The Barbarian Call

For those of you valley experiencers who are ready to spit out the pacifier and take your place on the front lines of the battle for the heart of your King ever wonder what the call to arms sounds like?

You may have figured it out already. Some of you may be thinking, "Hhhmmmm!" I know what you mean. I had forgotten what it sounded like until recently. I remember that call when I responded to it several years ago to pursue full-time ministry. It's not complicated. It not like you have to know the secret password or handshake or high-five choreography (What's up with professional baseball players and their high-five dances? They have way too much time on their hands - oopss. Sorry!) Anyway. . .the Barbarian call is the same as it was for Abraham at the very beginning. It is the same call extended to a couple of everyday guys. They knew it immediately. They recognized it.

When Jesus came across Andrew and Simon (Peter) his call to them was, "Come, follow me." THAT'S IT!! Nothing more and nothing less. The Barbarian call is a simple one: Follow Me.
Our problem is that we want, for some strange reason, to make it more complicated than that. It's not. In a time when we need simplification in our lives, why do we think the call to take up the fight has to be complex? Where did we even get that idea? I have some theories, but they are for another time.

I remember the call, "Come, follow me," when God called me to lead Singles. I remember the call, "Come, follow me," when I was serving as an intern. I remember that call. The problem is that I forgot the call - the call of the Barbarian.

Have you heard the call? If so, what is your repsonse? Andrew and Simon immediately left everything. No questions. No concerns about the future. No discussion about responsibilities. Nothing. They just became Barbarians - they followed. WOW! Everyday guys who traded the mundane for the extraordinary, but didn't think of this way. I don't think they had a clue about what the future would hold. They simply obeyed.

There is cost associated with the call. I'll leave that for next time. Just know that the Barbarian call does come with a cost associated with it.

Hear the call. Answer the call. Become a Barbarian. SIMPLE!

Trying to keep up with Jesus,
Mike