CULTIVATING YOUR CALL
 
In this study guide, I tackle the issue of how to know if you are called and what to do about it. Short of going to Bible school or seminary, this study shows you many practical things you can now to help cultivate your call and prepare for ministry.
 
I use my own testimony of how God called me, confirmed it along the way, and led me through an incremental process that brought me into the ministry I walk in today. 
 
I take time to establish the concept that everything God does is a co-operative effort: He has His part, and we have ours. If we ever confuse the two, we will not come into what God has for us.
 
These notes provide a Biblical basis for the premise that while we may feel called, God wants to establish this in a way that is obvious to others. He always establishes what He has said or is saying. This should allow us to be free of manipulation and self-promotion. These notes deal with the delicate issue of presumption, where people ordain themselves to the ministry rather than waiting for God to invite them to the table.
 
There is an order to ordination. First, it happens in our hearts. Then, the Lord uses other men who can perceive our call and readiness to set us into a place of ministry. In a section called “Walking with Your Shoes on the Wrong Feet,” Penn address the frustration of how some who are called end up doing ministry that God has not purposed for them to do.