I spent my twenties trying to be like the pastor I admired - charismatic preacher, natural leader, everyone's favorite person. I was miserable. Then someone pointed out that Paul lists like seven different ministry gifts in this passage, and not one of them requires you to be the life of the room.
Turns out I'm not an apostle or an evangelist or a pastor (though I tried all three). I'm a teacher. But here's the thing - I'm a teacher who likes small groups, quiet conversations, detailed explanations. For years I thought I was failing because I wasn't doing those things with energy and charisma. But maybe that's not the calling. Maybe the calling is to be the kind of teacher I actually am.
I left ministry work and now I teach high school history. I have students who come back years later and tell me about papers I assigned, conversations we had. I'm building something up, just like Paul says. It just looks different than I imagined, and that's exactly how it should be.
No comments yet. Be the first.