Preacher Call from God
Hello, I am Jeff Green, and I have a preacher call on my life. I am 59 years old and live in Greer South, Carolina, with my wife of forty-one years, Susan. We have two children, both married and three grandchildren. I am retired from Michelin Tire after thirty-five years there. I now work for the school district in building services.
Early Life and Conversion
I have one brother and two sisters of which I’m the oldest. My parents didn’t go to church regularly. One was Baptist, and the other was the Church of Christ. I went to a Baptist Church with my grandparents on my dad’s side. Around age thirteen or fourteen, when the preacher gave the invitation, I went down and was saved. A short time later, I was baptized. It’s strange because I don’t remember walking down. It was like I just floated.
God’s Leading and Calling
I volunteered in Emergency Services for over 35 years. I saw miracles that could only be described as, “God saved them.” After turning fifty-five, I retired. While I was working at a school, I saw a sign for a Christian radio station. I was down at the time, so I turned the radio to the station. I listened a little each day. One day, a preacher was talking about the rich man and Lazarus; explaining after they died. The light bulb in my head came on. After that, I listened to the radio, and I wrote down the scripture they were talking about. Then I read it.
Also, when our pastor preached on Sunday, I read what he was talking about. I heard a voice saying, “preach” when I read. At first, I thought it was just in my head. When I told my wife, she said the same thing. I told myself, “That voice can’t be true because I’m not smart enough and don’t know enough.” The next day, I read about people in the Bible that God used like Moses, a murderer, and the list went on. Then I read a sign, “God doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called.” I knew then that a preacher call from God was mine.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the mighty things.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord.
Calling Verified and Mentor Found
Now, when I hear, see, or read things like a word or a phrase, a whole sermon comes to my mind. I have even written most of them down. I went and met with my pastor at church. He told me that I should read the Bible daily and pray about it. Also, he said that they were about to start a Bible study called “Knowing and Doing the Will of God” that might help. That threw fuel on the fire!
I have read the Bible all the way through and the New Testament again since talking to my pastor. I started looking for information on answering my preacher call and getting ordained. Most of them were bachelors or masters degrees. I knew at my age, with education and the cost, that wouldn’t work. Others just wanted you to send money to get the papers. Since I don’t know if that is legal or even right, I did not do that.
I Found CLI
I was about to give up when I found the Christian Leaders Institute. So, I enrolled and started the first class. When I told my dad what I was doing, he said, “You better be sure.” Therefore, I prayed about it that night again, asking for guidance and wisdom. The next day, my daily devotion was titled “Engaged in a Great Work.” Nehemiah 6:2-3 says, “But I realized they were plotting to harm me, so I replied by sending this message to them; I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?” God answered my prayer and confirmed the preacher call. Everything I’ve heard and read at CLI is a good thing.
I am not certain where God will lead me in all this.
I have said that God is saving me for something. When I was three, I fell out of the car going down the road. At thirteen, I set myself on fire with gas. When I was fifteen and had my restricted license, a car barely missed the driver’s door. Around nineteen, the pickup truck that I was driving turned over on the highway in front of a tractor-trailer truck. Later, I was up in a tree twenty-five feet, and the tree fell with me in it. Then, while in the fire department, I sprayed water on a house fire. The water ran on to the downed power lines, and I was electrocuted. In all of these, I only received minor injuries. These incidences told me that God was not only with me but had plans for me that even I did not know.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.
CLI’s Amazing Education Opportunity
My name is Sandy Bullard, and I am thankful for this amazing education opportunity at CLI. I am an only child and grew up on a dairy/grain farm in upstate New York. I had both of my parents growing up. They enrolled me in Christian education classes every Monday. As early as five years old, I remember having a spiritual experience. Then, I knew that God was real. I had a little book of prayers that I read in my room, and I always liked the way it made me feel calm and happy. I remember my parents dropping me off at church when I was old enough to go alone.
Our family had many struggles and many dysfunctional times. It caused anger and rebellion in me that manifested in my teens. God kept me safe despite my foolishness. For that I am grateful. I experienced many difficult times and painful events that made a lasting impression on my heart. Having never fully understood the Bible, I only had read snippets and the church didn’t make much sense to me. I never had a personal relationship with God. I didn’t know that I could. Therefore, I made my decisions in life without including God or even asking for His guidance.
Mistakes and God’s Grace
I married a man I only knew for three days. On the honeymoon, I knew I had made a huge mistake, but I had “made my bed.” I moved to Germany to be with him. As a result, things continued to spiral downward. One day, I heard a knock on the door of my apartment. When I went to answer it, a woman with a kind face was standing there smiling at me. I had two babies who were both napping. She asked if she could come in. She was a Jehovah’s Witness, but before I could even consider that, I asked her in.
The most remarkable thing happened. She asked me to get my Bible out, and we both read the Bible together. She answered my questions and never once tried to persuade me to be a part of her religion. To this day, I feel blessed by her visit. She reconnected me to God. I started to read the Bible and pray again. God can use any method available to bring us back to Him when we get lost. I would like to say that life was great after that. However, prayer didn’t continue when we relocated back to the United States. I still didn’t know the value of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Soon, I filled a position at our church to teach young girls. I learned about Jesus, read the Bible to prepare for the classes, and started praying. Therefore, a personal relationship began between God and me. Then, my marriage failed. We divorced. Years of brokenness and healing followed. God was faithful and stuck with me through it all. I met a man a few years later, and we married. I call him my gift from God. Together we are growing in the Lord day by day.
Direction Through CLI’s Amazing Education Opportunity
Most recently, out of the blue, God asked me to close my business. I was in the middle of my contract, so we negotiated the fee. As soon as I moved all my office to my home, my mother, who lived with us, fell and needed most of my time for many months. God knew. I had a God moment that day!
Ever since then, I have been leaning into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus. I was looking for a way to be used by Him in my new community. We relocated to a new home. He guided my steps, and I found the Christian Leaders Institute. At first, when I started studies online, I had no idea what God was directing me to. It has been a couple of months now. Some exciting things are coming into focus with this amazing education opportunity.
I volunteered at a soup kitchen in town once a week. This activity led me to a Community Support Shoppe run by a Pastor from my new church. I volunteered one day a week at the shop. The Pastor said just learned that someone was going to be leaving when I called. So, it turned into two days a week. This week the Pastor said that if I would be interested, she would mentor me into a special position in the shop. I would be able to do what she does there. Another God moment!
God’s Work and Blessings
I am excited to see God work in my life. I have kept progressing with my studies and hope to be an Ordained Minister first. Then, I plan to go on to get a degree at the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School. I am retired, and I really appreciate having a free program. This education is needed for me to bring others to God through Jesus. I feel much more confident, and I love the way the program is set up. Thank you all so much for this amazing education opportunity!
Learn about ordination opportunities at Christian Leaders Alliance.
Read how leadership training at Christian Leaders Institute is blessing this pastor as he serves his local church.
Leadership Training at CLI
But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent — either in the past or recently or since you have been speaking to your servant — because my mouth and my tongue are sluggish.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will help you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
13 Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.” — Exodus 4:10-13 (CSB)
This was me! I knew I was called to the ministry from the time I was saved at three years old. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joshua Sylvester, and I am from the USA in a little town in rural Missouri called Iberia. Currently, I am pursuing leadership training at Christian Leaders Institute.
College Study and Military Service
When I began actively looking to the future and deciding where I would go to college, I thought that what I experienced at my conversion was just childish thinking. Ironic, since at that time, I was still a child in thought at least. Like most teenagers, I thought that I knew what was best for me better than anyone else, including God.
I spent one year in college and decided I wasn’t ready and needed more discipline. I knew that the best place for me to get the discipline that I wanted was the military. Therefore, I joined the USAF as a linguist. I will say a couple of things about that experience. God used it to open my eyes to the gift He gave me for languages. It was also the time a thorn in the flesh was given to me.
Military life is not easy. There is always someone telling you what to do. Even if they are not actively telling you, there are many rules and regulations that you are held accountable for knowing and keeping. There is always someone ready to fault you if you break a rule or regulation. The stress got to me, and I told God that I did not want to be a Christian any longer. God did not accept that proposition, and according to Proverbs 3:12 and Hebrews 12:6, God disciplined me. He allowed me to get an autoimmune disorder called Ulcerative Colitis. It is painful and permanent. Therefore, I see it as my thorn in the flesh. It is a reminder of where I came from and what I am called to do.
Spiritual Growth and Study at CLI
Through that experience, I grew in my knowledge and faith. I grew closer to God than I had ever been before. I still strive to continue to grow closer to Him through knowledge and faith. That is why I chose the Christian Leaders Institute for my ministry leadership training.
I am now a pastor, praise God! I am the Pastor of Family Discipleship at First Baptist Church in Iberia, Missouri. Coming into this position, I not only had to integrate into the leadership that was already in place, but I helped create this position to start a family discipleship ministry. So I am building a leadership team while becoming a part of a leadership team.
That is the reason that I took the leadership training class at CLI at this time. I wanted to do my best to be part of the church leadership and help bring the vision of the church to fruition. This leadership training class has helped me with that tremendously. A couple of things, in particular, have come at the right time in God’s sovereign way.
Leadership Training Application
First was leading through change. The church I am part of has been here for 175 years. They have a rich tradition, and change is hard for them. We (the leadership) have to introduce change in a way that alters small things slowly, so they see a need for more substantial change. The leadership training class at CLI has been beneficial with tips and strategies to get the church on board with our vision for discipling the whole family starting at home.
The second way the leadership training class helped is in dealing with conflict. There is one particular person in leadership that has refused to see the need for this position, and the need for the vision as a whole. He thinks things are beautiful the way they are and doesn’t want to change. The senior pastor and I have both talked to him. We are praying that God will change his heart. Therefore, we wait on God’s timing and see if this particular leader has heart change or if he will leave. The rest of the leadership team believes that this is what God is calling this church to do, and we already have seen the “first fruits” of the work.
Leadership Training and Ministry Opportunities
I thank God for this opportunity that He has given me. I am looking forward to the work that is in store for the future. We will be starting a couple of clubs in the local public schools to introduce kids to God, Christ, and the Church. So, we are hoping that this will bring more families into our church.
We are also starting a parent’s small group to share our struggles, to know that we are not alone in them, and to learn the Biblical way to parent. Our goal is to get the church as a whole, and parents, in particular, to see that discipleship starts at home. The church is here to partner with them and not just do the discipling for them.
We offer instruction in all facets of our ministry. From beginning to end, we are building a cohesive program to focus on making disciples who will make disciples.
Learn about ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.