of my application for lay ministry. None of my vacation photos would do and my passport photo looked too much like the picture on my driver's license. So, I put on my suit and made an appointment for a proper photograph. When she asked what the photo was for, I told her. Then she asked what I was doing now and I told her that I was an attorney but was moving towards ministry. I could tell that she was perplexed. Why would anyone do that? It took me longer to answer than it should have. I hadn't really thought about the "why" so much as "how". I finally told her that the call to ministry was too strong for me to ignore any longer. That was the best answer I had then, and frankly, I have not since come up with anything better.

Can a person be called into lay ministry? Isn't a calling to ministry only for the ordained? The Apostle Paul did not think so. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10. We are called by our baptism into service according to our gifts. You and I know so very many people who freely and joyfully give of themselves as they do God's work. They feed the hungry, visit the sick and lonely, provide clothes for those that have none and welcome the stranger, just as Jesus said we should. Are these people doing ministry? Of course they are. They are the hands and feet of Christ in this world.

Now here is a good question. If a lay person can do ministry, why go to the work, effort and expense of the training for certification as a lay speaker or a lay minister? For me, the answer was the same as when I went to the extra work to become certified as a legal specialist. If I was going to go to the next level as an attorney, I was going to have to go back to school, take the tests, undergo peer review and go through the procedural hoops. I did that and it made me a better lawyer. In the same way, going through the training, education, application and vetting process for certified lay ministry has made me a better minister. I have a better idea of where to look for resources, how to prepare a worship service, how to talk with people about faith and generally do the work which is assigned to me.

So, what about you? If you are reading this, it might be that you are thinking about your own call to lay ministry. Get in touch. We will have a virtual or real cup of coffee and talk it over.

Joy!

Bill