Back in college, I was greatly moved by a small InterVarsity Press booklet titled “Called, But Not Going.” 
It confronted the issue of Christians who sensed God calling them into missions or ministry, but then over the years, allowed “the cares of this world” to kill the call of God so that they never went. The booklet sought to turn them back to God’s call.

It was very compelling, but as I understood more of the Bible, I became troubled by one major implication of this booklet—that it only applied to a special group who had received a “special” call to “the ministry,” i.e., to full-timeservice. It did not apply to the vast majority of regular Christians who never received such a call. They were not called to the same level of commitment, godliness, and ministry. With no “special call,” everyday Christians are mostly off the hook for the Great Commission and relegated to a secondary role to pay, pray, and obey.

The result of this theology is a huge gap between clergy (those in full-time ministry) and lay people. I saw this gap profoundly illustrated when I helped our church host its annual regional pastor’s conference. I met some wonderful pastors. But their statements showed the size of the clergy/laity gap. Pastors spoke repeatedly about how “God called me into the ministry,” “before (and after) I was called into the ministry,” “those of us in the ministry,” etc. By implication, the rest of the church was not in the ministry.

While this was one of the strongest clergy/laity divisions I’ve witnessed, this thinking permeates the church. Lay Christians are considered a separate class from those in the ministry. Since they do not have the training, the time, or the special call, the church cannot expect that much from them. They are reduced to a secondary support role and largely relieved of the full calling of God in the New Testament.

The late Pete Hammond of Ministry in Daily Life (www.urbana.org/whole-life-stewardship) said, “We have established a two tier community of faith with the exaltation of pastors, missionaries and ‘full-time workers’ as the elite strike force of the kingdom. Everyone else is quietly, but terribly effectively relegated to a ‘pray, pay and obey’ passivity. Lord, forgive our blindness!”  (October 1998)

While the Bible tells how God called people to specific tasks, it says nothing of a special call which elevates some Christians to a special class with a higher calling and level of discipleship than other Christians who live at a lower level. This terrible theology has deeply harmed the church.

God’s call is primarily to himself. This is the innate meaning of calling—that someone, in this case God, summons another person to himself. God calls all Christians to submit all of their lives to him as Lord. As Lord, he owns us, and in salvation, we return our lives to him and receive his incredible pardon for our rebellion. As Paul says, Christians are“called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Rm. 1:5-7)

And this means all their lives so that “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Co 10:31) If Christians are called to honor God in such basic habits as eating and drinking, then they are certainly called to do so in all other parts of their lives. Depending on where God has placed them, God has a calling for Christians as workers, as bosses, as spouses, as children, as parents, as neighbors, as landlords, as citizens, and so forth.

In all these callings, Christians are to think, live and speak Christianly, demonstrating the divine difference the gospel makes in their lives. The implications of these callings are innumerable. Let me mention one important one. Christians are called to stand quietly, but firmly for what is good and right in the workplace, community, and nation, even in the face of social, political, and legal pressure.

Joined with God’s call to submit all of life to him is his call to bring others to him as Lord to receive his extravagant, undeserved pardon and love—in other words, to make disciples. Every Christian is called to seek for Jesus’ kingdom (his reign) to come, for his will to be done, and for every knee to bow to him. (Mt. 6:10; Php. 2:10; Rm. 14:11) One of the great insights of the Reformation was the rediscovery that all Christians are called to be priests who reconcile others to God. Sadly, this has yet to be fully implemented.

As Christians follow Christ, they internalize his heart and long to see people become disciples from every people and nation. (Mt. 28:19) They cannot be satisfied reaching only their own people. And Christians are called to do this primarily through living and speaking for God in all areas of their lives.

This is God’s call to all Christians. There is no lesser calling!

Biblically, this is why tentmakers and everyday disciples are so important. Full-time Christians cannot impact society alone. Only workplace Christians can demonstrate the gospel in all of life and make disciples in all sectors of society. And it is they who have regular contact with nonbelievers in all walks of life.

Many people see Christianity as irrelevant. The church is losing influence in society. Most people are Biblically illiterate. Despite mega-churches, the church is shrinking. It is rapidly losing young people—75% during college years.

This cannot be remedied by better worship services and programs. People need to see the power of the gospel in the nitty-gritty of life—that it works for everyday people under the demands, pressures, and joys of everyday life, not just for full-time workers who get paid to be spiritual and talk about God. They must see supernaturally transformed, ordinary Christians. Unless the church transforms people rather than programs, it will fade away, though it may look good for awhile longer. And we will continue to export the same weaknesses overseas through our missions work.

Only workplace Christians can live out the gospel under the demands of everyday life. Only they can steadily influence co-workers and neighbors through their godly example and moral insight. It was this diffusion of Christian thinking and morals which made America so successful. And only this can transform nations today. Everyday Christians fulfilling God’s calling are absolutely indispensable for God’s purposes.

Imagine the impact if everyday Christians recovered their high calling before the watching world. Imagine the reaction if all Christians showed up at work next Monday and served their boss as if they were serving the Lord himself (Eph 6:5-8, Col 3:22-23). And imagine this happening in all areas of Christians’ lives! It would astonish the world!

God has called us to such a high calling that we need no “special call.” We just need to grab hold of his calling with all our being, willing to go wherever he leads, whether to our local workplace or to another country. If we do this, Jesus will surely be with us, lead us and empower us “with all authority in heaven and on earth.” (Mt. 28:18-20) And he will make a difference through us