04 - What is a Call Ministry
WHAT IS A CALL TO THE MINISTRY? BY REV. JAMES D. KNOWLES.
LETTER IV.
Mr DEAR BROTHER I mean to use the phrase providence of God, as including whatever God has done for a man, in respect to his endowments of body and of mind, the situation in which he is placed, and his duties and relations to his fellow-men. That the physical constitution has some bearing on the question of duty respecting the ministry, is evident. A dumb man could not be a minister, whatever might be his mental and spiritual qualifications. A man whose health was greatly impaired, or whose constitution was so feeble as to preclude the hope of efficiency, ought not to enter on the work. In all such cases, the providence of God has decided the question.
-The constitution of the mind has a still more direct connection with the subject. A man must have such a degree of understanding as to enable him to learn and to teach, or he cannot be fit for a minister. This degree we cannot fix in theory, though there will be little difficulty, perhaps, in deciding the point in practice. A feeble mind, which cannot manage ordinary affairs with success; a dull mind, which cannot learn; an eccentric mind, which prompts a man to say and do imprudent things; an indolent mincjjjk if which will not study; a very irascible temper, and other bad qualities of this kind, ought to be regarded as evidence that God does not intend the individual for the ministry. The qualifications specified in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and Titus 1:5-9, should be carefully considered.
I say nothing here of an ignorant mind, because such a mind may be instructed, if it possess the ability and disposition. And here, my brother, allow me to make a suggestion, which is, I conceive, very important. The question, Am I called to le a minister? does not include the question, Is it my duty NOW to preach?. Much of the error which exists on this suhject among the churches, and much of the embarrassment which often distresses the minds of young Christians, spring from confounding these questions. The inquiry, in most cases, ought to be, Is it my duty to PREPARE to preach the Gospel? It may be a man’s duty to be acquiring the qualifications for -the ministry, who is not yet fit to preach. This is too plain, it would seem, to need proof. Yet it may be profitable to illustrate this point. Paul informs us that he was separated and designed for the ministry from his birth. Galatians 1:15. The same fact is asserted by Jehovah himself concerning Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:5. And all who believe in the foreknowledge of God, must believe that this is true of all the ministers whom he appoints. Some eminent ministers, like Dr. Doddridge, became pious in childhood. If Dr. Doddridge, while a child, had been informed by Jehovah that he was designed for the ministry, would it have been his duty then to commence preaching? Certainly not. It would have been his duty to devote himself to an earnest preparation for the work. If, then, a case might happen, in which the individual would be called, not to preach, but to prepare to preach, why should we suppose it unreasonable to conclude that God often does, by his providence and his Spirit, call men to the ministry, to be exercised not now, but when they shall have acquired the necessary preparation? Our Saviour called his apostles, not to preach immediately, but to be disciples, that is, learners, and when they were instructed, he sent them forth to proclaim his Gospel.
If this reasoning is correct, the difficulty which seriously embarrasses many young men, the want of sufficient education, is removed. It is a plain case, that God does not call a man to preach immediately, who is incapable of teaching.
It would be an impeachment of his wisdom to suppose it. But he may call a man to prepare to preach. If a young man, then, has the other qualifications, his want of education is not a reason for doubting whether he is called to be a minister; that is, to be a minister when he shall have made all suitable preparation. And at this tune, when Education Societies are ready to assist every suitable applicant, and when seminaries of learning are so numerous, almost every young man may, if he will, obtain a competent education. This view of the case, too, shows how unfounded is the objection, which is often made by Christians, to a course of education for the ministry. If, say they, a man is called to preach, he ought to preach, and not to spend his tune at college, or at the theological seminary. But they mistake the point. If the call is to prepare to preach, the young man would disobey God if he should preach instead of pursuing his studies. Let, then, Christians beware how they censure young men, and entice them from their books.
They undoubtedly often resist the will of God by such an interference, and destroy the usefulness of the unhappy man whom they have persuaded to misinterpret his call, and enter the field before he was prepared. This course of reasoning, too, shows that it is an injurious and wrong practice, to give a young man a license to preach before he is prepared. The practice of the churches on this subject ought to be conformed to the indications of God’s will. If the call is to prepare to preach, the church ought to give a young man, of whose other qualifications they are satisfied, an expression of their approbation of such a course of preparation, reserving the license for that period when he shall have acquired a sufficient amount of knowledge and experience to enable him to teach.
Affectionately yours.