Is there such a thing as a “call to the ministry?” If there is a call, what does it entail? What passages of Scriptures explain this call? How can we interpret these words from a friend: “I feel called of God to be a pastor or missionary”?

In Do You Feel Called By God? Rethinking the Call to Ministry, Michael Bennett guides us in a study of the concept of call through the whole Bible. He gives special attention to any reference to a call to ministry and includes an examination of various words in the Greek New Testament for “call.”

Bennett concludes that the New Testaments speaks of only two kinds of call. The first is the calling to be become a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. The second is the call to be holy, the call to Christlikeness. He sees no reference to what many would consider a call to ministry.

To be more specific, the author observes that no New Testament writer teaches that candidates for leadership must have a strong sense or feeling of being called to a position.

The author knows that we are then faced with a practical dilemma—if there is no authoritative call to ministry, what will keep people faithful when ministry becomes very difficult? His response is that the answer must be found elsewhere in Scripture since there is no reference to a definitive calling.

The book explains that Christian pietism and ways of communicating in Christian history have strongly influenced us towards an unbiblical terminology about ministry. Instead of looking for a subjective calling or set of feelings and impressions as that terminology suggests, instead we must look to the Scriptures for objective reasons for ministry decisions.

The fact that we are all “called to ministry” as believers in Jesus Christ is a huge point for Bennett. Embracing this reality, that all followers of Christ are truly to consider themselves as “in the ministry.” This takes away much of the need for a special call to leadership roles. As a matter of fact, the goal of leadership is to equip believers for ministry.

Leaders should be mature believers with a desire to serve and having the appropriate gifts (natural, given by God after conversion, or learned). This is what the New Testament emphasizes for spiritual leadership. Such leaders must have the right motivation and have been tested in their walk with Christ.

Another practical point the author raises is that often the conversation is really about whether or not a Christian already serving Christ faithfully is going to continue to do so full-time. He gives six stages of thinking that a person usually goes through when they decide for full-time ministry, using Hudson Taylor as an example.

For those of us that have tried to guide people in decision-making about serving Christ as elders, pastors, and missionaries, this lack of teaching and example has made discussion about calling very difficult. And yet, we continue to speak of a call to ministry as though it is a biblical concept. We often end up in the area of subjectivity and impressions, which we know is shaky ground. Discussions about the call to ministry are often left with the feeling that something is lacking in the conversation. What is lacking is clear biblical instruction. Bennett does us a great service by clarifying this issue for us. He says,

“But this concept of ‘feeling called’, I believe, can often be used as a cop-out from Christian responsibility.”

Others have raised concerns about how we talk about “the call.” One of these is Brad Buser. In his recent article, The Mystery of the Call, he makes this statement:

“By taking the idea and terminology of ‘the call’ out of the equation, many seriously confused Christians could be mobilized to complete the Great Commission.  I’m under no illusions here, I’m well aware that many use that term as a diversionary balloon, but there actually are many serious Christ followers that a lack of ‘the call’ in and of itself has stopped them in their tracks. It’s time to de-mystify the call. Let’s focus our efforts and the best of our young people on completing the Great Commission.” 

Conclusion:

By stripping away unbiblical expectations and subjectivism, we are allowed to focus on what God actually says about ministry decisions, which can be liberating. If we agree with Bennet’s conclusions about calling, it would mean that we should stop using the calling terminology typically used when discussing ministry decisions. It would seem that one cannot go wrong by simply sticking to words used by God Himself in the New Testament. Maybe it would clear up much of the confusion surrounding the “call to ministry.”

Michael Bennett has served as a pastor in two churches, taught at a theological college, and written for Matthias Media in Australia. You can obtain a copy of the book HERE.