{"id":776009,"date":"2022-04-26T05:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T10:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=776009"},"modified":"2022-04-27T07:31:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T12:31:54","slug":"a-challenge-to-pastors-and-5-reasons-we-often-dont-accept-the-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/a-challenge-to-pastors-and-5-reasons-we-often-dont-accept-the-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"A Challenge to Pastors, and 5 Reasons We Often Don\u2019t Accept the Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

I realize many debate the nature of a call to gospel ministry, but God does call people to serve Him in unique ways. I know without question, for example, that God called me to preach His Word\u2014and He still calls out people today.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s the pastor\u2019s responsibility to help believers recognize their calling, guide them toward obedience, and then launch them into His work. We must call out the called. Too often, though, we don\u2019t fulfill that calling. Here\u2019s why:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. No one\u2019s challenged us to call out the called.<\/b> In my 45+ years as a Christian, I can recall only a few pastors who intentionally introduced their church to ministry calling and challenged their members to pray about it for their own lives. We haven\u2019t seen it modeled, so we don\u2019t do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Our approach has been to wait for someone to come to us\u2014not to seek out those who might be called.<\/b> It ought to work both ways, in fact. On one hand, some who are wrestling with a call might initiate a conversation with us. On the other hand, though, we need to keep our eyes open for believers whose lives might suggest a calling. Like Paul seeking out Timothy (Acts 16:2-3), we need to watch for those to affirm\u2014and at least initiate a conversation about ministry with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. We often struggle with the possibility of sending out our best.<\/b> After all, we\u2019ve already worked hard to reach people and then equip them. We\u2019ve spent hours with them to prepare them to do ministry\u2014and now we want to encourage them to think about taking steps of faith that might move them beyond our church? At least from a human perspective, it makes little sense to send out our best.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Sometimes ministry has been so difficult for us that we\u2019re not sure we want to recommend it for anyone.<\/b> When you\u2019ve been wounded one too many times, it\u2019s not easy to call the next generation into that potential anguish. Indeed, it\u2019s often easier to discourage rather than encourage them, to push them away from ministry rather than toward it. That personal pain, though, doesn\u2019t eliminate our responsibility to raise up the next generation of church leaders and missionaries.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. If our church does have some members who are called to ministry, recognizing that reality usually means more work for us.<\/b> That is, we now must consider how to disciple them, how to give them opportunities to test their giftedness, how to hold them accountable for their spiritual growth, and how to guide them into future preparation like seminary. It\u2019s a lot of work if we take this responsibility seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s my suggestion. Look around to see whose giftedness might suggest a call to ministry. Ask other leaders if they know someone in the church who\u2019s expressed interest in ministry. Preach a message on calling, and invite those who want to know more to have lunch with you. Follow up, and see where the Lord leads. You won\u2019t regret calling out the called when you see God use them among your neighbors and the nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I realize many debate the nature of a call to gospel ministry, but God does call people to serve Him in unique ways. I know without question, for example, that God called me to preach His Word\u2014and He still calls out people today. At the same time, I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s the pastor\u2019s responsibility to help…","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":776014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,184,175,186,192,181,177,178,14796,180,176,196],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-776009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-discipleship","category-grow","category-health-and-metrics","category-how-to","category-international-missions","category-lead","category-membership-and-assimilation","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-outreach-and-evangelism","category-revitalize","category-staff-and-organizational-issues"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Challenge to Pastors, and 5 Reasons We Often Don\u2019t Accept the Challenge | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s the pastor\u2019s responsibility to help believers recognize their calling, guide them toward obedience, and then launch them into His work. 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