Tag: calling

Called to be a Leader

I wrote this devotional reflection on Acts 2:37-42 before Commitment Sunday on 10 May 2026, verses used in worship at Stockton Corps on the same day.

There are moments when the gospel stops being an idea and becomes a summons. Acts 2:37-42 captures one of those moments. Peter’s words, spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit, pierced the hearts of the crowd. “Brothers, what shall we do?” they asked. It’s the cry of people suddenly aware that God is calling them into a different way of living. Peter’s answer was simple and demanding: “Repent and be baptised.” Leadership in the kingdom of God begins there, not with status, charisma, or ambition, but with surrender.

The world often imagines leaders as strong personalities who command attention and shape events through force of will. Yet the leaders born in Acts 2 emerged from repentance, humility, and openness to the Spirit. The church itself was born not from human planning, but from people responding faithfully to the call of God. Every Christian leader, whether standing in a pulpit, serving tea in a church hall, guiding children, visiting the lonely, or speaking up for justice, begins in exactly the same place: a heart transformed by grace.

Peter himself is proof of this. Only weeks earlier, he had denied Jesus three times. Fear had overwhelmed him. Yet now he stood boldly before thousands, proclaiming the risen Christ. God didn’t wait for Peter to become flawless before calling him to lead. Instead, God shaped Peter through failure, forgiveness, and renewal. That remains true today. Many people hesitate to lead because they feel inadequate, inexperienced, or wounded by past mistakes. But the Spirit who empowered Peter still calls ordinary people into extraordinary service.

Acts 2 also reminds us that leadership is deeply communal. The believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Leadership was never meant to be lonely heroism. The early church grew through shared devotion, shared meals, shared worship, and shared responsibility. Christian leadership is less about standing above others and more about walking with them. It means nurturing faith, encouraging hope, and helping people remain rooted in Christ when life becomes uncertain.

There is also a quiet courage in these verses. Around three thousand people were baptised that day. To identify publicly with Jesus in Jerusalem, so soon after his crucifixion, required bravery. Leadership often begins with the willingness to stand openly for what is right and true, even when it’s costly. In every generation, God calls people who’ll live differently; people who refuse hatred, who resist injustice, who choose compassion over cruelty, and who hold onto hope when despair feels easier.

The beautiful thing about this passage is that the call to leadership isn’t reserved for a select few. The promise Peter speaks of is “for you and your children and for all who are far off”. The Spirit is poured out widely. Leadership in the church isn’t about building personal influence; it’s about becoming available to God. Sometimes that leadership will be public, sometimes hidden and unseen. Yet both matter deeply in the kingdom of God.

To be called as a leader is, ultimately, to be called into faithful discipleship. It’s to listen for the Spirit, to remain devoted to prayer and community, and to point beyond ourselves to Jesus. The church still needs leaders shaped by Acts 2 leaders who are humble, Spirit-filled, courageous, compassionate, and deeply rooted in grace.

From Calling to Witness

There are seasons when hope arrives quietly, almost unnoticed, like the first green shoots after a long winter. We speak of God doing new things, yet we often expect clarity and momentum before we trust. Scripture invites us into a gentler posture of attentiveness.

Isaiah 43:19 whispers promise into dry places, see, I am doing a new thing, now it springs up, do you not perceive it, while Hosea 10:12 urges us to break up unploughed ground and seek the Lord until righteousness falls like rain. Together they call us to watchfulness, to faithful openness, to the slow work of soil being turned and grace already moving beneath the surface.

Isaiah 49:1–7 gives voice to the ache many carry, a sense of calling without visible fruit, labour poured out with little to show. The servant speaks honestly of frustration, yet still trusts that my reward is with the Lord. What feels hidden or wasted is held within a larger purpose, a calling that widens from restoring what is familiar to becoming a light to the nations. God’s work is rarely as small as we fear.

Psalm 40:1–12 captures the texture of lived faith. The psalmist waits patiently, cries out, and is heard. God lifts them from the pit and sets their feet on firm ground. Praise rises, not as performance, but as a life reshaped from within. Obedience matters more than sacrifice, because God’s law is written on the heart. Gratitude for past rescue sits alongside honest prayer for mercy, forgiveness, and help, reminding us that trust is both tender and resilient.

Paul opens his letter in 1 Corinthians 1:1–9 by speaking grace over a fragile community. They are called, gifted, and held, not because they are strong, but because God is faithful. Their future rests not on competence, but on the promise that God will sustain them to the end. It’s a reassurance for every imperfect believer who keeps turning up with open hands.

In John 1:29–42, everything turns on encounter. John the Baptist points beyond himself to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Two disciples follow, hesitant yet curious, and hear the simple invitation, come and see. They stay, they listen, they are changed, and witness begins to ripple outward, one life quietly touching another.

Across these readings runs a shared rhythm of calling before clarity, waiting before fruit, faithfulness before recognition. God works through what feels small, hidden, or unfinished. If we live with expectancy, offering our daily yes, we may discover that we’re already standing within God’s new thing, grace unfolding gently, faithfully, and far beyond what we can yet perceive.

Note: This devotional is based on worship I led at Horden Salvation Army on Sunday 18 January 2026, you can see my full notes by clicking here.