Of what nature is the call to the ministry? Is the vocation of pastor like any other common vocation that a man might pursue, or is there something unique about it, such that it must be set apart from other professions or careers?
To be sure, there have been plenty of men who approached the work of gospel ministry as they would any other vocation. They consider the nature of the work to be less of a toil than, say, plowing a field—the income to be more easily earned, and the respect gained from the office to be a pleasant icing on the cake—but by this very line of thinking they prove themselves to neither understand the gravity of the calling of God to such an office, nor of the true nature of the work involved.
Edmund Clowney puts it in even more stark terms saying:
Let a man choose the ministry for professional dignity, easy income, personal prestige, or public praise and he has rejected the ministry of Christ. Paul shows us what to expect: ridicule, humiliation, persecution, heartache, while we borrow other people's troubles to make them the burdens of a pastor's love.
If the man seeking to enter gospel ministry has it in his mind that he is entering a vocation like any other, and for similar reasons, then he is grossly mistaken, to the point of having rejected what true gospel ministry is; namely embracing the reproach of Christ as we are told Moses did by the author of Hebrews: “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:26) The one whom God calls to ministry should similarly expect to share in the reproach of Christ.
A Divine Calling
The call to gospel ministry, then, is not a vocation one chooses, but one a man is appointed to by God. We see this in the calling of Jeremiah, where God says to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5), and likewise in the calling of Paul: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” (Acts 13:2)
We may think, "Well, that is true of prophets and apostles, but not so much when talking about the call to be a pastor," but we are not left with that conclusion open to us. Just as God called the prophets and apostles, he likewise calls “the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11,12)
The Inward Call
This call is evidenced inwardly in the man called, because he finds within himself an earnest and burning desire to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He can say with the Apostle Paul, “For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16) This desire to bring the Word of God to the people of God, when born out of a genuine concern for their edification and spiritual well-being, is the primary inward evidence that a man has been called by God, for he would not be satisfied to continue in any secular profession. Charles H. Spurgeon concurs:
If any student in this room could be content to be a newspaper editor, or a grocer, or a farmer or a doctor, or a lawyer, or a senator, or a king, in the name of heaven and earth let him go his way; he is not the man in whom dwells the Spirit of God in its fulness, for a man so filled with God would utterly weary of any pursuit but that for which his inmost soul pants. If on the other hand, you can say that for all the wealth of both the Indies you could not and dare not espouse any other calling so as to be put aside from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, then, depend upon it, if other things be equally satisfactory, you have the signs of this apostleship.
The Outward Confirmation
This inward calling must be met with the outward calling of the church to confirm it. For though it is Christ and Christ alone who calls a man to minister his gospel to the world and to his church, he also imparts to the same all those gifts which are requisite to that calling. He does not call a man only to leave him destitute of the means necessary to answer that call. The Apostle Paul acknowledges this principle saying, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.” (Ephesians 3:7) That is, to be made a minister by God is to be gifted with the measure of grace requisite to the task.
When these gifts are exercised by a man called by Christ to gospel ministry, within the context of the church, they are recognized by those who are encouraged in their faith through them. In this way, the church does not call the man to ministry, but merely recognizes that God himself has already called him and gifted him accordingly. Clowney agrees:
Other ministers or the church as a whole cannot delegate authority to him who is to be a minister of Christ. They can only give orderly recognition to the fact that Christ has called this man. The evidence they recognize is the fruitfulness of the gifts of Christ in the life of his minister.
Thus, this outward call of the church, eventually confirmed by a particular church calling the man as their pastor and the laying on of hands by other men likewise called of God, begins in his local church as he exercises the gifts he has been given. This naturally means that local churches must provide opportunities for men to explore and exercise their gifts, so that the church may recognize and support him in developing them for the edification of Christ's body. Whether this is by leading a Bible study, Sunday School class, or even exhorting in an evening service, the church cannot recognize gifts that are never given the opportunity to be observed.
The Importance of Education
Neither the inward or outward call negate the requirement of dedicated theological study and training. As the author of Hebrews points out, a teaching role within the church is not for the novice, but for “those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14). Moreover, if it is incumbent upon all Christians to “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” (1 Peter 3:15) how much more so those who have been called to the gospel ministry? This makes it most necessary for those who would pursue such a call to undergo thorough training and equipping, that they may add understanding, experience, and skill to the zeal and gifting they already posses.
We may conclude, then, that the call to the ministry is not to be entered on a whim, nor as a man might just as easily choose to be a plumber or an accountant, but is a calling from God that he cannot but obey. Likewise, his gifting to this call from God will make itself known as he ministers within his local body, and it will be honed and improved upon through theological education and training.
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)
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