Advice?

Make certain of your calling. Baptists, more so in the past than in the present, viewed the call to the ministry as being comprised of two parts: the inward, or subjective, call and the outward, or objective call. The outward perspective, the view of those believers who had observed the potential candidate's life and gifts, was often the confirmation of the inward and would sometimes be used by God to awake an inward call. Here are a couple of good articles: http://www.9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526|CHID598016|CIID1640026,00.html and http://www.9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526|CHID598016|CIID1552904,00.html .

Blessings,
Bill

 

If you feel called, go to your pastor and pray about it. Discuss this with them. "The call to ministry should not be taken lightly. We need to discuss your calling. Let's explore it and pray over it further for a while and see where God leads you?" THis is what was shared with me when I was called to minister to those who are homeless. If you find God's calling to be true, then next steps will depend upon the area and level of ministry you are called to. If you are called to serve the church, then there may be a ministry program for you to follow. The Church I member with has a program to attend to alert interested people as to where ministry is needed by members. They introduce you to principles of service, expectations, etc. If you feel called to something different, such as missions, you may be encouraged to explore mission trips locally, at first. Later, you might try an overseas mission trip. Ultimately, if you are called to Ministry, long term, a Christian leadership school may be next. Finally, if called to serve in a deeper context, school of theology may be the next step.
I highly recommend that you speak with your pastor about it. Be in prayer DAILY over this. Explore opportunities to serve in your community, regardless of his response. People are in need everywhere in the world and some of the greatest need may be in your own community!

 

I was given the advice:

"If you can do anything else in the world, do it. If you are truly called to be a pastor you will not be able to stand it by doing anything else."

 

I can go back to college and achieve any degree I so desire---and be anything that I want to be--but here's the catch

I don't want to do anything else!

The only thing I want to do is preach! And to do it with all my might!!

That's the only desire God has given me!

 

Hi Travis,

I read in another thread that you want to be a pastor so that you can help people. Reading that was a blessing to me for it shows me that you have a good heart. We read in Psalm 24,

3. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?
4. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. (NASB, 1995)

Don’t ever forget that, Travis—“clean hands and a pure heart.” Every pastor’s most important asset is his own personal relationship with God, so treasure and guard that relationship with all of your being.

Make prayer your number one priority and forsake everything that will not help you to be a better pastor. Every moment wasted is wasted forever.

Pray everyday for God to teach you His truths and to protect you from error. Give ears to men but let God be your teacher.

Carefully and prayerfully read and study your Bible.

Give the first and last part of everyday of your life to God as exclusively as possible, and remember that the rest of everyday also belongs to Him.

Never forget for a moment to put God first, others second, and yourself last, always trusting God to give you the wisdom to know the difference in each and every situation.

Travis, I came to know Jesus as my savior through the sacrificial love of a 14-year-old boy whom I scarcely knew and didn’t like. Don’t wait till your ordination for God to use you to change people’s lives.

 

I would go along to a weekend designed for people that are looking at getting into leadership where they have a time to pray and have counselling over what your future is, a number of denominations have these camps for people considering ministry. I have been to one and can heartilly reccomend it.

 

I would tell them that if there is anything else on this earth that they can do, forget ideas of ministry and go do that!

sound harsh? One of the signits of a calling is the strong urge and desire to preach. So strong that it is to the point that you eventually find yourself unable to do anything but serve God. It can even drive a man to the point of insanity. This is what one thing Paul meant when he said woe to me if I preach not the gospel. Those with a true calling will not be able to escape it peacefully. Those without the calling find themselves in a great trouble if they enter the ministry as they will hurt more people than they help.

I do not waste time sugarcoating ministry. I have given them a good dose of the downside of ministry, bitter and angry members, disgruntled battles within, attacks of the devil. etc. I have found that every person but one has faithfully gone into the ministry.

 

The call to pastor and the call to preach are, however, two VERY different callings. Preaching is only a SMALL part of pastoring a Church, and very many who are called to preach are not called, equipped, or competent to pastor a church. A “strong urge and desire to preach” may be indicative of a calling to a ministry other than to be a pastor of a church, such as a calling to be an evangelist, a conference speaker or retreat speaker, a lay preacher, or a street preacher.

 

I am a long-term associate, (since 1979 - you do the math). In 1997 I participated in a research project about how a person stays long-term in an associate ministry position.

Far and away the prominent reason for staying in ministry was a sense of having the call of God. All else fades to nothing next to the Call.

I would dare say that the same applies to the office of Pastor.

 

TB12,

In the past a key factor in the call to the ministry was the support and encouragment of another pastor or pastors, not that our call is subject to some one else's decision. I believe the ordination process is more than a doctrinal presentation, but it should also be a recognition by follow pastors that it seems God has indeed called this other man into pastoral ministry.

I agree totally with Dr. Bob's comments. Add to that, what are other pastors saying about your gifts and qualifications for ministry?

 

Travis you have been given some great advice. I would want to add, make sure, absolutely sure of your call.

Being a Pastor is not a job, it is a life and your entire family is involved in that whether they want to be or not.

Stay close to Him who called you, and you will remain pure, and you will be able to lead, guide and direct the people that God has assigned to you.

God Bless

 

Well Craig I agree with you completely, a pastor must have the urge and desire to help others and serve. I just used the urge to preach because that is a common bond that all ministers, whether missions, evangelism or pastorate (associate youth senior etc) have in common. Some have a stronger urge and others not as strong but all will have that desire to proclaim the gospel