So You Want to Be in “The Ministry”
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When I was in college, a lot of my friends were preparing to go into “The Ministry.” Some were full of holy zeal for mission work, some had plans for pastoral ministry, and some were simply caught up in the whirlwind of surrender. The “Preacher Boys” dated and married the girls called to be “Pastors’ Wives” and we all dreamed of future service.
Somehow when the dust had settled, I found myself married to one of those “Preacher Boys” despite no pressing need to be a “Pastor’s Wife” or to be in vocational ministry. Our first years together were spent finishing up school, going through the process of ordination, and eventually launching out into “The Ministry.” But nearly a decade and a half later, I’ve learned a few things. And most of them bear no resemblance to what I thought I knew.
I was reminded of this today when I read this piece from Jared Wilson about watching one of his parishioners waste away in hospice. Wilson is a popular blogger and author, but he spends most of his time in the trenches as a pastor, and this piece particularly captures the realities of ministry. The pain, the heartbreak, the inexplicable hope of the gospel. The joy of watching people triumph over death through the power of Christ.
We didn’t talk about these things in college.
So to those you who want to go into “The Ministry,” let me offer a few words of unsolicited advice: What you think is “The Ministry” probably isn’t.
- “The Ministry” is not carefully crafted schedules and specific days off. It means working holidays, late nights, and weekends.
- “The Ministry” doesn’t read the popular blogs, know the latest buzzwords, or buy the best-selling books. It doesn’t always understand things like “small groups” or “missional living” or all those marks that you plan to evaluate a church by.
- “The Ministry” does not consist of praying several hours every day, talking with other folks in “The Ministry,” or having your nose in one of the 1,542 books that flank your office walls. You’ll do those things, but in between the hospital visits and Wal-mart runs and counseling sessions.
- “The Ministry” is not a source of affirmation for your own insecurities.
- “The Ministry” doesn’t mean making a name for yourself, working the network, or using people as stepping stones. If you’re not content with obscurity, don’t go into “The Ministry.”
- “The Ministry” does not inoculate you from suffering and your own sin.
Today, my husband and I have a bit of unconventional advice for people weighing the call to ministry: Do anything else that you can do—try everything else—for heaven’s sake, please, please, make sure this is the only thing that you can do.
You see, none of us chooses to go into ministry. We are sent (Rom.10:15). Sometimes kicking and screaming. And eventually, surrendered and docile because we understand that there is no use resisting the King of the Universe. But when the King calls, you go.
You go because nothing else fits. You go because He has placed a love for His people and His word deep inside you and to resist it would be to resist your own self. You go because you know that despite the challenges, despite the struggles, you will be happy no where else.
And when you do, you realize that “The Ministry” is better than all your pre-conceived notions and pipe dreams. It is more layered, more challenging, more beautiful than anything you could have ever envisioned. It is morebecause He is more and the people being transformed to His likeness are more—more than objects, more than templates, and more than spreadsheets, charts, or trends.
So what is “The Ministry”?
- It means tie-dying t-shirts at VBS and occasionally dressing up like Elijah.
- It’s packing backpacks of food to send home with at-risk kids.
- It’s poring over the Scripture, crafting a sermon, and then teaching with the passion and care that only someone who has been changed by the Spirit can.
- It’s taking your life in your hands to ride the curves and twists of the mountains with an 88-year-old man who wants to take you to see a model steam engine.
- It’s rearranging your family’s schedule because you must preach a funeral.
- It’s having the courage and love to approach a member/friend about an area of sin.
- It’s being humble enough to confess your own short-comings and failures.
- It means sorting out the details of who misplaced the key to the janitor’s closet and grabbing a bucket when the roof leaks (again).
- It’s carrying the sadness of your congregation, sitting with them in the hospital or crying with them when a wife leaves. Just sitting and bearing. No Psalm 23, no platitudes, no answers.
- It’s rejoicing with the angels over each soul that comes in repentance, each new job, and each new life swaddled in Dreft-scented blankets.
Sorry folks. There are no pedestals. No boys’ clubs. No making a name for yourself. But there is a lot of giving and loving and serving. There is a lot of Jesus and very little of you. There is a lot of dying to yourself so that others might live. And this girl who never had any intentions of marrying a “Preacher Boy” wouldn’t trade it for the world.
handerson Bio
Hannah R. Anderson lives in Roanoke, VA where she spends her days mothering three small children, loving her husband, and scratching out odd moments to write. She blogs at Sometimes a Light and has recently published Made For More.
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Greg Linscott interprets Spurgeon’s statement correctly. Spurgeon is speaking of having a passion for and deep commitment to the ministry. That’s evident when you read his comment in context. And no one implied that Spurgeon’s saying was remotely the same as inspired scripture.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
I think that it contributes to the notion that the ministry is somehow more difficult or more “approved” than other callings. It lends support to the notion that the pastor is a cut above the average bear (to mix metaphors).
One does not have to contend for the superiority of the calling over others to recognize that there are, nevertheless, aspects of the calling that are unique and distinguished from other categories. There will be experiences in it that are similar to those in other callings, but the combination of duties and responsibilities, qualifications and disqualifications, and so on are important to recognize. There are expectations from God for pastors (“stricter judgment,” “those who will give account” for their congregations) that are unique to those holding the office. The human experiences and expectations one will face serving in this capacity are pretty unique as well. A pastor may not be a “cut above,” but there is a sense where he may not be “cut from the same cloth” as others around him.
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
As far as accountability goes, I think it is true that there is a stricter judgement for those in the ministry, who can argue with that? I am not suggesting that anyone enter the ministry lightly.
But that’s really not what is under discussion here. The question is, if a man could be content in some other career, may he dismiss the call to the ministry for himself? I say one’s contentment has nothing to do with it. A lot of the discussion on this so far is very man-focused: can I be happy doing anything else? (as if my happiness is the prime consideration) — here’s a quote from Hannah’s piece that bears this out:
You go because you know that despite the challenges, despite the struggles, you will be happy no where else.
And here is part of the quote from the selection from Spurgeon quoted above:
otherwise, if we undertake the ministry, we shall be unhappy in it,
I contend that we should not be living our life for our own contentment, happiness, etc. We have a Lord to serve and a task to fulfill.That should be enough.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
I raised the uniqueness in response to your observation that “(the)notion that the ministry is somehow more difficult or more ‘approved’ than other callings.”
One’s “happiness” may not be the prime consideration, but even Scripture says that one’s desire (1 Tim 3:1) enters into consideration. Presumably, if one’s desire is absent, he should not enter into the ministry, just like if that person has a desire, but is not a man, or not given to hospitality, etc. Desire is a relative commodity in some respects- just like one might not always be as hospitable as one could be- but still, I think it strikes at what Spurgeon and others are getting at.
Put it another way- would you try to convince a man to marry your daughter out of duty or obligation when he had no sense of attraction toward her? Attraction alone is no foundation for a marriage, but entering into a marriage without it being present in any shape or form would seem to be an unwise decision.
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
I’m torn on this one. I understand the sentiment behind it, and certainly see the importance of God-given desire (1 Tim. 3)…but what happens when a pastor “feels called” to go to the mission field? Isn’t he leaving his pastoral calling for another vocation? Well, maybe not, since he may be planting churches, preaching, and exercising pastoral duties on the mission field. But what if he become a Bible college professor? Or Bible college president? Or work in the administration of a parachurch organization? Did he abandon his “calling”? Is he suddenly now content doing something other than being in “the ministry,” which proves he was never fit for “the ministry” to begin with?
My hunch is that we may excuse all of those transitions because they are still considered some form of vocational ministry, whereas if a pastor becomes a banker or a plumber, he has abandoned his calling and was never fit to be a pastor to begin with.
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Greg Long, Ed.D. (SBTS)
Pastor of Adult Ministries
Grace Church, Des Moines, IA
Adjunct Instructor
School of Divinity
Liberty University
Did he abandon his “calling”?
Well, at what point do we distinguish abandon vs. retire? I have a good friend nearby who served in the same church for 20-30 years in a rural church, and now works full-time as a rural mail carrier, while remaining a member of the church and doing interim pastor work.
Mission field: I wouldn’t distinguish that in most cases from leaving one church and serving in another. In some of the other scenarios, it depends… stage of life, ability to continue to exercise gifts and skills in some capacity… that kind of thing. Some Bible College profs can lead a church as a pastor. Some pastors can expand their duties to preside over a college or seminary. Some may learn that pastoring is not something they should continue to do in perpetuity- and there is nothing in Scripture that says that it needs to be a lifetime commitment.
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
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