When God Calls, Follow Wherever He Leads

As I am preparing to speak to a group of young pastors in south Texas, my thoughts have returned to Jonah and a long-ago presentation I did for another group of young ministers, entitled, “Settled at the Start.”  One day Jonah received a call from God to go to Nineveh and preach (Jonah 1:1-2).   Nineveh was an ancient city with an unhappy past.  These days we would call service in Nineveh, Urban Ministry or perhaps Church Starting. While there were many people there, it was not a popular assignment for an up-and-coming prophet with an impressive resume.  So, Jonah had a decision to make.  Should he go to Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian empire, or go somewhere else, like to Joppa and on to Tarshish – resort missions perhaps? Jonah missed an important feature of God’s call to ministry – the proper response is, “wherever He leads, I’ll go.”  When I left collegiate ministry in Texas for a national consultant position with the then, Home Mission Board, I took a salary cut.  Again, when I left the Home Mission Board to join the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Seminary, I took another salary cut. I clearly remember the Dean telling me, “You will need to write books, lead conferences, or serve as an interim pastor, to supplement your salary. Some, including members of my family, were wondering why.  I was simply doing what, as a teen-ager, I told God I would do – follow anywhere. In other words, I had settled it at the start. Following anywhere, at any time, is a principle that goes beyond God’s call to vocational ministry.  Fortunately for Jonah, after a brief visit to the inside of a large fish, he got a re-call (Jonah 3:1). So, wherever you are in your life journey, when God calls, agree to follow, wherever He leads.