I know this third week’s post is normally my newsletter, but I want to talk about something that came up in my recent conversation with Roy Moye III. We touched on a subject that I think many of us wrestle with in the quiet hours of the night: Why am I doing what I’m doing? The difference between passion and a calling.
Roy’s story is fascinating. He spent nine years as an aerospace engineer—a career many would consider the pinnacle of stability and prestige. But Roy is also a Grammy-nominated singer, an actor, and a creator. For a long time, he was a man living in parts. He was the engineer by day and the artist by night. But as we talked, a deeper truth emerged. Roy isn’t just an engineer who happens to sing; he is a whole person whose technical mind and creative soul were designed to work in tandem.
This brings us to a critical distinction that we often get wrong in our modern “hustle culture”: the difference between following a passion and receiving a calling.
Passion vs. Calling: What’s the Difference?
We are constantly told to “follow our passion.” Passion is a beautiful thing; it is the fire, the energy, and the emotional spark we feel for something. But passion is often inward-facing. Passion is about what makes me feel alive. It can be fleeting, shifting with the seasons of our lives. You can be passionate about golf one year and woodworking the next.
A calling, however, is something entirely different. To define a “calling,” we have to look at it as a summons. A calling isn’t something you create; it’s something you receive. It is the intersection of your unique gifts, the world’s deep need, and a divine invitation. While passion is about what you love to do, a calling is about who you are meant to be for the benefit of others.
As Roy described his transition from engineering to founding Stem Music LLC, he wasn’t just following a whim. He was responding to a pull that required him to use his engineering brain to solve an educational crisis through music. That wasn’t just a passion project; it was a calling.
The Myth of the “Sectioned” Life
One of the biggest traps we fall into is believing that God only wants the “holy” parts of us—the parts that show up to church, the parts that are “good,” or the parts that seem most “useful” for ministry. We section ourselves off. We have our professional self, our social self, and our spiritual self.
But the Bible teaches a radically different concept: God doesn’t just call the holy parts of a person. He calls the whole person.
In my conversation with Roy, he spoke about “giving God his yes”. When you give that “yes,” you aren’t just giving God your Sunday morning; you are giving Him your technical skills, your sense of humor, your past heartbreaks, and even your “secular” talents.
God doesn’t see an “engineer” and a “singer.” He sees Roy. He sees the whole man. When God called Moses, He didn’t just call a leader; He called a man with a stutter and a criminal past. When He called David, He didn’t just call a king; He called a shepherd and a poet.
The Beauty of the Flawed Vessel
If you feel like you aren’t “ready” for your calling because you have parts of your life that feel broken or messy, look at the “resume” of the people God used in Scripture:
- Abraham was too old.
- Jacob was a liar.
- Leah wasn’t the “pretty” one.
- Rahab was a prostitute.
- Jeremiah was too young.
- Peter had a temper and denied Christ.
God doesn’t call people because they are perfect; He calls them because they are available and well-positioned to do what needs to be done. He uses flawed people specifically so that the outcome’s strength can be attributed to His grace, not our greatness.
In Roy’s journey, he spoke about the “wilderness” seasons—the times when he didn’t know how the engineering and the music would ever make sense together. He had to reconcile his identity and his faith, bringing his whole self to the table. It was in that “whole” surrender that he found his most significant impact.
Why the “Whole Person” Matters
When you bring only part of yourself to your work or calling, you end up burned out. Why? Because you are operating in a state of friction. You are trying to hide parts of yourself. It’s the equivalent of working with one hand tied behind your back; you are hindered and not able to operate at full capacity.
But when you realize that God can use your analytical mind to structure your business AND your creative heart to connect with people, the friction disappears. You become a “whole person” operating in alignment. Your shackles are removed.
Roy Moye III is currently “blooming” because he stopped trying to keep his aerospace background and his Grammy-nominated voice in separate boxes. He realized that the God who gave him the ability to understand flight dynamics is the same God who gave him the melody to teach a child.
Finding Your “Whole” Yes
As we prepare to release this episode with Roy, I want you to ask yourself: What parts of myself am I keeping hidden? Are you waiting until you are “perfect” to step into your calling? Are you assuming that your “secular” skills have no place in a “divine” purpose?
God is not looking for a polished version of you. He is looking for the whole you—the engineer, the artist, the parent, the flawed human, and the dreamer. Your calling isn’t a destination where you arrive once you’ve fixed yourself; it is the journey of letting God use every single part of your story for His glory.
Don’t miss the full conversation with Roy Moye III on March 27 at 6:00 pm. We’re going to talk about what happens when you finally stop living in parts and start taking flight as a whole.
Corey Stokes 