In this generation of speed and spotlight, where the altar is now a runway for ambition, the line between divine calling and personal aspiration has grown dangerously thin. Ministry has become an attractive career path for many, a place where microphones glitter brighter than gold, and the pulpit offers a platform not just for preaching, but for personal promotion. Yet we must confront a truth that echoes across the corridors of eternity and Scripture: not everyone is called into ministry.
Some people are called into purpose, not the pulpit. Look at Abraham, the father of faith—not a priest, not a prophet in the temple sense, but a patriarch of nations, called to walk with God and birth a legacy. David was not called to ministry either. He was a king, a warrior, a psalmist—yes—but not a priest. His hands were stained with blood; God would not let him build the temple. Gideon was called to deliver, not to preach. His altar was built in obedience, not in office. These men walked with God, fulfilled purpose, and impacted generations without being robed in priestly garments or bearing prophetic titles.
Yet today, we rush. We rush to the microphone. We hurry into titles. We are desperate to be seen, to be heard, to be followed—mistaking popularity for purpose. A young man receives a dream and suddenly opens a church. A woman feels compassion and calls herself Prophetess. A singer goes viral on TikTok and becomes “Evangelist.” But calling is not convenience. Ministry is not motion. To stand in the name of God without God’s instruction is to dance at the edge of danger.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome once said, “A man may have a gift but lack the calling; and to walk where God has not sent you is to endanger your soul and those who hear you.” That’s the weight we forget. The spiritual burden of a true call is not something a man chooses—it is something that chooses him, consumes him, disciplines him. It is not for fun or fame. It is not for those who seek platforms but for those who seek God.
This generation has confused gifts with calling. The ability to speak, teach, or sing does not automatically mean one is called to minister. Some are called to teach in classrooms, not churches. Some are sent into the market, into politics, into hospitals, into entertainment—not to preach, but to reflect Christ through excellence and righteousness. But instead of affirming these assignments, we pressure everyone into church-based roles. We narrow God’s Kingdom to the four walls of a church building.
The spiritual landscape today is crowded with men and women who were not sent. That’s why there is so much noise and so little change. That’s why we see scandals, confusion, burnt-out ministers, and wounded followers. When men go where God did not send them, they crash under burdens not meant for their shoulders. Apostle Ayo Babalola once declared, “A man without a call is like a torch without a battery—he may look bright on the outside, but there’s no fire within.”
This false rush into ministry has become a disaster cloaked in spirituality. The Church, once the womb of discernment and training, now sometimes fuels the crisis. We are quick to ordain, quick to lay hands, quick to appoint. But Paul warned: “Lay hands suddenly on no man” (1 Timothy 5:22). Where is the testing? Where is the waiting? Where is the divine confirmation?
Many are suffering today because they mistook spiritual hunger for spiritual appointment. They abandoned jobs, families, businesses, and peace to chase pulpits they were never called to. Their zeal was real, but their wisdom was absent. They were sincere—but sincerity is not a substitute for divine instruction. Even Jonah, who was called, had to be redirected. How much more those who were never called?
There is nothing wrong with desiring to serve God, but service takes many forms. We must restore dignity to the unseen roles in the Kingdom. Let a cleaner clean as unto God. Let an accountant work with honesty. Let a businesswoman run her trade with prayer. You do not need to bear a title to be a vessel. Dr. Paul Enenche said, “You don’t need a title to have impact; you need an encounter with God and obedience to His voice.”
Our generation must be taught that the Kingdom of God is not confined to the church altar. If the only place we recognize ministry is on Sunday morning behind a pulpit, then we have reduced the Kingdom to a stage. And no wonder so many are pretending—acting roles they were never cast for.
The truth remains: not everyone is called into ministry. And that is not a curse—it is a calling in itself. We need godly teachers, politicians, journalists, tailors, artists, and farmers. We need Daniels in government, Josephs in business, Lydias in trade, Bezaleels in craftsmanship. We need fire in the streets, not just on stages.
Prophet TB Joshua once said, “Your gift may take you there, but only your calling can keep you.” Let us stop pushing people where they don’t belong. Let us stop applauding what heaven never approved. Let us teach discernment. Let us celebrate obedience, even when it leads away from ministry.
And for those truly called—those burning with a word from God, trembling under divine instruction—may you walk not in pride, but in purity. May you bear the yoke with fear and trembling, knowing that to speak in God’s name is a holy and heavy task. For the rest, may you walk boldly in your true purpose, whatever field it lies in, knowing you are just as needed in the Kingdom.
Heaven does not reward title; it rewards faithfulness. And when the final trumpet sounds, God will not ask, “Were you a prophet?” but “Did you obey Me?”
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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