Should a Pastor be Called of God?

[righteousdude2]

In another forum, the question dealt with "Feeling the Holy Spirit?" Well, there were a lot of good responses, and to be honest, that question/topic got me to think about the calling of a pastor to the Gospel ministry!

Ephesians 4:11-16 ......

Should a pastor be called of God ... and if so, how would someone know they were called, if not for feeling as well as for signs or spiritual manifestations along the way?

For me, it was a definite, indisputable event, and then a series of indicators or manifestations along the way, that continued to show me that He did, in fact, call me!

Now some may say, Why would a person need indicators along the way ..." and I'm glad you asked? The truth is, once we become His [born-again] we become a target for Satan. Even more so would a person who was set aside by God to minister, be under attack by doubts, and a flurry of spiritual warfare, trying to change the path God put them on!

We know that Satan is like a hungry lion, roaming about, LOOKING for someone to devour, so it makes sense that a pastor-to-be would be even more susceptible to his attempts to trip him up!

However, along the way, God placed manifestations or signs that only made my desire stronger, and I knew, that I knew, that He had a purpose and a calling in my life! I think this is why so many men leave the ministry over time. Satan never lets up in the onslaught of attacks. Like Paul said, we are not at war with the physical, but rather the spiritual; a supernatural enemy that only the full armor of God can protect and keep us from harm!

So, should a pastor be called? And if so, how do they know for sure that they were called? And the pastors in the forum, if you could share your views, especially if you had an experience, it would help the younger guys to know how to know for sure, if they were called of God!

 

[KRJ]

Yes. Because John was sent and later Jesus called the twelve.

I don't know how it works or feels in the life of the called because know that I am not called. I'm simply told to be ready to give an answer to every man that asks me a reason of the hope that is in me.

But I know I don't want to be shepherded by someone who merely made a career choice because of a personal interest in spiritual matters. If that's the case then teach in a Bible college.

I want my shepherd to feel he is called.

 

[righteousdude2]

Agreed....

Yes. Because John was sent and later Jesus called the twelve.

I don't know how it works or feels in the life of the called because know that I am not called. I'm simply told to be ready to give an answer to every man that asks me a reason of the hope that is in me.

But I know I don't want to be shepherded by someone who merely made a career choice because of a personal interest in spiritual matters. If that's the case then teach in a Bible college.

I want my shepherd to feel he is called.

Great response .... and before I forget [at my age I tend to do that more than before] WELCOME to the board!

The only thing I'd say about teaching in a Bible college is that, if a person has head knowledge, but not heart knowledge, I personally wouldn't want to sit in their classroom. What I loved about the university I graduated from (Azusa Pacific Univ.) was that all the professors I had for religion and Bible studies, were also, or had once been, pastors, and they all had fabulous testimonies that they made no excuses for sharing with their class!

That would be the only thing I have to say about your thoughts, but, I am sure that being called to disciple [teach] may need more head knowledge than heart sense, but I'd like to see the two matched up!

I agree with everything you said though! I too would not want a pastor leading me, who wasn't sure of, or knew that they were called to lead the flock!

You are correct, brother, the osition of pastor, apostle, disciple, etc., is more than a career that one says one day, "Gee! I think I'll become a pastor!"

My family never understood the testimony about my calling, but that is okay, because most of them are Christians by church membership, and not the act of being born-again!

I'd rather stand before the Father on judgement day with Christ, and not a membership card for some earthly church! :smilewinkgrin:

 

[HAMel]

Lord, it sho' is hot today.

Lord, 'dis cotton row sho' is long.

Lord, 'dis sack sho' is gettin' heavy.

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...Praise 'da Lord I've been called to preach!!!

 

[kyredneck]

Lol, that's funny, and sadly true in a lot of cases.

However....:

Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood. Acts 20:28

 

[webdog]

Yes, his desire should be the "call".

"This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work"

 

[salzer mtn]

After the Lord saved me I attended church almost every night because of the many revivals that were being held in my area. I was hungry for the word, I would set and listen to the preacher as being spell bound soaking up every word. I began to read and study the scriptures with a passion, I just couldn't put the book down. My wife and I became active singers in the church. When the Lord called me I was fast a sleep and you can call it a vision or whatever but my soul was suddenly on fire as the Lord spoke to me and said, put away thy song book and preach my word. Instantly I awoke my body dripping with sweat. After that every time I began to read the bible, scriptures would pop out at me calling me to preach. I became like Moses with excuses when he told the Lord he was not equipped to talk. I began to run from this as hard as I could yet I still stayed in church but I was loosing the joy of my salvation. I ran for five years and developed high blood pressure along the way. There were several things that happened to me in these five years like a broke leg that put me flat on my back for a long period of time that for some reason would not heal, but I knew the reason, and I would submit to his calling but I would go back on my word. Finally one night I was in a church service my blood pressure sky rocketed and my wife took me to the hospital where I stayed for a week. I submitted this time for sure, I called my mother and told her to phone the deacon I wanted him to come see me I had something I wanted to tell him. He came along with the pastor of the church but the deacon told my mother on the phone what it was, he already knew and the church had been praying for me.

 

[John of Japan]

Absolutely yes, a call is necessary.

Paul made it very clear his calling was of God in many verses, these and others:
Ro 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called [to be] an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
1Co 1:1 Paul, called [to be] an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes [our] brother,
1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

I have found 8 kinds of call to God's work in the Scriptures, showing that God calls people individually in different ways:

1. The miraculous call--Moses (Ex. 3)
2. The voluntary call--Isaiah was led by God to say "Here am I, send me" (6:8), and if anyone wants to be a pastor in 1 Tim. 3:1 they can.
3. The call through another man--Elisha through Elijah (1 Kings 19:19), the 12 through Jesus
4. The call through the Word of God--Jonah (1:1-2)
5. The call through the Spirit's physical moving--Ezekiel (3:14)
6. The call through preparation by God from the womb--John the Baptist (Luke 1:15)
7. The call through a vision--Amos (1:1)
8. The call through the laying on of hands--Joshua (Deut. 34:9)

I knew a missionary who was surprised I had a call, and said he just came out to the field obeying the Great Commission. He turned out to have a heart defect, and the tremendous stress of starting a church sent him back to the homeland when the doctor said he would die if he stayed in Japan. If you come out as a missionary with no call, stay away from me--I don't want to be there when you self-destruct like I was with him.

 

[kyredneck]

....Paul made it very clear his calling was of God......

You have to admit, God made it crystal clear to Paul his calling.

 

[John of Japan]

You have to admit, God made it crystal clear to Paul his calling.

Precisely! (Elementary my dear Watson.)

 

[Aaron]

No. It is not a call. It is an office. If one desires the work, and meets the qualifications, he may fill that office. If he misbehaves, then he may no longer fill that office.

God calls us into His rest, and fits us with His yoke, and that call and the gifts with which He has bestowed us are without repentance.

But the office of pastor or bishop is not a calling. It is a good work.

 

[thisnumbersdisconnected]

Ephesians 4, NASB
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ​

If He "gave" them then certainly He did so after He let them know what their service was to be. In other words, He called them.

 

[Revmitchell]

First it is a call as much as it is an office, Acts 20:28 makes that as clear as Ephesians 4. Second failure as a pastor does not mean that one can never fill that position again. There is no scripture to support that crazy idea.

 

[kyredneck]

Aaron, expound some more with some scripture please.

 

[Yeshua1]

The pastor must have that calling from God on his life, as the Lord will grant him the Shepherds heart for his people, and will give him the enabling to rightly divide and teach word of God!

 

[righteousdude2]

I declare brother....

Lord, it sho' is hot today.

Lord, 'dis cotton row sho' is long.

Lord, 'dis sack sho' is gettin' heavy.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
...Praise 'da Lord I've been called to preach!!!

.... some may say that accent is a little racist???

That ws one I never heard before, and it sure nuff hit the spot. HAMel has a humorous side to life! Gotta love that! Bless you brother! :thumbs:

 

[Jordan Kurecki]

Well, I know God called me to preach because I really didn't want to do it, but the Holy Spirit convicted me of rebelling against the will of God, after I surrendered the Spirit really changed my heart and now preaching thrills my soul more than anything in this world.

A lot of it has to do with the conviction of the Holy Ghost.

Of course this isn't the same as a Pastorate, but I imagine when God calls me to a position it will be the same way.

The Holy Spirit conviction and our conscience are sufficient guides, provided we are completely yielded to whatever he has for us.

 

[righteousdude2]

Ditto ...

Well, I know God called me to preach because I really didn't want to do it, but the Holy Spirit convicted me of rebelling against the will of God, after I surrendered the Spirit really changed my heart and now preaching thrills my soul more than anything in this world.

A lot of it has to do with the conviction of the Holy Ghost.

Of course this isn't the same as a Pastorate, but I imagine when God calls me to a position it will be the same way.

The Holy Spirit conviction and our conscience are sufficient guides, provided we are completely yielded to whatever he has for us.

Brother - I knew the same thing as you! God continued to show me along the way, and still does today. There are times I feel like cashing it in ... and then the Spirit gets a hold of me, and reminds me that He called me, and He will let me know when the time to quit has come!

God is awesome for sure!

 

[convicted1]

No. It is not a call. It is an office. If one desires the work, and meets the qualifications, he may fill that office. If he misbehaves, then he may no longer fill that office.

God calls us into His rest, and fits us with His yoke, and that call and the gifts with which He has bestowed us are without repentance.

But the office of pastor or bishop is not a calling. It is a good work.

In all fairness, I really like this post. The calling into the ministry is most definitely a calling. Now, the pastorship? You may be onto something there. Not everyone called into the ministry is going to be a pastor...

 

[convicted1]

I know some will scoff at this, and it's their right to do so...so here goes....

For years, God was after me, and yet I rebelled, living in and enjoying my sinful life. Yet, at the same time, I just knew He was wanting me to preach His word. Mom told me many times that I'd make a preacher, if the Lord would save me. The night the Lord saved me, that morning on the way home from work, I went to mom's and dad's and told them the Lord had saved me. After I left......mom told me this later.....that dad looked over at her and said I'd be preaching in no time. TRUE STORY


Now, I didn't do like Jonah and go another direction when I knew the call into the ministry was placed within me. I had a desire to tell everyone about Jesus. Yet, I was so afraid they'd call on me, I'd sit there shaking inside with fear. I told my pastor one sunday after church about being called, and the very next week, he asked me to preach prior to our monthly business meeting. I was sitting there bawling, destroying my poor little hanky, yet I knew it was something I had to do. You talk about fear!! So many times when I get up to preach, Hebrews 10:31 comes to my mind.....