| |
Angie Weston Hoff, May '05
Calling is an interesting term. For some, one’s calling can be a very specific task or vocation. For others, calling is renewed everyday and not always in the same ways. I entered BTSR in 2001, after years of summer missions experience. I thought then that my “calling” was to missions. I loved serving others. No other experience had been greater in my life than the privileges I had to meet others in their need. It was fulfilling to know that God could use someone so simple to be God’s hands and feet and then to receive a great reward of fellowship in return. Somewhere along the way, this “behind-the-scenes” missions person discovered a gift which required an upfront public appearance. Preaching. Through studies at BTSR I have learned the tools necessary not only for ministry, but the tools necessary in understanding myself as a constantly refining child of God. Often we go into school, especially at the graduate level, knowing what we want to accomplish. I had a goal to enter missions promotion and teach others about the responsibilities we have as Christians to share the love of Christ in community. I left seminary with the same vision plus a completely different gift to enhance the process. The danger of entering seminary with a plan is that sometimes we are too narrowly focused to listen or watch for the movement of God’s Spirit within us. BTSR taught me to leave room for the mystery of God, for it is in trusting the mystery that we can discover great talents and callings in our lives. |
