Saturday, August 05, 2017

Reframing “Calling”: Words to Churches and Aspiring Pastors


You’ve found yourself at the end of a series in which I’m attempting to reframe how we think about “calling to ministry.”

In my first post I pointed out that “calling” language carries a double presumption. You’re saying you think you are, or soon will be, (1) qualified to be an elder and (2) sufficiently gifted in ministry that a church should pay you to do it.

And in my second post I drilled into those two points, eldering and economics. To say you’re called is to say you desire to serve as an elder, and you want to do so as a full-time job. But it’s in God’s and a local church’s hands to decide if either of those will ever happen. So I suggested that, in light of 1 Timothy 3:1, “aspiring to elder” can serve as a more biblical frame for our thinking, and even our speaking.

In this final post I’ll round the corner and apply this perspective to how churches and aspiring ministers should assess the aspiration to pastor. Read More

Related Articles:
The Double Presumption of Calling to Ministry
Eldering, Economics, and Calling to Ministry

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