Bishop John Drew Sheard is Presiding Bishop and Chief Apostle of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., one of the largest African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States.
Bishop Sheard was first elected to the General Board in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. In 2021 he was again re-elected Bishop as a member of the Presidium (General Board) of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., at that time he was also subsequently elected to the Office of the Presiding Bishop as Chief Apostle.
There are moments in every leader’s life when the road ahead feels longer than the strength you have left, when the weight of the call is heavier than the applause that once made it feel worthwhile. When Purpose Calls: A Guide For Leaders Chosen to Serve was written for precisely that moment. In this powerful and deeply personal audiobook, Church Of God In Christ Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard addresses the places where leaders find themselves when no one is watching—the moments of doubt, the seasons of fatigue, and the quiet hours when God is calling you to rise again. With the passion of a preacher who has weathered the storm and the compassion of a shepherd who has always cared for his flock, Bishop Sheard delivers a message that will not only inspire you but also mobilize you. Featuring a foreword recorded by Emmy Award-winning actor, producer, and author Courtney B. Vance, When Purpose Calls transcends the typical audiobook experience. It is an encounter. By the time the last word is spoken, you will not be the same leader you were when you pressed play.
I have sat under Bishop Sheard’s leadership and stood beside him in ministry for years. What you will hear in When Purpose Calls is not a message he prepared for an audience — it is a message he has lived for a lifetime. This recording carries the weight of a man who has paid the cost of the call and never once asked for a discount. Every leader who hears this will be changed by it.
I have watched Bishop Sheard lead this Church through some of its most demanding seasons — and what has never wavered is his conviction that the call of God is worth everything it requires.
The women of this Church have always known that purpose does not come without a price. Bishop Sheard speaks to that truth in When Purpose Calls with a pastoral tenderness and a prophetic fire that I have rarely encountered in the same voice.
And I believe with all my heart that God has ordained this word for such a time as this for every leader, in every place, who is wondering whether the call they carry still matters. It does. And Bishop Sheard will remind you why.
