Being a pastor is both challenging and a privilege. It is challenging because we are fighting in a spiritual war. Pastors are on the front line of this battle as we often carry the burdens of people upon our shoulders and in our prayers. We also work with people who face many issues in their lives and approach this issues differently than us. This inevitably leads to tension and even conflict. It is also a privilege because God has entrusted His people into our care as spiritual leaders. It is a responsibility that often has few benefits outside a sense of having done our best to lead people to God. Sometimes people will even tell us that they are blessed through our leadership or sermons.
What does it mean to say that a person has a “call”? This is a favorite buzz word in Christian circles, especially summer camps, colleges, and seminaries. A call is a deep sense of purpose. A person may come to the realization that God has a special purpose for him or her. How a person experiences this deep sense is highly individual. Sometimes it is a growing conviction that penetrates one’s conscience more and more until one has to respond to it. Some people even claim an audible voice from God, though I have not experienced that. Most often God’s call upon me has come through reading the Bible, praying, or hearing the word of God preached.
How do we know we have a call from God for a special purpose? One simple way is to begin to go in the direction we feel God is leading us. The doors will open and we will more sense of peace. The journey will not always be easy. In fact, most pastors I know have had to pay a high price emotionally, relationally, and financially to follow where they belief God is leading them.
Can a call change? That is a difficult question to answer. Even in the Bible, we can find examples of people who were called for a specific task for a certain amount of time. Others were called to a lifetime of ministry. I struggle with the idea that a call to be a pastor is a lifetime call. I just don’t see that as a command in the Bible. More important to me is that a person is being obedient to the direction in which God is leading him or her. I just wonder if the church has put undue burdens and guilt upon persons who have stepped out of the pastoral ministry (not for reasons of immorality) to do something else with his or her life. This person may get “labeled” by pastors, leaders, or church people. This can be a powerful burden of shame to bear. One must make sure that this leading is from God or with God’s peace rather than fleeing a call to serve God and people.
As pastors, we can live within our call. What I mean by that is having a clear sense of purpose that will sustain us when the trials and challenges come our way–for they will come upon us. We find our identity in Jesus, not in any job in a church. We are servants of the King and are not dependent upon the approval of a church board. Another issue that surfaces for pastors in the review process which can too easily be interpreted as a job review than a recommissioning for renewed service to a church. Have we allowed secularism to infiltrated the church and spiritual leadership provided by a pastor? Even so, such a review can be a time of accountability. Has the pastor been faithful to the call of God? Has the pastor been faithful in spiritual leadership? Has the pastor striven to be the best in a way pleasing to Christ (Colossians 3:23-24)?
Crucial to this call is the condition of the heart. People will have different gifts and talents. Some people experienced many opportunities growing up that others did not. Others may have done well in school or have contacts with “important” people. These can be helpful from a worldly perspective, but we must remember that ministry is not to be graded from a worldly perspective but by God’s word. Like in the Old Testament law, a call from God puts everyone on the same level. No one is greater in God’s sight. In fact, those who are the least but faithful in their call are greater than those who have great leadership positions but have the wrong motives.
Relationships matter. First and foremost is the relationship a pastor has with God, resulting in growth into Christlikeness. Pastors need compassion to guide people into Christlikeness. Many skills are required to lead a church, but at the top of the list is a tender heart that identifies with the people to whom we give care. There is a difference between leading and administering a church, and caring for the souls of the people.
My journey in this regard has not been easy. For too many years, I was motivated at times to build myself up and do well in the eyes of people. There were still moments when I checked my motives and re-aligned my call with God. This drive to do well often showed up in my preaching. It tended to be mechanical though deep and intellectual. God still worked through the foolishness of this preaching. Over the years, I have come to realize that fancy rhetoric is not the most important thing (I don’t think I ever really thought that but it was the temptation that surfaced too often). Learning to identify with the people under my care, even to the point of suffering with them, has moved my call more deeply.
For more pastoral reflections, click here.
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