my life- so throughout my teen years, I pursued that dream. That’ s when I knew I wanted to have a“ career” in music! When I was 19 years old, I believed I had a“ calling” from the Lord- my savior Jesus- to use my music to bring the Good News of the Gospel to my generation. I loved the message of salvation by the grace of Christ, and I was committed to that calling. Jesus said in the Gospel account of Matthew in chapter 6.“ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” When I pursued this calling, I felt I had a deeper purpose and not only that, I believe I became the musician I was meant to be. What a blessing to grow as a musician, a career, with a greater purpose, my calling to sing and play in the Name of Jesus!”
~ Phil Keaggy
Even Artificial Intelligence seems to have an understanding of this topic. AI says,“ A career is a chosen profession, often involving advancement and financial stability, while a calling is a deep-seated sense of purpose and passion, often linked to a sense of contributing to something greater than oneself. A calling can be a driving force behind one’ s career, but it can also be expressed through other aspects of life like volunteering or family.”
Personally, I’ ve always thought of a career versus calling this way: A career is a series of steps( jobs) on a pathway towards a goal or objective. But it’ s easy for us to make wrong decisions or job choices and thereby stray from that path. A calling on the other hand, is summed up in Proverbs 3: 5-7,“ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the
Lord and depart from evil.”
It’ s a series of steps that include an“ inner impulse, and a sense of purpose placed in God’ s hands”. In the words of a pastor I once heard,“ A calling keeps calling.”
It’ s important to remember that not all disciplines in a calling are the same for everyone. That means that there are certain requirements that come with each calling. In other words,“ different strokes for different folks”. Listen to the link I’ ve provided here from Michael Bethany.
It is our integrity wrapped in humility that brings life to our worship and Gospel message. And even when you know you are called, you need to be prepared for encounters and circumstances that arise far different from personal vices and temptation. Those challenges would certainly include dishonesty, injustice, jealousy, gossip, backstabbing, and avarice, even in the context of some Christian businesses. We are exposed to all of these.
The Armor of God, as outlined in Ephesians 6, is a well-known passage that we all should adhere to. That armor protects us from what we are facing. But not all battles are out in front of us, are they? Some of our conflicts come from our own brethren. They come from behind us. I’ ve learned painfully that unethicalness is not relegated to non-believers. There is another piece of armor not found in Ephesians 6, but in Isaiah 59:17. There, another piece of armor is mentioned called the Cloak of Zeal, and it’ s our zeal to continue in service to God that keeps us going in ministry and calling.
My advice is to not necessarily let others define you.“ Everyone loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” is a twist on a modern church adage but nevertheless, holds some truth to it.
I will conclude with a personal musing. Many years ago, I was working on staff at
Maranatha! Music, then owned by Calvary Chapel. Because I had formerly been a full-time musician, I continued to take recording session work whenever possible. One day I was called into the office and asked if I had been playing on a competitor church’ s recordings. When questioned, my answer was,“ Yes.” I was told not to record for them any longer or lose my job. But even then, I knew my calling. Did I stop from playing? No. I merely changed my name for crediting purposes. On some of those early
Vineyard Worship albums you’ ll see the name, Happy Sanchez. That’ s me.
So, what road are you on? A career or a calling? If you’ re on a career path, always do your best as unto the Lord. If you have a calling, don’ t let anything or anyone attempt to take it away from you. May we never lose the plot. May we never forget our calling by losing sight of His plan for our lives. It’ s our faithfulness to our calling that determines our impact.
Alex MacDougall Alex MacDougall, Adjunct Professor of Music Business at Dallas Baptist University, is a record producer, drummer / percussionist, journalist and music business executive. As a musician and record label executive, he has performed on, marketed, and / or produced hundreds of best-selling projects in all genres of music.
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