What is a Calling?
By Rodney Bullard
CEO The Same House PBC | Former Senior Executive at Chick-fil-A / Global CSR, ESG and Marketing Leader | Best-Selling Author | Former AUSA | Former Air Force JAG l Corporate and Non-profit Board Director
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy
We talk about calling in a traditional sense. We’re talking about there’s a calling on your life. There’s a purpose for your life, what God has called you to do. Now use that gift to help us come together to be one. In a Biblical sense, a “calling” is explained in a few different ways. The first is a call for people to know and be like Christ. The focus is on faith, obedience, and character. The second calling concerns work, whether spiritual, leadership, or any other legitimate vocation. It’s about providing a service and adding value to your community. And the third calling centers on “place,” whether it’s a relationship, vocation, or social status. All these explanations are about God’s will for our lives and how to serve others with the gifts we’ve been given.
With so much emphasis placed on the worth of a calling, it can feel daunting to identify the one that speaks to us. It leads many to question if what they are drawn to is a calling or something else like a desire or dream. The weight of it can be felt in this scripture verse from the apostle Paul:
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)
One way to interpret this scripture is that your calling is much larger than just one thing. For example, instead of a vocation like a lawyer, it’s about the big picture of providing justice for all people. Your calling is how you choose to show up, honor, and serve God. This removes the pressure of having just a singular calling. It’s about having a conviction or strong urge that makes you want to act. It’s an inner persuasion that starts creating more internal noise until it can no longer be ignored.
As leadership and equity coach Tanya Williams says:To know something, you’ve got to let it reveal itself. To know something, you’ve got to dig deeper, get curious about it – let it wrestle you to the ground, then turn around and wrestle it to the ground. You’ve got to study it not by just reading about it from a distance, but by asking it to visit and practicing telling it when it is time to leave.
In this context, a calling starts with curiosity. It’s about digging into our character and tying our core values to what is being witnessed. It allows our interest to lead us down a path of discovery and reveals how and why we are compelled to learn more. Then it’s using that information to take a seat at a table.