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respond, “Every
This wasn’t theoretical. It was personal. Watching men in ministry ably function in their gifts caused me to mentally project myself into their place. I had dreams of marinating in God’s Word so that I too could stand and deliver the results. In fact, I used to practice preaching when I was alone or out in the woods.
“How may a young man know whether he’s called or not？ That’s a weighty enquiry, and I desire to treat it most solemnly. O for divine guidance in so doing!”
The man wasn’t unlike the young Thomas Scott—brilliant, ambitious, and spiritually confused. Newton was discipling him, but knew he needed to sit under the ministry of a truly gifted preacher. And it was under Scott’s weekly gospel preaching that young William Wilberforce would be established in the faith that eventually led him to take on the evil of slavery.
died. If the Caller’s initiative is everything, then we must preoccupy ourselves with the Ultimate Caller.1 It’s that simple—and that profound.
In an infinitely more profound way, our call to ministry, just like our call to salvation, ultimately says little about us and a great deal about the Caller.
effective (or effectual)call. Wayne Grudem defines it as “an act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself
Considering a call to ministry can be like slashing through a jungle overgrown with questions.
man finds out where he truly locates his identity when he can no longer do the ministry he felt called to do. As we used to say on our pastoral team, we live with our resignation letters on our desks. If during transition time my fingers have to be pried off my ministry,
Pastoral ministry exists for the proclamation and protection of the gospel for people inside and outside the church. We need to value the gospel and know what we have so we can share it with others.
perseverance, you have to understand Simeon was a church man; he knew that no man had the right to mold God’s church to fit his needs. But he lived with an abiding sense of responsibility to God for this church.
man who’s ambitious for pastoral ministry either has been seriously dealt with by God, or is about to be seriously dealt with by God. If that’s you, get ready for some serious (and sometimes dangerous) grace.
“May it please your Majesty, I would gladly give up all of my learning if I could preach like that tinker.”
I emphatically believe that the best and
most proper place for the education and preparation of pastors is in the local church. We should be ashamed that churches fail miserably in their responsibility to train future pastors. Established pastors should be ashamed if they are not pouring themselves into the lives of young men whom God has called into the teaching and leadership ministry of the church.
What is your church’s or denomination’s accepted practice of training and deploying pastors？ Where do you agree with this practice？ Where do you have questions about it？
he’s just a called man with gifts that enable him to lead God’s people and with a grace that empowers him to be an example.
Men don’t become pastors because of potential. They become pastors because God’s grace is already at work in them.
The issue is service, the service of real people. The question is “How can I be most useful？” not “How can I feel most useful？”10
The summoned man works to make those above him a success, not to develop his own success.
It takes both a man’s message and his example to mature a church.
The reality is that it takes both a man’s message and his example to mature a church.
If any pastor wonders if it’s fair to have his family life be part of the evaluation of his call, let him remember Martin Luther. This patriarch of the pastor’s family has left a great example of faith and family fidelity.
inescapably at home: “self-controlled” (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8) “able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2) “not ... arrogant or quick-tempered” (Titus 1:7) “upright, holy, and disciplined” (Titus 1:8)
I think that’s because God knows something we often miss. You can pose at the office or play religious at church, but your family knows and reveals the true measure of the man.
The Puritans called households “little churches.” The implication is clear: the quickest way
you’re able to help your wife and kids understand and appropriate the gospel, God may indeed be calling you to care for the church.
“if you cannot preach, God did not call you to preach.”1 Which returns us to the question in this chapter’s title.
There are many needs requiring a pastor’s attention and voices calling for his time. But a pastor’s priority is preaching. In season, out of season, it doesn’t matter.
To be an elder, you must be able to teach; and if you’re an elder, you must teach.
point. The gospel isn’t content alone. It’s content that reveals Jesus Christ.
theologian: oratio(prayer),meditatio (meditation), and tentatio tribulation).
To be a shepherd, you must commit yourself to the sheep. Your doctrine will be their doctrine when you live it out before them. And with that, who knows what God will do？
What does it mean to care for the flock of God？ It means willing and eager oversight.
Practically speaking, shepherding means loving people. You can’t love ministry and be annoyed by people. The summons is a call to love sheep.
“To love to preach,” Lloyd-Jones says, “is one thing; to love those to whom we preach is quite another.”
“A team’s wisdom is better than one man’s genius.”
you’re called to ministry, you must remember that Christ is the Chief Shepherd, not you.
Spurgeon made a distinction between the gift to preach and the heart for the lost.
would rather be the means of saving a soul from death than be the greatest orator on earth.”
We’re being summoned to do it. Strategizing on how the church can be more evangelistic is essential as well, but that’s not what this is talking about.
Doing involves going. Doing the work of evangelism puts pastors in motion.
He finds that talking about being a pastor is a great door into talking about his Savior.
The inner call stirring the soul is validated by a confirmation external to the man.
Their emergence into ministry was a holy setting-apart by other leaders, not an ambitious stepping-out. They honored God and served the church by waiting for external confirmation of their internal call.
Should it not be the office that seeks the man, rather than the man the office？”
solidify a man who wasn’t nearly as stable as he thought
Preparation for ministry can feel like a paradox. God calls you to start now, taking on certain tasks you wouldn’t necessarily do apart from the summons. At the same time, God calls you to wait—to trust in him as months or years pass and he prepares you for pastoral ministry. You’re taking action, while also waiting.
1. Be honest about your desires. If you “aspire to the office of overseer,” tell your pastor. If you don’t have a pastor, find a good church and get a pastor. It’s not humble to remain silent about your dreams.
rest assured that the office will come to the man who is fit for the office.”3
