Called to Serve (Part 9): The Ordination I Didn't Expect

Over the past several reflections, I have written about waiting, grief, uncertainty, leadership, tradition, and the quiet moments that shape a calling. This week, I want to reflect on something that took me years to understand: the difference between being recognized for a calling and actually living it. Looking back, I can identify moments when a formal title affirmed what God was already doing long before anyone made it official.

The Ordination I Didn't Expect

There's a version of this story where the ordination happens in a service.

Robes.

A laying on of hands.

A certificate.

A title conferred by people with the authority to confer it.

That happened for me too, eventually.

But it wasn't the moment I first understood what this calling could look like.

That moment came earlier.

In a hallway.

With no witnesses.

No certificate.

No ceremony.

Just a student who had failed an exam he had genuinely studied for.

He wasn't looking for a grade appeal.

He was looking for something deeper.

He wanted to know whether he still belonged in ministry at all.

I wasn't the chaplain yet, not officially.

I was a lecturer who happened to be standing in a hallway when someone needed to hear the truth kindly.

So I told him, in essence, that failure and calling are not the same conversation.

One bad examination does not disqualify a life.

I didn't think of that moment as chaplaincy at the time.

I think of it that way now.

When the Title Comes Later

I've come to understand that formal recognition and the beginning of a calling are not always the same moment.

An ordination service can be significant.

An appointment can carry genuine authority and responsibility.

A title can mark a new season of service.

But those things don't suddenly create the character required to serve.

Long before the certificate, there are usually smaller moments.

The student who needs someone to listen.

The person who calls late at night.

The difficult conversation.

The prayer nobody sees.

The decision to show up when nobody is applauding.

The quiet choice to care.

The institution may eventually recognize what has been developing through all those ordinary moments.

And sometimes the recognition takes longer than we expected.

Don't Wait for Permission to Become Who You're Called to Be

This matters because it changes how we wait.

If we believe the work only begins when someone gives us a title, we can spend years waiting for permission.

Waiting for the promotion.

Waiting for the appointment.

Waiting for the certificate.

Waiting for someone to finally say, "You're ready."

But some of the most formative preparation happens before anyone calls you by the title.

You learn to lead before you are called a leader.

You learn to care before you are called a caregiver.

You learn to teach before the position gives you authority.

You learn to serve before anyone recognizes you as a servant.

That doesn't make formal recognition meaningless.

It simply means that recognition should find something already being formed.

The Danger of Needing the Title

I also want to be careful here.

I'm grateful for the appointments and titles I have received. They carry real responsibility, and I don't take them lightly.

But I've watched people, myself included, in weaker moments, begin to believe that a title is what makes the work real.

It isn't.

A title can give you authority.

It can define responsibility.

It can open doors.

It can make a role official.

But it cannot manufacture compassion.

It cannot create character.

It cannot make someone genuinely willing to serve.

Those things have to be formed somewhere deeper.

Often, they are formed in places nobody is watching.

The Hallway Version of the Calling

Looking back, I think that is what the hallway taught me.

The most important moments in a calling may not look important when they happen.

There was no announcement that day.

Nobody introduced me as a chaplain.

Nobody took a photograph.

Nobody knew that a young man was wrestling with whether his failure meant his calling was over.

But for a few minutes, the work was clear:

Listen.

Speak truth.

Encourage.

Help someone stand again.

That was enough.

The title made the work official.

The hallway made it real.

Called to Serve

Galatians 5:13 says:

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." — Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

The verse begins with being called.

And then it moves immediately toward service.

That connection matters to me.

A calling is not ultimately about what people call you.

It is about what you are willing to give.

The title may tell people what position you occupy.

Your service tells them who you are becoming.

A Practical Lesson Beyond Ministry

Wherever you are — waiting for a promotion, certification, appointment, or an official seat at the table — don't let the waiting convince you that today's work doesn't count.

Practice the leadership now.

Practice the care now.

Practice the excellence now.

Serve where you are.

Build character where nobody is applauding.

Learn the work before the title arrives.

And if the recognition eventually comes, let it find someone who has already been doing the work rather than someone who is only now beginning to learn it.

A Question to Sit With This Week

Where in your life are you waiting for a title before you'll fully commit to work you may already be called to do?

Next week: “The Prayer I Almost Didn't Pray” — on the discipline of praying honestly, even when the words feel inadequate.

CALLED TO SERVE

My Life as a Chaplain

"You were called to be free... rather, serve one another humbly in love." — Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

A weekly reflection on chaplaincy, leadership, faith, and what it means to live a life of service.

🎵 Theme Song: “Called to Serve” "I am called to serve, to listen and to lead..."

This reflection is part of the Called to Serve series. Read all twelve parts on the Called to Serve page.