Life-Changing Faith Christian Fellowship

Calling and guidance are often times thought of as "mysterious". I think the mystery comes when we as the Body of Christ attempt to normalize or standardize what a calling should look like, feel like sound like, etc. In its purest sense a calling and the guidance to fulfill that calling all comes from God. For some, yes, the call to ministry can be delivered by a dramatic interruption to one's daily life and the Bible offers an example of such a life-arresting moment as in the case of Saul-soon-to-be-Paul's life or as in the personal story told about the life of Scott Moreau in Chapter 9 of the text book, Introducing World Missions, by A. Scott Moreau, Gary R. Corwin and Gary B. McGee.
A call and the subsequent guidance from God to fulfill that call does not have to be as physically dramatic as the examples thus far referenced in order to "qualify" as a call from God to a life-time of ministry. My thought is that God knows each of us. He knows what will be necessary to capture our attention to the extent we feel we have indeed heard from the Creator of the Universe and have been thereby "called" to ministry. For some it may take being knocked from your donkey and experience a short time of blindness as was the case for the Apostle Paul. For others it may take a sense of an out-of-body experience as it was for Scott Moreau. For others it may be just a gentle yet persistent leading that is simply undeniable and ultimately unavoidable. The end result is the same. The person feels different, changed somehow and is never the same. The person experiencing the calling immediately or eventually gladly gives his or her life to ministry.
More than attempting to standardize or normalize what counts as a call, the focus should be on building a personal relationship with the Caller - Jesus! In this endeavor one becomes a sheep of God's and learns to hear His voice and can then knowingly and confidently respond to whatever manor or method God chooses to call them to ministry.

The Greek word kleµsis, klay´-sis is used 11 times in the King James Version of the New Testament, each time to signify God's invitation or call to a vocation (ministry). kleµsis, klay´-sis also means vocation. With a calling coming from God to reveal to a person God's desire for their life-long vocation, a calling could be considered a form of revelation from God and as such could be considered to have general and special or propositional forms.
The general form may be seen in God's call through Jesus to Salvation (Matt. 9:13; Mark 2:17 and Luke 5:32). Interestingly enough, the Greek word used for call in each of these passages is  kaleáoµ, kal-eh´-o which means to hail or call aloud. This definition has more of a general connotation - denotes more of a general appeal.
The special or propositional form may be seen in 1Cor 7:20; Eph 4:1; and Php 3:14. In each of these passages kleµsis, klay´-sis is used to refer to an invitation or call from God to a vocation, to ministry. In each of these passages the call is not general but more specific, more personal than  kaleáoµ, kal-eh´-o which is a call directed more to the masses.
We could take the idea of general versus specific one step further and apply these concepts to the personal or kleµsis, klay´-sis "call". On a personal level God's general call to an individual person to a life-long vocation might be the kleµsis, klay´-sis call. This call may reveal to an individual the fact that God desires him to devote his life to ministry in general but as the text referenced earlier suggests, one step further is needed. Answers to specific questions are needed such as what area of ministry, what country, etc. For this level of practical specificity, the text suggests and I agree that God may use "guidance" which may be the most special and personal form of the call-revelation. Here God is using a person's interests, desires, propensities, preferences, etc. to reveal specifically where the individual is to exercise the kleµsis, klay´-sis God has placed on his life.
In John 10:27, Jesus said "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. . ." God knows us and how to get our attention - how to "call" us to a life-long vocation in ministry. Whatever method He chooses to use to call us, the key is to hear His voice and to follow Him.