A DEACON IS CALLED AND SENT

To claim that God has called you into a particular vocation is humbling and terrifying at the same time. Nearly always, the call is resisted for a while. "Surely you don't mean me?" we cry out to God. Many who experience a call do not feel qualified or worthy. Yet God continues to call people into ministry, and some hear the call and respond. As a seminary professor I have heard many call stories. Often the call comes in an affirmation of fruitful leadership or in a time of life transition. April McGlothin-Eller experienced a call to ministries of justice while on a campus ministry mission trip to Venezuela:

When I was in college, my campus minister, Ken, asked me to be part of a mission team going to El Renuevo, Venezuela, to provide medical services to barrios in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. I was thrilled to be a part of this team and eager to use my limited Spanish. Driving from the airport, we approached a river with an incomplete bridge hovering over it. I wondered how we would cross as our driver plunged into the water. He explained that their bridge was never completed because of political lying; the government would resume construction on the bridge during election time and stop whenever they had been elected again. He reminded us that we were lucky that the rainy season had not yet arrived.

The scales were ripped from my eyes as I witnessed the daily injustice faced by these children of God. Many had no shoes, much less running water; children and adults came into our makeshift clinic with parasites from drinking unclean river water. The people walked many miles just to wait in line to see a doctor, and many were turned away. The mission team returned to camp each night exhausted, physically and emotionally. Yet we leaned on God and one another for the strength and encouragement to continue our service.

On our last evening in Venezuela, our team had a foot-washing service. We were under a thatched roof on a dirt floor, and it had rained the evening prior. Ironically, everyone was becoming muddy while washing feet and having their feet washed. I realized two things about the service of faith. First, servant leadership is the key. Jesus took off his cloak, knelt, and washed the feet of his followers. Second, it is not always going to be a neat and clean job. Jesus did not vacuum the floor and have the disciples pre-wash their feet. He was willing to get dirty, get a little funky. I knew God was calling me to take off my cloak of privilege, kneel in the mud of poverty and oppression, and get a little funky, and I wept with excitement for the opportunity.

"I knew God was calling me to ..." Those are the words that each one who is ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church have dared to voice. The call comes in many forms, but it is often accompanied by some trepidation and ambiguity. April "wept with excitement for the opportunity."

We are all called to ministry, of course, by our baptism. All baptized Christians "must convince the world of the reality of the gospel or leave it unconvinced" (BOD, ¶130) by our way of living in the world. We take on that vocation as disciples of Jesus at our baptism and live it out in myriads of ways in our families, places of work, and community. Yet, some people receive a call that requires a new relationship to the church and a lifetime commitment to the annual conference. When April recognized that God was calling her to "take off her cloak of privilege" and work for justice, she did not yet know what that call would mean. She knew that she was called and sent to "kneel in the mud of poverty and oppression." As she interpreted it within the structure of The United Methodist Church, it became clear to her that she could best respond to God's call on her life by seeking ordination as a deacon.

According to the Book of Discipline, "Deacons are persons called by God, authorized by the Church, and ordained by a bishop to a lifetime ministry of Word, Service, Compassion, and Justice, to both the community and the congregation in a ministry that connects the two." (¶329.1). One newly commissioned deacon said, "I feel like the work of a deacon is not to do things alone, but together with the church." To lead and equip the people of God through Word; service, or diaconia; compassion; and justice is the focus of a deacon's ministry. The duties of a deacon are also described in the ordinal:

A deacon
is called to share in Christ's ministry of servanthood,
to relate the life of the community to its service in the world,
to lead others into Christian discipleship,
to nurture disciples for witness and service,
to lead in worship,
to teach and proclaim God's Word,
to assist elders at Holy Baptism and Holy Communion,
to interpret to the church the world's hurts and hopes,
to serve all people, particularly the poor, the sick, and the oppressed,
and to lead Christ's people in ministries of compassion and justice,
liberation and reconciliation,
even in the face of hardship and personal sacrifice.

These are the duties of a deacon.

The future deacon experiences a call to diaconia, the service that Jesus modeled when he fed the five thousand, welcomed the children, taught the Scriptures, healed the sick, or released those who were captive to oppressions of one kind or another.

Dr. Ted Hill's call came in midlife when he experienced a call to change the way he practiced medicine. He witnessed to this in a worship service: "I ... heard a summons to a special task.... I reclaimed my calling, to minister to the whole person—not just the physical but also the spiritual, relational, and emotional components—that was part of my real calling. Just as important was that I felt compelled to remind the church that it also was called to participate in the healing ministry initiated by Jesus." Hill's call to ministry as a deacon clearly illustrates the dual nature of the ministry of deacons. He knew from the first that part of his work would be in a medical clinic for the poor but that he was also called to help the church claim its healing ministry. He discerned a call to serve the uninsured working poor by using his medical skills, and a corresponding call to lead the church in its ministries of healing.

What Is a Call?

Biblical narratives recount many stories of God calling people to special leadership. Abram and Sarai are some of the first to be called. They are asked to leave home and travel to a distant place. "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you" (Gen 12:1b). Just three verses later we learn, "So Abram went" (12:4). God calls Abram and Sarai to leave the comfort and safety of their family home and go to an unknown place, and they obey. What a remarkable story! Similarly, when Jesus says to Peter and Andrew, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people,"...