The Christian pastor holds the greatest office of human responsibility in all creation. He is called to preach the word; teach the truth to God’s people; lead God’s people in worship; tend to the flock as a caring shepherd; and mobilise the church for Christian witness and service. Souls are entrusted to his care and the truth is entrusted to his stewardship. Eternal realities hang in the balance.
Reckoning With the Weightiness of Ministry
I remember the significant impression the (slightly adapted) passage above from On Being a Pastor had on me during my pastoral internship. As an aspiring minister, it was a potent summation of the weightiness of pastoral ministry, something that in God’s providence had been increasingly impressed on me during my internship.
I lacked a sense of the profound weightiness of pastoral ministry.
I’d felt called to pastoral ministry soon after my conversion as a ten-year-old boy. Despite this early calling, I pursued other vocations for a variety of reasons and circumstances. Throughout that time God granted me various teaching, preaching, and leadership roles in different capacities, preparing me for the eventual path to ministry.
Looking back, I’m grateful for this delay. In those formative experiences, one glaring truth emerged: I lacked a sense of the profound weightiness of pastoral ministry. This hadn’t been exemplified or emphasised to me. If I’d entered pastoral ministry with this lack, I might have caused significant harm. Thankfully, God led me to a local church where the sacredness of this huge responsibility was both taught and demonstrated. This in turn served as a great tool to help me assess whether I was indeed called to pastoral ministry. I give thanks to God for the delay.
Ministry Shouldn’t Be Treated Casually Nor As a Career
In our world of diverse careers, pastoral ministry is often mistakenly seen as just another professional path. It is perceived as a place of employment, with clients to serve and an income to earn. But this perspective fails to grasp the uniqueness of pastoral ministry—a divine vocation directly initiated by God with a unique task that involves handling sacred truth, proclaiming salvation to the lost, shepherding God’s flock, and sanctifying the saints through the word. This sacred task carries both immense temporal and eternal significance. As John Piper puts it, “The aims of our ministry are eternal and spiritual. They are not shared by any of the professions.”
Entering the ministry demands intentional discernment of one’s divine calling.
It is therefore vital that pastoral ministry is not approached casually. Its responsibilities shouldn’t be handled frivolously. Nor can we neglect its eternal implications. Entering the ministry demands intentional discernment of one’s divine calling. It is not a career path. Nor is it a secondary job, taken up midway through life, merely for a career change or better prospects. We can never pursue ministry lightly. For it is a divinely initiated calling, which must be laboriously confirmed.
Know, With Certainty, That You’re Called
Micheal A. Milton, in his book Called?, tells a striking story of his interaction with an aging Nazarene preacher, which was pivotal in discerning his own call.
It isn’t only wise but necessary to ensure one is called.
He narrates the man questioning him. “Son, are you called?” To this Milton answered, “I think so.” The aging preacher asked him, again: “Son, I said, ‘Are you called?'” He was clearly agitated. So was Milton, who with similar agitation responded, “Yes, I think I am.” The man then drew closer to him. And looking him right in the eye said, “Son, you’d better know you are called. In the end, your call is all you got. When they spread rumours about you, when they reject you, when they betray you, when they run you out of town, the only thing that will stand you in good stead will be that you know that you know that you know that you are called. Now go home and pray until you know!”
Knowing that one is called is one of the primary providers of motivation, patience and the long-suffering required for the work of pastoral ministry. Ministry is no light-hearted affair. Thus it isn’t only wise but necessary to ensure one is called to it. It’s crucial for anyone entering pastoral ministry to know that they’re called. This is something I’ve sought to ascertain in my own life. I urge every man desirous of ministry to labour in doing the same.
A Sacred and Serious Task
Pastoral ministry is a sacred calling that requires profound discernment and a deep sense of responsibility. It isn’t merely a career. Ministry is a divine vocation, with eternal implications. As we reflect on what it means to be called to ministry, it becomes clear that discerning one’s call is essential for faithfully stewarding the weighty task of shepherding God’s people.
In my next article we’re going to explore in greater depth how one can confirm their calling to pastoral ministry.
