Call to Ministry

What is a Calling?

“A call is a profound impression from God that establishes parameters for your life and can be altered only by a subsequent, superseding impression from God.” - Jeff Iorg

General Calling

FOR ALL HUMANITY

“common grace”

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” - God’s call for everyone to come to believing faith in the Son is universal (It is not God’s will that any should perish…)

**That the call is universal does not, of course, mean that salvation is also universal.**

But not everyone will heed the call, resulting in saving faith - Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.””

The call goes out far and wide, through creation and through evangelism - 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…”

So the calling that leads to saving faith is a gift from God - Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”

FOR ALL BELIEVERS

“A call is a profound impression from God that establishes parameters for your life…” - Jeff Iorg

God calls all believers to Christian service and spiritual growth (Iorg). *In this sense, All believers are called to full-time Christian service! (Iorg)

Isaiah 43:1 “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

He even calls some to a general place of ministry leadership (Iorg) - like CG leaders, ministry enablers, etc

Isaiah 42:6 ““I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,”

God called and named Israel to be his, to be separate, protected by God, and given the work of bearing witness to Adonai

NT: now God’s call is now “in Christ Jesus” = Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

We now bear the name of Christian (1 Peter 4:16 “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”)

and we now belong to God in Christ (1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” )

we are called to be children of God: 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are….”

The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition II. In the New Testament

The Epistles, especially Paul’s, make clear the theological meaning of Christ’s call. It comes from God, through the gospel for salvation through sanctification - and belief (

1 Thessalonians 2:12 “we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” [also Eph 4]

The Great Commission is a call to ministry for EVERY believer. Matt 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

*EVERY CHRISTIAN IS CALLED TO MINISTER; SOME ARE EVEN CALLED TO MINISTRY* (Allen)

No matter our vocation, we are all called to be active in building up the body of Christ (Allen).

For some, being “called to ministry” may mean that our vocation has a direct ministerial component to it, such as being a Christian camp counselor, a teacher in a Christian school, or leading an organization that delivers Bibles and food to the homeless.

All believers are called to bear the Name of Christian, acknowledge we are children of God, and live in such a way that it is clear we now belong to God in Christ; regardless of our vocation!

1 Corinthians 7:17 “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

Paul is likely saying,

Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Vocation > Election

“Let everyone remain loyal to God’s call, which means living as a Christian in whatever situation you find yourself.”

We are promised blessing if we do this. See Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Special Calling

“A call is a profound impression from God that establishes parameters for your life and can be altered only by a subsequent, superseding impression from God.” - Jeff Iorg

A real call to vocational/pastoral ministry is irresistible! Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a physician-turned-preacher in twentieth-century London, spoke about the “fire in the belly” that God gives when he calls when he said:

“I would say that the only man who is called to preach is the man who cannot do anything else, in the sense that he is not satisfied with anything else. this call to preach is so put upon him, and such pressure comes to bear upon him that he says, ‘I can do nothing else, I must preach.’”

I resonate with Lloyd-Jones’s sentiment… Ethan can verify that any time I find someone who thinks they are called to “the ministry,” I tell them that I am going to do my very best to talk them out of it! If they can imagine themselves doing ANYTHING else, they should go do it! I sincerely believe that without a real calling from God, no one can survive pastoral ministry. Usually, they won’t last a year!

God calls some to a specific ministry assignment. Whether FT or PT, paid or volunteer, this is a special, clear and specific call to Christian ministry. *I say “specific” not in the sense that God immediately gives one all the details… He typically does not. But He does call us with a sense that we are especially tasked with some ministry assignment. Even knowing that the assignment may be clarified or even changed some time in the future, we know God has a special assignment for us.

God calls in at least three ways:

Thru sudden experiences (Moses Ex 3:1-10, Saul/Paul)

Thru reasoned decisions (Paul called to go to certain cities and not to others; Paul called to Macedonia and it took his team months to travel there; the process of moving to a different ministry post)

Thru the prompting of others (Samuel was God’s messenger to select David as king; the Holy Spirit speaking thru members of the church at Antioch to call Barnabas and Paul to be missionaries in Acts 13; remember Experiencing God? Henry Blackaby says that God speaks to us through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the Church to show us his will)

God calls all kinds of people: Unexpected, anonymous, inconsistent, and even immoral people… **CAN YOU THINK OF EXAMPLES OF EACH OF THESE?**

“Male/female, Jew/Greek, slave/free…”

MORE EXAMPLES

ISAIAH

Isaiah 49:1 “Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.”

English Standard Version Chapter 6

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for cus?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go

.

AARON/PRIESTS

Hebrews 5:1–4 ESV

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

PAUL

Galatians 1:15 “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,”

Romans 1:1 “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,”

1 Corinthians 1:1 “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,”

THE APOSTLES

Mark 1:16–20 “Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”

talk about an immediate, decisive, eager response to God’s call!

God’s call demands that we reprioritize our lives (Ethan: firefighter? no, counselor/pastor)

UM, JESUS!?!

our ultimate example of responding to God’s call

So we see that all believers are called to minister, and some are called to a special type of ministry. I want to focus on some of those special types of ministry, and what type of people God calls to special ministry roles.

ROLES OF PASTORS/MINISTERS

Through the OT, and even in the earliest NT Church, we see recorded the establishing of Elders to lead the organization and spiritual formation of the people.

Elders are mentioned throughout the book of Acts. We don’t know exactly who all of them were or how they were chosen in those early days of the Christian Church.

*side note: “Elders” in the Bible is accurately translated as bishop, pastor, leader, overseer* - these are the people God calls to lead the Church by preaching/teaching (1 Tim 5:17), tending to the spiritual development of the congregation (1 Peter 5:2), and overseeing the care of the Church: Acts 20:28 “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

Thus, Pastors today are charged with continuing the ministries of keeping watch and shepherding the flock on behalf of the great shepherd Jesus Christ.

Pastors are set over the congregation

1 Thessalonians 5:12 ESV

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

1 Timothy 5:17 ESV

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Pastors are God’s steward/manager of God’s household

Titus 1:7 ESV

For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,

1 Corinthians 4:1 ESV

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Pastors safeguard the truth of the gospel and guard against false doctrine

Titus 1:9–11 ESV

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

Pastors are commissioned to imprint the gospel on the hearts and lives of Christ-followers

1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 ESV

For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

2 Timothy 2:24–26 ESV

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MINISTRY TODAY

Since the roles of Pastors are clearly weighty, high callings, it’s no surprise that the qualifications for this Church office are also high. Scripture lays out these qualities most clearly in 1 Timothy and Titus.

Titus 1:6–9 ESV

if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 ESV

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Pastors/Elders/Overseers are men. Both men and women are endowed with equal worth and dignity before God, he assigned differing roles to them, both in the home and in the church.

I don’t mind admitting that I don’t like this. i know many women who could teach me an infinite number of things about Scripture and about following Jesus better. But God is infinitely wise, beyond our own understanding, and I choose to trust him. I choose to submit to Scripture as the final authority in all situations!

Women can be supremely wise and gifted to serve the church in many important ways. That’s why here at WRBC we encourage and celebrate women in ministry. We have 2 full-time female ministers on staff, 4 indispensable ladies that support & honestly ENABLE all of our ministries, 4 ladies who work part-time on our ministry staff, and 2 women who are indispensable to our developing Biblical Counseling ministry. We don’t appoint women to ministry just because they are female, but we don’t preclude them from ministry on that basis either.

In the same way, We also don’t appoint just any man to a ministry role. There are high requirements for any minister. According to our text, a Pastor must be:

Above reproach - blameless, above accusation. not perfect, but with a blameless reputation. Probably includes wisdom and discernment. A pastor’s life must be worthy of imitating (1 Peter 5:3 “not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”)

Husband of one wife/literally, “a one-woman man”

he is married to only one

he loves only one

he physically and emotionally knows only one

sober minded

self controlled

respectable

hospitable/welcoming

able to teach/preach

able to explain God’s Word with skill

this is a big one, that delineates between a Director or Minister and a Pastor on our staff

not all called to the ministry will preach, but all must be able to teach God’s Word

not drunk, violent, quarrelsome, or in love with money

able to manage his own household

not a recent convert

great reputation outside of the church

again, not perfect, but above reproach. If someone from the community came against one of us with an outlandish accusation, no one would even consider believing it

You’ve heard it said that God doesn’t necessarily call the equipped, but he absolutely equips those he calls?

2 Timothy 3:14–17 ESV

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Beyond these qualifications, I believe the Bible gives at least two more: the person God calls to special ministry must love God’s people, and they must desire to minister to them in a special way (not for personal gain, but in the sense of being willing and enthusiastic about doing it)

1 Peter 5:1–3 ESV

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

Isaiah was a great example of eager acceptance of God’s call (“Here am I; send me!”) - even tho aware of his unworthiness due to sin

As Charles Spurgeon once said, “The first sign of the heavenly calling is an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work. In order to be a true call to the ministry there must be an irresistible, overwhelming craving and raging thirst for telling others what God has done…”

TAKEAWAYS

God’s standard for ministry is high because the office is high and we serve a high God who zealously guards the glory of his name and his Church. (Allen)

In fact, anyone who does not meet God’s standard for the ministry can be sure he is NOT called to it! (Allen - emphasis mine)

What is holding you back from fully embracing your call to serve Christ and fulfill his mission, given to us?

Jesus invites all believers into a life of service that continues his work. the Great Commission wasn’t a new idea…

At WRBC we filter everything we do thru the Great Commission. Our church mission statement is just a restatement of the GC. Waterloo Road Baptist Church exists to connect people to Jesus: his truth, his family, his mission.