The Call

Falls Creek Baptist Church camp was my summer haven as a child and as a teen.  I look back with such fond memories!  I got my first kiss at that camp. I also got a tush full of cactus pricks at the same time.  (I had sat down on a cactus; the poor guy never knew.)  My friend had to pick them out later as I shared my story of my first kiss. I must be a great storyteller because she went on to marry that guy 5 or 6 years later.

Falls Creek was where I first received the call to become a pastor.  I know it was God, because it was the same voice that invited me to become a part of His family 5 years prior at the age of 11.  It was a hot summer evening and I could feel the breeze blowing through the open air pavilion.  I was 16 and feeling pretty invincible!  It was one of the special services where they added an altar call for those feeling called to ministry.  I once again found myself at the altar, as if I had been transported from my seat, past hundreds of teens, down to the front!  Tears were streaming down my face, my heart was pounding; it felt as if I had just run a marathon.  I was excited and scared, my head was swirling, but I knew without a doubt that this was what Jesus was asking from me: I was to serve Him and serve His church. 

They called us to a back area. A pastor then walked up to me and quietly told me that females couldn't be pastors.  He said I could work with children or be a missionary, but I could not pastor. 

My head began to swim with emotion.  I knew this was Jesus. I knew it like I knew the concrete under my feet was both hard and cool.  Then in that moment I thought of my mom: could this pastor be mistaken?  He could!  He could love Jesus and still be wrong.

I knew my heart was right. I had learned the touch and voice of Jesus.  So, what now?  I turned around and went back to my seat.  I told Jesus I was His and that I would follow Him, no turning back, no turning back!  

This was my first encounter with misogyny, but not my last.  I am so grateful for my mom!  She taught me to honor, and yet question.  I honored that man and sat down, but I questioned his statement in my heart.  So I set my face towards Jesus and endured!  It was His story to write and if He didn't want me as a pastor then He wouldn't open the doors.  But He did!  He opened doors over and over, and I believe He is not through yet!  Has it been easy?  Absolutely not!  I could have believed the pastor and walked away from open doors.  I could have lived a quiet life and avoided a lot of pain, but I would have also missed out on some grand adventures!  

What doors have you walked away from out of fear?  It’s time to forgive those who made you afraid, and also to forgive yourself!  You are amazing! God is not finished writing His story, and He's definitely not finished with you!  What is the call on your life?  What are you doing today to pursue that call?  If you are in a valley, that's ok! Embrace the valleys. He is there, and He is undergirding you in this season.  It is time to believe that God is for you, because He definitely is!  If you have been sitting on the side of the road watching everyone else move forward, it's time to dust yourself off and get back on your road, to the real you!  Embrace yourself, love yourself, and bring YOU to the road!  For you, my friend, are valuable! 

I hope our roads pass and that I get to hear a piece of your journey!

On the road to real,

Deborah Dawn Martin