How God Called Me to Work

LaCount Anderson serves as CBF Field Personnel in Halifax County, NC.  He and his wife Anna work in poverty relief working with homeless and near homeless people.  They are involved with the CBF rural poverty initiative called Together for Hope.

How God Called Me to My Work:

Honestly, this is rather humbling to attempt to write on this subject. I am a guy thinking about joining the ranks of the retired and my career has many bumps and dings.   So, here goes:

I am a church kid; a product of Southern Baptist rearing.  My family was involved in church and I attended church every week.   My social life was church and all my friends attended church.  My home church was a mega church and had many opportunities to be involved.   I had the opportunity to be involved with high profile preachers coming to our church; high profile musicians performing; and many activities that formed me as a Christian young man.   Back then the labels of conservative and liberal were not in our vocabulary.   As I have evaluated my experiences I can tell you that I grew up In biblical fundamentalism.

I knew no other life until I entered the United States Navy and started my journey as a young man aboard a Navy Destroyer.   I was contemplating church work as a career and my family had already answered that call on my life.  The only problem was I had not accepted that call upon my life.   After a few years out on the ocean I made my own decision and it was to go to college and study church music.  I had the ability and enjoyed my pursuit of the degree.

It was in college that I began to see another Christian world.  One not so filled with biblical fundamentalism and one that was open to other ideas about God.   I became intrigued with my new world and upon graduation I attended a seminary.  A seminary that was not where my parents nor my home church leaders preferred that I attend.  I made the choice based upon what I perceived would be best for me.   It was.   My theological education was a time where God spoke to me through my studies of the Bible, taught by some of the world’s greatest theologians.   Godly professors who introduced me to a Christ that I had really never known.

After graduation from seminary my new wife and I had the opportunity to meet with a student minister in Tennessee.   This new friend gave me some advice that I have followed to this very day.   Dr. Glenn Yarborough said to us “be open and not box yourself into one particular ministry field.   Be open to allow God to direct you, and be open to other fields of ministry.”    We have done that.   I have been a church musician; a Christian educator; a church planter; a pastor; an insurance executive, (I really did that); and now a missionary with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.   As a missionary I have found myself working, these past ten years, with homeless people in a very undesirable location in the state of NC.   My title is a CEO of a homeless shelter. ( I never understood the Insurance executive experience until I became a CEO. I am able to cross secular work with ministry because I spent time in the business world. )

That is quite a list of experiences for a guy that made the decision to be involved in Christian ministry.

A final point I would make is to develop a strong relationship with God.  Spend time with Him and know His voice.  Don’t be afraid to move out of the box.    Make sure you make your own decisions and not that of a friend or a parent.