THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY AND CAN WE TELL WHEN OTHERS HAVE IT?

Charles Spurgeon said that there are three components to a call from God:

1. A burden for the work
2. An obvious, observable gift from God
3. An opportunity for ministry

Every Christian ought to have some sort of burden for the work of the ministry. 

But the burden alone is not evidence of a call into the work of pastoring or planting a church.

The problem with planting a church is that the need is so great that 

a person, if not disciplined by his church, can find a place without a Gospel witness. But a town without a church is not evidence of a call to ministry

Therefore the deciding factor has to be that other Christians SEE the gifts of the ministry in the candidate - 

not only that they are doctrinally sound and talented enough to deliver it but that they are stable enough spiritually, emotionally and with health to do the work without creating a excessive burden upon their marriage, their children or those they minister among.

I would illustrate it like this…

1. In a healthy marriage both the husband and the wife have all their needs met in their relationship with Jesus Christ. They do not  marry because they have need of the love of the spouse. They get married so they can give of themselves to their spouse. It is a great relationship because both give freely without ever feeling like they are being taken from.
2. In a healthy church the members have all of their needs met in in Christ before they ever make it to the church house. They do not come to church because they need the others. They will receive what they need from God. They can therefore give fellowship at church rather than taking fellowship.
3. In a healthy pastorate the preacher is gifted of the Spirit so that he can give to his community. He has temporal needs of course, but he is not consumed by them. Because he has his needs met in Christ He is in a position to gratefully receive as blessings those means that are: provided by the church he pastors, the people of his community and the pastors with whom he fellowships. He can live in good conscience that his ministry among them has earned his compensation.

I am afraid men often enter a ministry in such need that they are almost incapable of giving to their church or their community. They go to a town insisting God has called them there but, not being properly gifted, they almost immediately become an emergency situation. Their marriage is strained, their children are strained, the fellowship of pastors is strained because of the obligation (imposed upon them by an unprepared man) to help repeatedly rescue this family. And the people of the community/church become strained by the bad experience of a professed preacher who should never have come, is now forced to leave and in doing so gives a bad testimony for Christ.

I do not mean that everyone should have their finances raised and be self sufficient before they come to a town to plant a new church or to pastor one. What I mean is they need to be sufficiently gifted, spiritually, emotionally and with health so that they can truly offer Christ freely.

Marvin McKenzie

In the fields

The Difference Between Influence and Power

I recently read a piece written by A.C. Dixon, entitled, “I Kept God From Working.”[1]It read, 

“While I was pastor of the Baptist Church in a university town of North Carolina, I was made to realize that as a preacher I was a dismal failure.

Parents from all over the state wrote and requested me to look after the spiritual welfare of their sons in the university. I prepared sermons with students in mind and was glad to see that they showed their appreciation by attending our Sunday services in great numbers. We also appointed a week of prayer and preaching, with the single purpose of winning them to Christ and they attended the evening meetings.

About the middle of the week, however, their interest seemed to turn into opposition. The spirit of mischief possessed them. One night they tried to put out the lights. As I walked through the grove of trees around the university buildings I sometimes heard an imitation of my voice coming from behind a tree. A bright student had caught a part of my sermon of the night before and he was giving it in thought and tone for the benefit of his fellow students who responded by applause and laughter. As I walked before an open window I heard my voice imitated in prayer floating out. I felt defeated and seriously considered resigning from the pastorate. No one had been saved.

After a restless night I took my Bible and went into a grove of trees and remained there until three o'clock in the afternoon. As I read I asked God to show me what was the matter. The Word of God searched me through and through, giving me a deep sense of sin and helplessness such as I had never had before.

That evening the students listened reverently and at the close of the service, two rows were filled with those who responded to the invitation. The revival continued day after day until more than seventy of the students confessed Christ.

What Did It?

The practical question is, "What did it?" Certainly not I. I fear it was I who kept God from doing it for a long time. Out of that day's experience of waiting on God, there came to me a clear-cut distinction between influence and power.

Influence is made up of many things: intellect, education, money, social position, organization--all of which ought to be used for Christ. Power is God Himself at work unhindered by our unbelief and other sins. The New Testament word power holds the secret. The power from on high was no other than the power of the Holy Ghost touching the soul through the living Word and giving it a birth from above. I had been trusting and testing many other good things, only to fail. The touch of God by His Holy Spirit did what my best efforts could not do.”

After sharing the story, a member of the church asked me to explain a bit more about the power of God. I used the word conviction. Bruce Turner, who was preaching for us at the time, interjected about the difference between being convinced and convicted. A conviction is something from God and cannot be altered. God never changes. Those things that come from Him could therefore never change. 

I am convicted, for instance, that the King James Version of the Bible is without error. 

• Academic proofs won’t change that. 
• More popular versions won’t change that. 
• Pressure from others won’t change that. 

I am also, for instance, convicted that the church Jesus built is a Baptist church. 

I could therefore never go to any other sort. It’s not about convenience, programs, proximity, popularity. It’s not about the personality of the pastor or the friendliness of the congregation. It is about doctrine and authority. I am so convicted of this that I could only attend a Baptist church that is equally convicted. 

My convictions come not from what a man has taught me. That would be mere convincing. My convictions come from personal study of the Word of God, an understanding of church history and the work of the Holy Spirit upon my conscience. 

A conviction comes from God and cannot change. I, however, am a man and can change. If I change from my convictions it is necessary that I rebel against them and will be in rebellion until I return to them. 

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[1]http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=28004