[1]KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)–Every Christian is called to ministry, whether as a pastor, in the corporate world, in the military or in the home, Robert E. (Bob) Reccord said during North American Mission Board Week at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Reccord, NAMB’s president, was on the Kansas City, Mo., campus as part of an emphasis on the Southern Baptist entity’s numerous ministries. Representatives from military chaplaincy and various state conventions were on campus to meet with students interested in learning more about NAMB-related ministries throughout the United States and Canada.
Reccord challenged students, faculty and staff to answer God’s call, wherever that may lead, in his April 6 chapel message.
Drawing upon the Apostle Paul’s words in the first chapter of Romans, Reccord said the word “call” in verses 1 and 6 literally means to receive a personal invitation to come alongside Christ.
“As all believers in Rome were called, so are we,” Reccord said. “This call is by, from and to God. God’s call to each believer is personal,” he said. “God called each of us by name.”
God’s call carries divine purpose, Reccord added, noting that “Jesus blows apart the myth of sacred and secular. Wherever God calls you to minister is sacred.”
[2]Ken Weathersby, a NAMB field representative, echoed Reccord’s words in an April 7 message about being on mission for Christ.
Using Hebrews 12:1-2 as his text, Weathersby reminded the chapel audience that God has a plan for each person’s life, noting, “We are to tell His story.
“In order to tell His story, God has said we need to be prepared,” Weathersby said. “We need to get rid of the weights that encumber us.”
He added that this includes getting rid of anything that takes one’s attention off God’s work. “Release the sin that trips you,” such as pride or an unforgiving heart, he said, pointing to the necessity of asking the Holy Spirit to reveal sin in order to be controlled by His power.
Weathersby further stated that God’s plan has a price. Expounding on the illustration used by the writer of Hebrews, he said Christians are like athletes who very often have to run while in pain.
“God’s plan comes with a promise that He will give us power,” Weathersby concluded. “He works beside us to tell His story.”
Seminary President R. Philip Roberts said North American missions is “high on the priority list of Midwestern Seminary. If we don’t impact the homeland with the Gospel, we certainly will not be able to touch the world.”
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