ABOUT ALL CALLED

All Called is a collective networking ministry of talented, faith filled visionary Christian leaders who choose to respond to God's call. We support, encourage, and push other visionaries to help accomplish the vision God has given them. Using our gifts, talents, experience and knowledge under the leadership of Christ, we advance the knowledge of who Christ is while fulfilling the purpose for what God has called each of us to do individually and collectively. The name, "All Called," is based on the scripture found in Matthew 22:14 (NIV). 

THE FOUNDERS STORY.....Where the journey began

All Called was founded by Lahoma Dade and in her words this is her story. Its is lengthy, but we are sure that it will inspire and bless you! It all started with six hours of silence as I made my way from Austin, Texas to Oklahoma City, OK. I decided so try something different and instead of listen to music or talk on the phone while driving home, I chose to just drive home in silence. I shut out all the distractions so I could use the time to think and reflect. I was determined to drive in silence so I fought the temptation to pick up the phone and check facebook or email. Soon, thoughts began to run through my mind as I tried to focus my attention and just listen.  I really needed to hear God - I did not know what I was supposed to be doing with my life. I thought to myself, "Was I doing the right thing? Was there more to me than what I had going on?" These thoughts ran through my head and overwhelmed me so much to the point of desperation. I was crying out, "Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is it? Why am I here?" As I cried out in this desperate state, I felt hope rising. The scripture in Matthew 22:14 then came to my mind, "Many are called but few are chosen." 

As I meditated on this verse, I started to cry because I started thinking that perhaps I could be excluded from God's purposes. I thought, "What if I am called but not chosen?" My mind wandered down this path and the thoughts only worsened. "What if I was able to be on the team but then have to ride the bench?" I wasn't okay with that! I started to repeat the scripture over and over and as I repeated it, something clicked inside. "Maybe it's wrong," I thought. No, not the bible, but the way I was interpreting the verse. Nonethelesss, I was determined to find the answer so I started looking at the verse from different angles. As I sat in the car driving, I started thinking, "maybe many are called but few choose?" I thought back to the beginning of Matthew 22 and remembered all the preparations made for the banquet, all the invited guests and then how very few people showed up to the event. I also remembered how few people actually showed up, and how the host had to send his servants to go out and find more people. He reached out to anyone on the streets, including those who were desperate and had nothing to eat. 

I eventually arrived to Oklahoma and upon arrival, I immediately ran into the house to search through the scriptures. I wanted to find all the verses that that had to do with "a call" or "invitation." From that day on, I wrote and listened to everything I could hear about this topic. Amazingly, everything I listened to and read during this time was directly applicable to what I felt God had placed on my heart. I started to see pieces of my life unfold and God began to answer questions that I had during the initial 6 hours of my trip. 

Let me take you back in time for a moment to when I was a little girl...Truly, I was never like anyone else. I was just different. I thought different, responded different. I would rarely be found being unproductive and I had a logical explanation for everything I did. While other kids played video games, played outside or were telling scary stories, I was the kid who if invited to a slumber party would call my mom to pick me up. (I did not see the sense in sleeping on someone's floor while I had my own bed to sleep in at home.) I was just different and my eyes were set on other things. I wanted to work, sew, cook, shop for the family, teach, balance a checkbook, paint and feed old people at nursing homes. I basically wanted to do what  I saw grown people do because it made sense to me. I knew that if I sewed I would have something to wear, if I cooked I would have something to eat, if I painted I would have something to put up... well you get the drift. I was different, but at the same time, I always did what I had to do to appear normal. I remember my seventh grade math teacher giving me the class assignment a week ahead of the class so that I could be able to teach the class on the following week. From organizing cotton candy sales to the baked potato bar, I was the student that teachers put in charge of stuff.

I use to think that there was something wrong with me but then God began to reveal himself to me through thoughts, dreams and ideas... I vividly remembered sitting in church with my grandma, whom I called Grandma Dade. As a child, I held onto every word that came out of the pastor's mouth knowing that when I would get back to her house, I would share all that I learned with my dad. He would come home after his late shift and I would just have to tell him everything, even adding my own Amen's. I remembered that all I ever wanted as a child was to love people and give generously. (I loved to give everything I had away.) As a little girl, I gave and gave and served with all my heart.

These memories from my past flooded my mind, I was reminded of who I was created to be. I realized I had to DO something and that is how ALL CALLED was started. I wanted to choose to make a difference and not only R.S.V.P. to the call God had on my life. I wanted to show up dressed and ready! It all came full circle when I got the revelation that we are All Called, but few of us actually choose!

After that revelation, I began to share my new passion with my friends...And the next time I went back to Oklahoma, I showed my mom everything that I had written from my reflections and I asked her opinion. She encouraged me to go forward with my plans. "Do it, you have to!" she said. I was so fired up because I was thinking the same thing inside - "Yeah I have to do it!" But then I thought, "do what?" I was pumped and energized, it all sounded great and seemed like lots of fun but I still did not what my "IT" was.  

Then I started thinking, "how many other people are also looking for their "IT?" What does "IT" look like. Instantly, I began to call my friends and several people I had not talked to in forever and asked them, "What is it that you are created to do?" At that time, I kept hearing the same thing, "I don't know?" I did not either!

This is awful, how can I along with the people in my world have no idea what we are supposed to do? A lightbulb went off for me. Maybe that's it! Maybe that is what I am supposed to do. Help people discover what it is that they are created to do! I began to just seek God about this desire for him to show me and us why we were created. A few weeks later, I decided to get everyone together so we could help each other discover our "IT" The journey to discover our purpose began..........

I invited everyone I knew to a meeting, I told everyone that they were crazy for showing up because I had no idea what we were going to do or where we would end, but I know that it is time to stop wondering what we are created for and start finding it. I felt like we just had to DO something. I was terrified and excited all at the same time, because by getting together, we were taking the first steps of doing "IT." At the meeting we began to pray and simply talk with each other. We threw around some basic questions like, "What do you like to do? What makes you happy? What makes you upset?" We then dug in a little deeper and asked, "What do you want to change in the world? If money wasn’t an option what would you do? Where would you go? If you have all the talent in the world and can do anything you want to do, what would it be?" The meeting lasted forever and to tell you the truth, it felt like we walked away with nothing - just a bunch of nonsense.  

Later that evening when I arrived at home, I just started to cry. I did not get the results I expected. Talking to God, I said, "Seriously, I just called a meeting for us to all sit around and talk and we still don’t have anything?" I was frustrated but I continued to pray. I then challenged myself to dig deeper and then it felt like the Lord showed up and told me that the resources that we needed to go forth were in our meeting. I did not understand so I just laughed to myself and said, "what on earth? whatever." I chalked everything up as a loss and was completely discouraged. I felt that it was time to come back to my senses and not waste any more of my time chasing some dream.  I shut everything down and tried to force myself to get those crazy ideas out of my head.

However, for some reason, I could not. He said, "Everything I needed, I already had." I wrestled with this and thought, "How could a bunch of broke twenty something's bring something to pass?" I thought about all of our financial situations and knew that none of us were rich. None of us came from money so I chalked my ideas of accomplishing something great as a lost cause.

All the while, my friends were already thinking about the next meeting. They loved the first meeting and were motivated and encouraged to think and dream. They asked me if they could bring people to the next meeting. I thought to myself, "are you kidding, just to be embarrassed again?" They all emailed and called, eager to know about the next meeting. I just said "OK Lord, I will try this again and see what happens."

At the next meeting as I pulling up, I felt like the Lord was telling me to talk about what we were all good at. I took his direction and the I went around the room asking people for their name and what they thought they were good at. Then I began to hear "My name is X and I am good at putting parties together, my name is X and I work as a graphic designer, my name is X and I am a good organizer, my name is X and I don’t know what I am good at...My name is X and I am good at helping people." And on and on and on. I thought, "you have got to be kidding me. I was looking at our finances and not the gifts and talents that produce those resources." We talked some more and then I shared my vision for a cruise and a night of worship where it was "off the hook." Other people started joining in and shared what they had always wanted to do. At that moment everything changed and I realized that perhaps we were all supposed to help each other accomplish the things that we have always wanted to do with the resources (time, talents, gifts, experience) that we each had. 

At the end of the meeting, I spent some time with one person in particular whose vision was so touching. So much so that I asked him to share his heart again with others in the group at the next meeting. He did and as soon as he was finished sharing his vision, the room was filled with people saying, "I like that...I would support that...we need something like that,” and “I can help

Initially I had no formal plan period. Nothing, just get together and try our best to make a difference and find out why we were created. At the following meeting, I handed out an assignment: Take some time out and search the word to discover who you are based what the Word of God says. I understood that if we did not know who we were and if our foundation was not on a rock, then we were on sinking sand.   

At the next meeting, for almost 95% of the time, people presented their "Who I Am statements.” Each person had their own statement which included scriptures like, “I am a chosen generation, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, called to do great works prepared in advance for me to do. I am the head and not the tail, above not beneath, I am an heir to the throne of Christ, I am a daughter/son of the living God. I am provided for." I personally know that after you begin to speak the truth about and let it go from your head to your heart about who you are in Christ, you start to think and talk a little different.

At the end of the meeting I asked another member, Dan, to share his vision. After he was done, I posed the question to the room, "Can we help him?" I heard an overwhelming "yes" from the group! People began say, "I know this person, I can do this, I will do this to help..." So our next launching was Dan's vision. We all pulled together and people donated their services, gifts, talents and even connections to bring another vision to pass. Then it hit me, Just like the model Jesus set....., "I have come to serve, not be served."  

To this day, All Called is still surreal, but I keep pushing past what I can see in the natural and relying on the promises of God.