Jamie Dew said for him, everything changed the night of June 16, 1995, when he was at a Centrifuge camp.
“The night I came to Jesus, I knew two things,” he said. “Number one was that I was home in Jesus, and number two that I was going to spend the rest of my life doing this.”
He didn’t know what “this” meant at the time, other than some kind of ministry — and he definitely never pictured his current role as president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dew told the 128 high school and college students present at the Called conference Aug. 5 at Samford University that even though that uncertainty can be an uncomfortable place to be, it’s a great place for God to work in them.
“You’re at this really exciting, scary, maybe vulnerable time in your life, and you know God’s stirring in your heart to do ministry, but you don’t know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing,” he said. “You’re exactly where you need to be.”
During the conference, designed for young men and women exploring a call to ministry of any kind, Dew shared how God clarifies that call — He cultivates individuals as they grow in their love for Him.
Start with Scripture
“You won’t be able to go to a weekend seminar and come out knowing, ‘Man, I know exactly what I’m supposed to do,’” Dew said. “That’s not unheard of, but it’s not normal.”
He said God often deliberately holds the specifics back as he did with Abraham so that his people learn to trust and follow Him more closely. Dew told students that to discern God’s call on their life, they needed to start with Scripture — find out what the Bible says about following God.
Then live in what he called “sustained seasons of submission.”
Dew said it’s not about having a spiritual high and thinking you have it all figured out — it’s about walking with God and falling more in love with Him until your desires match His.
“As He cultivates you … as you walk in that season of submission, He’s going to rewire your heart,” Dew said. “All of a sudden the passions and the burdens of your heart begin to morph, and all of a sudden there are just going to be some things that show up that you didn’t put there, and that only happens if you walk faithfully with Him.”
He also challenged them not to wait until later to start serving in ministry — to serve right where they are in a variety of ways, from cleaning toilets at church to teaching Sunday School.
Dew told students they may find that God shows them passions they hadn’t realized, and He will use the other members of the church to point out and affirm places where they see giftings in them.
Students also had the opportunity during the conference to be introduced to different areas of service through breakout sessions that ranged in topic from international missions to leading as a pastor to women in ministry.
Biblical training
Larry Hyche, who serves as men’s spiritual development specialist at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said the biblical training offered to students at Called is “important because it helps them from ground level pursue God’s call in ministry leadership.”
“The healthy ministries of tomorrow start with healthy foundations today,” he said.
To close the day, Dew shared 10 necessities for ministry:
- Be a disciple and make disciples.
This is a person’s primary task as a follower of Christ and especially in ministry, he said.
- Protect your purity and your reputation.
Falling into sin doesn’t happen overnight, Dew said. He challenged students to learn to guard themselves now in the small things.
- Start serving now.
As Dew had challenged in an earlier session, he urged them again to roll up their sleeves and get started.
- Determine your spiritual gifts and calling.
He reminded them again of the importance of digging into Scripture and walking with Christ in sustained seasons of submission.
- Work hard and be dependable.
“The moment we’re in culturally is a flaky culture,” Dew said, challenging students to be ready to do hard things and persevere.
- Educate yourself.
Theological education, whether at the undergraduate level or seminary level, is important for the work of passing on the gospel faithfully to the next generation, he said.
- Learn how to communicate.
All ministry will involve writing and speaking, Dew said, challenging them to find ways to practice that now.
- Marry the right spouse.
He challenged students to find someone who is on board with the work God is calling them to, Dew said, noting that his wife “loves Jesus more than she loves me” and helps keep him focused.
- Manage your finances well and avoid going into debt.
“If your plan for college involves tens of thousands of dollars of debt, I would strongly encourage you to consider other options,” he said.
Debt will be an obstacle for serving overseas or in other capacities without limitations.
Find a way to pursue education that won’t be a handicap in the future, he said.
- Be involved in missional experiences.
Seeing the darkness and hopelessness of a place without Christ creates an important burden for a follower of Christ, he said.
“Go to the hard places,” Dew said. “It stirs your heart, changes your perspective, gives you the ability to dream a different dream and plants seeds and passions.”
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