As part of my service to the church beyond the local parish, I serve on the Professional Preparation Managing Group of our Virginia Synod, Lutheran Church in America. This group is charged with the task of screening and supporting those of our synod who present themselves as candidates for church occupations, those who perceive in their lives a call to ordained ministry, the diaconnate, or service as lay professional leaders.

Most of the time it is rewarding to meet with and listen to those whose lives have been so touched through ordinary and sometimes extraordinary experiences that they feel vocational pulls and tugs leading them toward church occupations. I am enriched by hearing the stories of these men and women, watching them grow and mature as they move through the process, sharing…