| As was the tradition
for the last morning of senior high camp at Silver Springs, FL,
we gathered in a huge circle for our closing. There were 144 of
us and I am sure there was not a dry eye in the group as we sang
some of those songs that always seem to touch you down to the tippy-toe
of your soul.
Again, as was the tradition, there was a call
for anyone, who was feeling that God might be asking them to open
their hearts to the possibility of some form of ministry as their
vocation, to step forward into the circle.
We were all holding hands and I was anxious to
see who might do so. This was my first year at senior high camp;
I was entering 10th grade the next year. I knew that I was
either going to be a lawyer or a foreign diplomat; my mom told me
I needed to do something that would make money and both of those
jobs sounded pretty good to me!
As I stood there watching everyone else, the strangest
thing happened. My good friends on both sides of me dropped hold
of my hand and each one took a step backward! Suddenly, I was inside
the big circle, like I was interested in being a minister!
For an instant, I wondered what had happened...then,
I realized that my friends had not stepped backward. I had stepped
forward! My feet had followed my heart and my soul. In the next
instant, my mind caught up and I knew that this was God's call to
me. Now my whole body was united in this
acclamation of God's call. God wanted me as servant/leader/minister
for the rest of my life.
Many years later, I was reading a marvelous book,
Wishful Thinking, by Frederick Buechner. I ran across this sentence..."If
you want to know what kind of Christian you really are, watch where
your feet take you!" I have found that to be true not just in everyday
life, but for me, in my very call to ministry.
Dr. Ben Bohren
NBA Director of Church Relations
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