God's Call, My Journey
by Rev. Marcia E. Theadford, Director of Vocation and Enrollment

Blessed are your eyes, because they see and your ears, because they hear. (Matthew 13:16)

"What's up? Lord, what is up with this move back to Pennsylvania!" In exasperation, I hurled those exact words toward God's precious throne. My husband, Odell, had just informed me that the "Lord was calling ‘US’ back to Pennsylvania." I thought, "US"?

Surprisingly, the Lord had not mentioned a thing to me about "US" moving to Pennsylvania. After all, the Lord and I have a very good, open line of communication. In our last conversation, I did not recall God mentioning anything about moving, especially to Pennsylvania! Although, I "kinda" remember telling God I would go anywhere and do anything He wanted me to do. I had not even thought about Him sending me to PENNSYLVANIA!

Now before you start praying against a possible rebellious spirit within me, it is not that I have anything against the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania; it was just the idea of having to start all over again, another beginning, and another unseen journey. At that time, we were living in Fort Worth, Texas, my place of birth. A move back to Pennsylvania would mean leaving our sons, who were attending college, my extended family, friends, and familiarity. It also meant leaving a place where so much had happened in my 40-plus years, some good and some not so good. A number of significant and memorable things had occurred in my life in that wonderful cow town of Fort Worth, Texas. It had been a place of encouragement, a place of empowerment, a place where I first recognized God’s call of parish ministry on my life. Many days and many nights God had spoken into my spirit and illuminated His Will to me through dreams and visions in the quietness there. I had once been just satisfied with the awesomeness of being loved, redeemed and on my way to heaven, but not anymore. There was a relentless sense of urgency about my life’s work.

My own personal call to the ministry came as a surprise to me. I began to discover it was a surprise to others as well. I was not expecting the Lord to use me because I did not realize God used women in the ministry. My background is Southern Missionary Black Baptist, and "women in ministry" was a definite no, no. There were some very trying times and a lot of opposition after accepting my call into ministry. Surprisingly, more women than men did not accept this bit of news well. People said that I was "usurping man's authority" and accused me of being demon possessed and practicing witchcraft; many used a number of other not-so-nice adjectives to describe my call to ministry. Of course, they quoted their favorite scripture, "Let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak.” (I Cor. 14:34 KJV). This opposition made me question my conviction and the calling of God on my life. I even wanted to give up on ministry. However, it did not make me want to give up on my God. “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 15:5 7 KJV). I thank God for my husband's support because he recognized and celebrated the calling of God on my life even before I did.

Since my call to the ministry, my husband and I have been privileged to serve the Lord together as evangelists, pastors and teachers. It is rewarding to allow God’s Spirit to minister through us as we reach out to humankind. We only want to be those vessels that stand ready for the Master’s use. The Lord uses my husband, Odell, to relate to many I cannot reach, and He uses me to minister to those my husband cannot reach. Together we are able to accomplish much more for the Lord than if we were ministering alone. We are grateful that the Lord has blessed us to serve Him as a couple.

Even though there were negative comments and hostility shown by some when I was called into the ministry, there were so many others who breathed life into my spirit. They were wonderful and interesting individuals who shared their love of God as they moved in and out of my life. College professors, students, colleagues, and those sweet church mothers who all coined a personal phrase of encouragement for me to grasp. They taught me the value of persistence and would always say, "Never let go of your aspirations even in the face of adversity and continual conflict. God will see you through." Those words aligned themselves beautifully with the scripture spoken to my spirit by the Holy Spirit, "Being confident of this very thing, that He which have begun a good work in you and will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ " (Philippians 1: 6 KJV). Of all the many people and experiences that have significantly influenced my life, the one thing that has been steadfast and a constant companion throughout the years has been my faith and my unique relationship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My husband and I have been back in Pennsylvania for many years now and I am beginning to see why God brought me here. The reason is PURPOSE! God often takes us out of our comfort zone and leads us on a journey that will refine and shape us to fulfill our destiny. I now know that only a portion of my destiny transpired in Texas. God has used those wonderful but challenging years to refine the process and the process is not finished, it has just moved into another arena.

This may sound cliché, but I know that if it had not been for the Lord on my side, strengthening, guiding and helping me to survive victoriously in my life’s journey, through a crippling illness as well as an early divorce, abuse, and death of my son and grandchild, I would not be here. I am so blessed! This journey of mine has not been an intellectual exercise theorizing the existence of God in my life, but about an awesome God who trusted and called me to share His Love with others.

Today my wonderful journey has taken me back to Moravian Theological Seminary. I began at the Seminary some years ago as a student pursing the Pastoral Counseling degree to enhance my professional career in administration and my experience in ministry. This past July, I accepted the position of the Director of Vocation and Enrollment. I am looking forward to the possibilities of using the gifts and talents that God has given me to be effective in helping others to refine the call on their life. People ask me all the time why did I choose to become a part of the Moravian Theological Seminary family. My answer is simple, PURPOSE.

The Seminary's purpose, especially as it faces the challenges of theological education in the 21st century, is in alignment with God’s purpose with its passion for missionary work, its unequivocal commitment to sound Christian doctrine its appreciation of community and its respect throughout the Christian community. These are the central characteristics I believe are important in a Christian institution of higher education and scholarship. Any skepticism or reservation that I had initially was put to rest after reading this quote describing the tenets of the Moravian church, "The history of the Moravian church teaches us a great deal about its vision of ministry today. The Moravian heritage of a Christ-centered faith, a reverence for Scripture, a burden for the lost, a commitment to education and willingness to face persecution and even death to take the gospel to all people. If we are to successfully share the truth and love of God with the people of our complex, modern world, we must follow in the footsteps of Moravians who have gone before us. We too must demonstrate in word, attitude and action a radical and passionate devotion to the Lordship of Jesus Christ — putting Him first in all we do.” The Moravian motto exemplifies Christ, “In Essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, love."

As I look back at the patterns of my life, I now see that the things I have experienced helped to make me the woman I am today. After all, I guess my husband did indeed hear from God regarding “us” moving back to Pennsylvania. I’m glad he did!