{"id":8329,"date":"2025-11-19T00:52:59","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T00:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/?p=8329"},"modified":"2025-11-19T21:20:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T21:20:20","slug":"discerning-a-call-to-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luthersem.edu\/story\/2025\/11\/19\/discerning-a-call-to-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Discerning a call to ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Brigham Drevlow \u201929 M.Div.<\/strong>, freshman year at Concordia College started like this: class from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. before a three-hour music rehearsal. Drive home, fix dinner, and sleep a few hours before a 1 a.m. shift at UPS\u2014which ended shortly before the start of class.<\/p>\n

Weeks into this routine, Drevlow\u2019s boss at UPS encouraged him to apply for the youth choir director position at his church\u2014Bethlehem Church in Fargo, North Dakota. Drevlow interviewed the next day, and the pastor called within 10 minutes to offer him the job. \u201cI said \u2018yes\u2019 but was hesitant,\u201d Drevlow explained. The role forced the Minnesota native to confront complicated feelings about church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in and loved being engaged in church, but my energy was too much for our pastor to handle in confirmation class,\u201d Drevlow recalled. \u201cMy senior year of high school, he told me I was going to hell and wasn\u2019t welcome in the community. I felt unworthy of God\u2019s love.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Bethlehem was different. Drevlow found purpose in the mission-focused congregation and became the youth, education, and evangelism minister the following year. Pastor Lexy Steinle \u201922 M.Div.<\/strong> handed Drevlow a Luther Seminary brochure, but it sat on his office desk for two years. \u201cI never threw it away,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t ready\u2014but it stayed there, calling me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Brigham Drevlow \u201929 M.Div.<\/b> serves as a youth choir director at his local church. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then, Steinle gave him a push. \u201cShe told me Luther was offering a three-day discernment retreat for anyone wanting to explore and deepen their faith. Bethlehem would pay for me to go, so I had no excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drevlow showed up that January weekend but was uneasy. \u201cThe first night I went to bed feeling defeated,\u201d he explained. \u201cAll the other people at the retreat could quote Scripture and knew what they wanted to do. They were so much further along in their discernment process, so I felt out of place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he fell asleep, Drevlow read a few chapters from the retreat\u2019s suggested reading, \u201cLet Your Life Speak\u201d by Parker J. Palmer. \u201cThe passage talked about how God can work in all of us, through any vocation. I decided to trust the process and woke up renewed and refreshed,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Holy Spirit was working in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next day, retreat leaders asked participants to map their lives. Taking inspiration from the board game Candy Land, Drevlow designed a path of colorful tiles to deconstruct his journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was no less than finished when\u2014boom\u2014God spoke loudly for the first time in my life,\u201d Drevlow recalled. \u201cI got chills. I\u2019d never felt so clear and certain about a direction in my life, and in that moment, I knew I had to become a pastor.\u201d<\/p>\n

He applied to Luther Seminary a week later and received the ELCA Fund for Leaders tuition scholarship, plus a stipend for living expenses from Luther\u2019s Jubilee Scholarship program. Drevlow will continue to work at Bethlehem, engaging in distance learning until he graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to become a pastor, to share the Good Word, and to translate it to people in a way that opens them up to living more Christ-like lives,\u201d Drevlow explained. \u201cI love showing the face of God in this world because everyone has a right to and is worthy of experiencing God\u2019s good grace and God\u2019s good love.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Discernment retreat participants in January 2025 (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A \u2018holy experiment\u2019 to explore God\u2019s call<\/h2>\n

The discernment retreat Drevlow attended is part of a growing menu of discernment experiences that aim to inspire connection and reflection.<\/p>\n

Terri Elton \u201998 M.A., \u201907 Ph.D.<\/strong>, dean of academic affairs and professor of leadership, said the seminary is expanding and adapting to meet people where they are on their lifelong journey. Elton leads the free Faith+Lead course \u201cDiscerning: Exploring God\u2019s Call to Ministry<\/a>,\u201d which launched in 2024. The asynchronous course has served 125 learners eager to slow down and explore \u201chow the Holy Spirit invites us into God\u2019s work in the world,\u201d Elton said.<\/p>\n

Through exercises, videos, and readings, the course guides participants through this process of continually investigating God\u2019s presence in their lives. It awakens an alertness to the ways one can share God\u2019s love, Elton added, and it is especially good for people who feel as though they are swimming against the current or walking through a fog.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscernment is not a goal or something to achieve or attest to or to pass. There are not right or wrong answers, and it\u2019s not a step-by-step process,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt\u2019s never done but is a process with key practices that takes place within particularities of relationships, communities, and contexts. It\u2019s as much about who we are as it is about our actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luther adapts to the times<\/h2>\n

Tim Coltvet \u201998 M.Div<\/strong>., director of contextual learning, said opportunities for guided discernment are more important than ever as the path to seminary widens.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike years ago, when students came to seminary with a pretty well-formed sense of their desired degree and vocational pathway, today\u2019s student is engaged in the discernment process while they are in seminary through \u2018holy conversations\u2019 with God, classmates, faculty and staff, and communities,\u201d he said. \u201cIt may be a bit too simplistic to speak in these terms, though\u2014the Spirit continues to produce faithful servant leaders, regardless of the shape of their discernment process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luther is adjusting to the needs of its learners by offering a range of opportunities for discernment, including retreats, online classes, one-on-one conversations, discussions in class, and events on and off campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seminary\u2019s devotion to the discernment process and willingness to adapt its modalities is characteristic of the enduring legacy of the Lutheran theological formation process,\u201d Coltvet added. \u201cThis commitment to a deeply shaped mission in both personal and communal ways is a gift to each person who participates in these discernment experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wheeler, Gruendler, and Drevlow continue discernment discussions on the Luther Seminary campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Campus collaborations strengthen discernment offerings<\/h2>\n

Jen Gruendler<\/strong>, associate director of enrollment services, is among those working across campus and with external partners to spur discernment conversations and events that help people deepen connections with themselves, their neighbors, and God.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always tell people that if they are going to seminary to answer all their questions, they are going to be disappointed because it often creates more questions for people about where God is calling them, who God created them to be, and what church is,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are all unfinished, and our role is to help people with those loose ends and unanswered questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

This work isn\u2019t quick or easy, Gruendler added. Planning retreats, facilitating events, and engaging in one-on-one conversations is a \u201chuge but necessary investment\u201d of time and resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the application process, we meet with students one-on-one for about an hour. Over and over again, we hear from students that it\u2019s one of the most important conversations they have during their seminary experience,\u201d she said. \u201cWe keep up with them and offer additional ways to carve out space and time to process and reflect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drevlow is living that journey, with Luther staff walking alongside him. He has woven practices from the retreat into his daily life, including his time \u201cdwelling in the Word\u201d each morning. He continues to read recommended books and seek out meaningful conversations with peers and faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody finds their path alone,\u201d he added, \u201cand once you\u2019re on that path, you cannot\u2014or should not\u2014walk it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open to change and learning<\/h2>\n

Ashley Wheeler<\/strong>, associate director of candidacy and vocational formation, supports those who want to become rostered ministers. She collaborates with Gruendler and others to develop discernment opportunities that inspire clarity and understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough discernment experiences often recruit students, that is not the goal. We truly see this as a gift the seminary can offer students, potential students, and lay people,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s for everyone, whether they decide to come to Luther now, in the future, or never. It\u2019s about taking people outside the chaos of their world and into intentional space with the internal, external, and God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coltvet reiterates the importance of being open to where the Spirit guides you. Unexpected zigs and zags during students\u2019 internships are not failures, he said. They are opportunities for growth and learning that often transform the lives of candidates and those they serve.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of us has a responsibility to journey with an open hand and remember Jesus\u2019 words: \u2018The Spirit blows where it will,\u2019\u201d Coltvet said.<\/p>\n

The seminary\u2019s strategy related to discernment offerings has also remained open to where the Spirit blows. Initially, the Office of Contextual Learning approached faculty about creating a discernment course. Steve Thomason \u201915 Ph.D.<\/strong>, dean of the chapel and associate professor of spiritual formation and discipleship, was tapped to teach the course in Winter 2024. After offering it as an independent study and a traditional course, the team decided to pivot.<\/p>\n

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Steve Thomason \u201915 Ph.D.<\/b> leads an exercise as part of Luther Seminary\u2019s three-day discernment retreat. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cDiscernment is the heart and soul of spiritual formation, and that is the focus of my passion and work. I welcomed the opportunity to create a space and curriculum to counter our overly distracted, hyper- stimulated world,\u201d Thomason said. \u201cBut, ultimately, we realized that students wanted to experience discernment through a retreat or other touchpoints rather than a class. We no longer offer the class, but I continue to be involved with theological content for the various experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the January retreat, Thomason led the life mapping exercise that Drevlow found so meaningful. Thomason also walked retreat participants through an exercise called \u201cSWIRLS\u201d to \u201cassess the unique swirl of gifts the Holy Spirit is swirling in, around, and through you.\u201d SWIRLS refers to one\u2019s style (or personality type), work, interests, resources, lenses, and season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask people to consider what season of life they are in right now and how their wellness, financial stability, responsibilities, and more might impact their call,\u201d he explained. \u201cAll of these areas influence us on the dynamic journey of becoming who God wants us and created us to be for our neighbors and the world around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drevlow is driven to apply this framework to his growing understanding of his life\u2019s work. It\u2019s comforting, he said, to have meaningful tools and a community of people eager to walk alongside you in whatever way works for you at that time in your life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people I met at the retreat, and the shared work we did together to deepen our understanding of our journeys and our work, remind me of the communal nature of God,\u201d Drevlow said. \u201cI believe we are a mirror image of him, but not in a literal or individual sense. All of us, together, make up that mirror image. We are like broken pieces of his image\u2014you\u2019re a shard, I am a shard, they are shards\u2014and when we come together in community, we truly are that mirror, reflecting the value and love of God. Because at the end of the day, God is love. And whether someone
\nis Christian or not, they deserve to receive that love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about discernment retreats and other admissions events at luthersem.edu\/admissions\/events<\/a>, or sign up for the free Faith+Lead course, \u201cDiscerning: Exploring God\u2019s Call to Ministry<\/a>,\u201d at faithlead.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Read more from Winter\u00a0 2025<\/h2>\n