Called to What?
A Leadership Forum
October 1, 2003
Painted on squad cars of many police departments is the motto: "To serve and to protect." The calling for pastors is similarly twofold: to serve and to lead. Two noble tasks. But those two aspects of the pastoral calling don't always mesh smoothly. Some people want you to be more of a leader—until they disagree with something you've done. Then they suggest you should be more of a servant. Leadership sat down with three pastors who've had extensive experience in serving, leading, and figuring out how to do both simultaneously. Leith Anderson pastors Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has served as interim president of Denver Seminary and the National Association of Evangelicals, and has written Leadership that Works and A Church for the 21st Century. Erwin McManus, after planting churches among the urban poor in Texas, is lead pastor of Mosaic, a congregation in Los Angeles, and author of Uprising: A revolution of the soul, An Unstoppable Force: Daring to become the church God had in mind, and Seizing Your Divine Moment. Glenn Wagner is pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, a former vice president of Promise Keepers, and author of Escape from Church Inc. and The Church You've Always Wanted. How did you recognize your calling? Erwin McManus: I became a believer during college, and I thought when you became a follower of Jesus that ministry was what you did! So I told my mom, "I'm not going back to college. I'm going to go out and tell everyone about Jesus." I didn't know what that meant, but I figured that's what it meant to be converted. I ended up going back to college, but I talked to my Christian friends, "It's going to be amazing when all of us, all over the world, are preaching the Scriptures!" "What ...
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