Of all the voices in the world calling you to be this or do that with your life, how will you discern God’s call? While God calls persons into full or part time ministry, biblically God’s call has less to do with the job you get paid for and everything to do with the kingdom impact you were born to have on the world. Living in response to God’s call involves trusting the Lord in the midst of the darkness and waiting for the light to dawn. But how are we to discern God’s light, as opposed to the light of our own desires or our need to please others?

Isaiah’s Vision

Consider the prophet Isaiah, whose call story is found in Isaiah Chapter 6. “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple” (v. 1). The mention of King Uzziah’s death tells us something about Isaiah’s state of mind. Israel prospered under Uzziah when he listened to the Lord, but he eventually ignored God’s commands, and died in isolation as a leper. And Isaiah had reason to be discouraged. The king was dead, a new inexperienced ruler was on the throne, the nation was drifting into idolatry (again), and their enemies were growing stronger. Where was God in all of this?

“Above him [the Lord] stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke” (v. 1-4).

God answered Isaiah’s question with a vision of heaven in which it became clear that while weak and sinful earthly rulers may die or be unseated, God reigns eternal. The angels proclaim His holiness, which extends throughout the world. The temple is shaken and filled with the smoke of God’s presence and power, echoing the pillar of cloud at Mt. Sinai, and the cloud of God’s glory that filled the temple (Exodus 13:21-22, 19:18 and I Kings 8:10-12).

Isaiah’s Reaction

In a time of uncertainty, God reveals Himself to Isaiah in His heavenly glory to confirm that He is King and reigns in heaven, regardless of what may be happening on earth. His sovereignty is never in question. This assurance is a prerequisite to hearing God’s call! And what is Isaiah’s reaction? ^“And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (v. 5).

Despite his intelligence, privilege, personal integrity and devout faith, Isaiah sees himself for who he really is, a sinful man among a sinful people. In the light of God’s glory, Isaiah’s sins and failings became evident… and damning. He was before God without a mediator, without any covering or sacrifice. And if the priests could only go into the holy of holies once a year, and only after making sacrifices for themselves and the people so they would not fall dead, there was no chance of survival for Isaiah, who was in God’s presence with zero preparation.

God’s Response

In response to this realization, the Lord acts. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (v. 6-7). The altar was the place in the temple where the people’s sins were dealt with through animal sacrifice, foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on Calvary as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  The angel takes a burning coal to purify Isaiah’s lips, which were the source of his sins and the instrument of his impending ministry. As a result of the angel’s action, Isaiah’s guilt is removed, his sins are forgiven, the source of his fear is gone, and he is fit for service.

The Call to Ministry

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, “Here I am. Send me!” (v. 8). God revealed Himself to Isaiah for the purpose of preparing him for ministry. Prior to his cleansing, Isaiah heard only the angels proclaiming God’s holiness, and of course, the accusing voice of his own conscience. But now he can hear the voice of the Triune God speaking to the council of angels, asking, “Who will be the messenger to my people? Who will go for us?” And this time Isaiah answers without hesitation or reluctance, “Here Am I. Send me.” The assurance of God’s absolution and a clear conscience are evident in Isaiah’s desire to answer the call. And from his experience we can draw three conclusions.

1. Worship precedes service – humbly seeking the Lord in worship is the first step in determining the what, where, when, why, and how of God’s calling in a particular season of your life. In Scripture, God’s call sometimes came through a vision, dream, or some other supernatural phenomenon. But most experience an urging of the Holy Spirit to serve in a particular way or to use a particular gift of the Spirit for the common good.

2. Self-awareness precedes action – understanding one’s current condition and circumstances will clarify what you lack that God must provide before he can use you for his intended purpose.

3. Formation precedes confirmation – formation refers to the process of preparation one undergoes in order to carry out their ministry/calling. But formation is not the same as confirmation. Some think that if you have a Bible college or seminary degree or if you have a special skill in service or leadership, you automatically qualify for a particular ministry. But no one in the church is self-appointed. God always uses the Church to confirm a person to ministry after a time of formational preparation, whether lay or ordained.

I pray that in this season of life, as you seek the Lord, His call to you will become clear, as it did for Isaiah. And that you will respond as he did, “Here am I. send me!”

Pr. Jeff Morlock is on the staff of the North American Lutheran Church and is Director of Vocational Discernment for the North American Lutheran Seminary. He may be reached at
jmorlock@thenals.org

I admit my tendency to often base my columns on the insights and observations of other writers.  No doubt some of you question whether I have any original thoughts, opinions and ideas.  The answer is yes I do; on occasion.

However, sometimes I come across an article that I’m convinced needs to be brought to your attention; and the sooner the better.  That’s definitely the case with the article, in the November, 2021, issue of Christianity Today, entitled “Empty Pews Are an American Public Health Crisis.”   The authors of this article are Tyler Vanderweele and Brenden Case.  Vanderweele is director of the Human Flourishing Project at Harvard University, and Case is the associate director of that same program.

The “public health crisis” they are bringing to our attention is the toll decreased in-person worship attendance is taking on American public health.  This crisis has been developing over many years.  However, the Covid pandemic has, to an alarming degree, contributed, since early 2020, to the severity of this crisis.  And it is a crisis in terms of not only mental, emotional and spiritual health; but physical health as well.

One sentence from this article expresses the authors’ theme succinctly: “People find their social and personal lives improved — sometimes their lives are even physically saved — when they go to church often.”

This article cites recent Barna Group surveys.  In 2011, 43% of Americans stated that they attended church weekly.  In 2020, this had declined to 29%.

Another quote from the article: “A number of large, well-designed research studies have found that religious service attendance is associated with greater longevity, less depression, less suicide, less smoking, less substance abuse, better cancer and cardiovascular-disease survival, less divorce, greater social support, greater meaning in life, greater life satisfaction, more volunteering, and greater civic engagement.”

And more specific to worship attendance: “Our research (at the Harvard University Human Flourishing Project) suggests that religious service attendance specifically, rather than private practices or self-assessed religiosity or spirituality, most powerfully predicts health.”

And this: “Our own research indicates that declining religious service attendance accounts for about 40 percent of the rise in (national) suicide rates over the past 15 years.  If the declines in attendance could have been prevented, how many lives could have been saved?”

Another quote: “In sum, there are a number of ways in which religious service attendance might positively influence a person’s mental and physical well-being, including providing a network of social support, offering clear moral guidance, and creating relationships of accountability to reinforce positive behavior.”

One more recent Barna Group survey indicates the even more immediate crisis that has developed due to the pandemic’s impact on worship attendance.  They found that about a third of “practicing Christians” have stopped joining in-person worship completely due to the pandemic.  And “this group reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than those still worshiping…”

So are there any helpful suggestions for our congregations after reading these demoralizing revelations?  Absolutely.  Here are three mentioned in this article.

1. “When the present pandemic has passed, it will be important to reestablish face-to-face meetings and services, rather than relying entirely on remote alternatives.”

2. “This research should challenge the growing number of Americans who self-identify as “spiritual but not religious,” or who harbor doubts about organized religion, to consider whether their own spiritual journeys might be better undertaken in a community of like-minded seekers and under the discipline of a tried and tested tradition of belief and practice.”

3. “Finally, this research has implications on a more individual level.  For the roughly half of all Americans who do believe in God but do not regularly attend services, the relationship between service attendance and health may constitute an invitation back to communal religious life.”

And my suggestion?  Perhaps read this article again, and while doing so ask yourself how these insights can guide your congregation’s ministry planning for 2022.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

When COVID hit last year, having an online presence (often including live streaming of our worship services) became a more common tool to help churches stay connected with their congregations.  However, many people may have discovered the hard way that we can’t just put anything we want online.  There are legal obstacles that need to be taken into account.  Chief among these is copyright.  As both an attorney for over two decades and the Media Director at Trinity Lutheran Church in Joppa, Maryland, this presented a proverbial dance that I was all too familiar with.

What is copyright?  In short, it is the protection given to content creators to make sure other people don’t take or use their content without their permission.  If you write a song, you don’t want another singer recording it and passing it off as their own.  If you make a movie, you don’t want a rival studio distributing it to theaters and making all the money off of it.  Copyright is a way of making sure that if you create something, you get to decide what to do with it.

A lot of the things we are used to having in our worship services are subject to copyright.  Do you sing music?  There are probably copyright issues.  Have you shown video clips?  Again, someone owns the copyright.  There are multiple levels of copyright.  The original composition/tune, particular arrangement, individual performance, and even the recording can all have separate levels of copyright.  So just because a hymn, for example, is in the public domain does not mean you can pull up a recording of the Westminster Children’s Choir singing it and play it on your stream.  Public domain only covers the original tune, not the arrangement, performance and recording.

So, does this mean we throw in the towel and don’t live stream anything?  Fortunately, no.  We just need to make sure we are doing it the right way.  For anything you put online, you need to make sure you have permission, and the way you get permission is by purchasing a license.

In Christian circles this means Christian Copyright Licensing International, or as they’re more commonly known, CCLI.  CCLI offers different levels of licensing depending on the needs of your church.  They have an enormous selection of Christian songs, both traditional and contemporary, in their Song Select library.  In fact, you’ll probably be hard pressed to find a Christian song that isn’t included.  One level of licensing covers things you may not even have known you need a license for.  For example, even if you aren’t live streaming, making photocopies of music to hand out to your choir or displaying copyrighted lyrics on a screen for your congregation to read are things for which you should have a license.  CCLI licenses allow you to do all of this.  Their lowest level also gives you permission to record your services to be viewed later.  If you want to live stream with your own musicians, you’ll need their Streaming License.  They even offer a Streaming Plus level that lets you use backing tracks or play the original artist’s master recordings during your service if you like.  The important thing is to look at the needs of your church, compare them to the various licensing options, and make sure you get the correct license for your needs.

There are two final caveats.  First, a CCLI license only covers songs played or sung during worship services.  It does not allow churches to make other online content with the music (i.e., podcasts, church produced music videos, etc.).  Second, it covers only the songs, not someone else’s music videos.  So, for example, you may be able to play the audio of a song over your stream, but that does not authorize you to show all the images contained in the artist’s music video for that song.  There is another layer of copyright protection for the video images.

The ramifications if you do not have an appropriate license could be severe.  First, your church could be sued for a copyright violation.  Second, whatever online platform you are using to live stream your services could revoke your ability to do so.  But most importantly, getting the proper licenses ensures that the person who put in the creative effort to make the content is getting properly compensated for their work.  If we are trying to set a Christ-centered example, then one way we can do that is to not use someone’s else’s property without their permission.

LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE

Devotional for the Baptism of Our Lord, January 7, 2018

based upon Mark 1: 4-11

If you have ever been to Sea World then you know that there are certain sections in the seating that they always give you fair warning about.  If you sit too close – in fact, if you sit anywhere in the entire front half – at what used to be the Shamu show, you will certainly get wet.  And not only wet, you will get totally soaked.  Which is why they call that area the Soak Zone.

I remember going to the Shamu show at Sea World in San Diego.  Shamu and several of his friends lined up around the perimeter of the pool and then, with their heads down in the water, used their flukes to totally splash the people in the stands.  You just know that those whales were totally enjoying it.  But many of the people were not enjoying it.  Not only because they were now soaked to the bone and the water is very cold, salty, and smells like fish, but also because of all their non-waterproof and expensive camera and video equipment.  

But then there were the children and young people who had gathered right at the edge of the pool in the hope and expectation that they will get soaked.  They squealed with joy as the water drenched them.  Unlike the people with the expensive camera equipment, they took great delight in their cold, wet, salty, and smelly soaking by Shamu.

Through our baptisms, we have been called by God to Living in the Soak Zone.  And yet I notice that a lot of people want to avoid the Soak Zone, just like at Sea World.  What does it mean to live in the Soak Zone?  What all is involved with being baptized into Jesus Christ?  The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “We were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (6: 4)  What does that mean?  What is it like Living in the Soak Zone?  I can think of three things.

First, LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE – BEING BAPTIZED – IS ABOUT BEGINNING ANEW.  It is about having a fresh start.  According to the apostle Paul, we emerge from baptism to “walk in newness of life.”  Baptism transforms us.  Having been baptized, we are to think, speak, act, and live in ways that represent Christ to the world.  Living in the Soak Zone – baptism – transforms selfishness into generosity, prejudice into love, and hesitancy into boldness.  Does all that happen the moment we are baptized?  No.  But these are the kinds of things that happen to us as we continue to live in the Soak Zone.  The Christian life is an ongoing transformation in which we continue to be shaped by the presence of Christ within us.

Second, LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE – BEING BAPTIZED – IS ABOUT BEING INCLUDED.  Through our baptisms we are included in the body of Jesus Christ.  Through our baptisms we receive a love that draws us in and holds us together.  It is a love that enables us to disagree without being disagreeable.  The waters of baptism are not only the means for the cleansing of sin. They also have the power to break down barriers between people.  Living in the Soak Zone, we share a common relationship with our Lord Jesus, in which old divisions and old designations no longer apply.  

Third, LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE – BEING BAPTIZED – IS ABOUT BEING CALLED TO SERVICE.  With baptism comes the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit come gifts that are to be used in the service of God.  Too many view ministry just as something that the pastor and the other paid church staff do.  But according to the Bible, ministry is the work in which all baptized believers are to become involved in response to the call of God and Christ’s claim on our lives.  Baptism marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and baptism also marks our call into ministry.  When we enter the household of God, we do so with the belief that God has called each one of us to some particular work that will utilize our gifts for building up the body of Christ and for making a better world.

And so, like the people at the Shamu show, we get a rather thorough soaking from the Holy Spirit at our baptisms.  Some will decide that they are not particularly fond of cold, salty, smelly water.  Especially if it costs them something – like their lives.  Which is a whole lot more costly than just expensive camera and video equipment.  And so they will do their best to move as quickly as they can out of the Soak Zone.  

Others will be like the children and young people, who gather at the edge of the pool and take great delight in being thoroughly soaked.  Even though the water is cold and salty and smells like fish, they will take great delight in following Jesus – even when following Him will take them out of their comfort zone into the Soak Zone of the Holy Spirit.

So how about you?  How do you feel about having been placed in the Soak Zone through your baptism?  Do you want to get out of it – and as quickly as possible?  Or do you take great delight in knowing that God is your Father, who gives you new beginnings, who has included you in His family, and who has called you into His service?

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE