Is Pastoral “Desire” a Qualification for Ministry?
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Reposted, with permission, from DBTS Blog.
The question of a pastoral “call to ministry,” reminiscent of God’s call of biblical prophets and apostles, has long been a issue with which ordination councils have been concerned. Many operate on the assumption that no one aspiring to the ministry may proceed without such a “call.”
I concede, of course, that God’s Spirit is active in distributing gifts in his church “according to his own will” (Heb 2:4) and “as he determines” (1 Cor 12:11, cf. v. 18). It is for this reason that the Scriptures may state plainly that God has appointed the church’s teachers (1 Cor 12:28) and has sent its laborers into the harvest (Luke 10:2). Indeed, we have reason to believe that God’s providential preparation of his ministerial appointees is extensive and complex (see, in principle, Gal 1:5 and Jer 1:5). Please do not hear me saying anything less than this.
The question under consideration in this post is not whether God appoints men to the ministry (he does), but how we know it. The Personal Call Model, if I may call it this, vests primary weight in answering this question in the candidate’s own testimony. Does he have a personal desire for the ministry (so 1 Tim 3:1) and has he had one or more private experiences (even revelatory ones—otherwise, why use the word “call”?) whereby he has become existentially convinced that God wants him in the ministry? If so, then the council may proceed to examine his life and doctrine. If not, the council may not proceed.
I would suggest that the Personal Call Model is not only incorrect, but is positively contrary to the spirit of Paul’s discussion in 1 Timothy 3. Rather than agreeing with Paul that the choice of church officers is not a personal one, but an ecclesiastical one, the Personal Call Model front-loads the whole ordination process with questions about the personal experiences and desires of the candidate. Of course, it would be rather strange for someone to arrive at an ordination council without a desire to be an elder, but that’s not the issue. The council is not called to probe a candidate’s desires; it is called to examine his competencies.
By offering the church a list of qualifications for eldership, Paul is informing us that the decision to pursue eldership (or any other church function, for that matter) is emphatically not something that someone makes after he has become existentially convinced that it is his “calling” in life. You can make other decisions that way (i.e., you can personally conclude that becoming a doctor or a lawyer is your “life calling” after becoming existentially excited by the prospects of one of those careers), but you can’t choose to become a pastor on these grounds. And that’s because it’s not your decision to make. The church makes that choice (let’s call this the Ecclesiastical Call Model).
It is important to notice, I would contend, that the “desire” for the good work of the pastorate in 1 Timothy 3:1 is not one of the qualifications for ministry. The qualifications actually run from verses 2–7, and consist of an evaluation of whether the candidate’s life and doctrine validate his desire. As such, the first question of the candidate for ministry is not, “Do you desire the good work?” or “Do you feel this is your ‘calling’?” (we rather assume that this is the case—why else would he be here?), but rather, “Are you a man who is above reproach?”
The modern church is, I think, making good progress in escaping the error of revelatory calls to ministry. But the idea continues to haunt when we make the candidate’s “desire” for the good work the first (and greatest?) of the qualifications for pastoral ministry.
Mark Snoeberger Bio
Mark Snoeberger is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and has served as Director of Library Services since 1997. He received his M.Div. and Th.M. from DBTS and earned a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, PA. Prior to joining the DBTS staff, he served for three years as an assistant pastor.
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It is important to notice, I would contend, that the “desire” for the good work of the pastorate in 1 Timothy 3:1 is not one of the qualifications for ministry. The qualifications actually run from verses 2–7, and consist of an evaluation of whether the candidate’s life and doctrine validate his desire. As such, the first question of the candidate for ministry is not, “Do you desire the good work?” or “Do you feel this is your ‘calling’?” (we rather assume that this is the case—why else would he be here?), but rather, “Are you a man who is above reproach?”
I would say this a bit differently. If a person does not have the “desire,” he’s not called to the pastorate (cf. 1 Peter 5:2); however, if he does have the “desire,” he may not be called to the pastorate.
I agree that one’s desire, gifting, and character must be affirmed by the church before the person is truly called to pastoral ministry. I wouldn’t assume, however, someone’s personal call just because he expresses interest in pastoral ministry. His “desire” may be based on guilt, legalism, etc. and not a true desire for pastoral ministtry.
T. Howard said:
I would say this a bit differently. If a person does not have the “desire,” he’s not called to the pastorate (cf. 1 Peter 5:2); however, if he does have the “desire,” he may not be called to the pastorate.
I agree with you. Although God may have called prophets who did not desire to be prophets (think Jeremiah or even Moses), when it comes to elders/pastors, a desire to serve in this capacity is a must, a qualification (a clear prerequisite to the observable qualifications then listed).. It is not, however, the ONLY qualification.
"The Midrash Detective"
Dr. Paul Henebury
I am Founder of Telos Ministries, and Senior Pastor at Agape Bible Church in N. Ca.
Mark, I don’t know if you’ll be interacting here, but this is a great observation. And it has a lot of great corollaries.
It is important to notice, I would contend, that the “desire” for the good work of the pastorate in 1 Timothy 3:1 is not one of the qualifications for ministry. The qualifications actually run from verses 2–7, and consist of an evaluation of whether the candidate’s life and doctrine validate his desire. As such, the first question of the candidate for ministry is not, “Do you desire the good work?” or “Do you feel this is your ‘calling’?” (we rather assume that this is the case—why else would he be here?), but rather, “Are you a man who is above reproach?”
I would even suggest (I think in harmony with your thesis) that the question is rather, “Is he a man who is above reproach?” Because even the qualifiers are to be answered by the church body. When a man is pondering his own qualifications, I believe it is best to ask, What would my church say? rather than What do I think about this qualification?
When “DESIRE” is treated as a qualifier within the Personal Call Model, the role of elder (=Pastor) gets seen by the young lay as Sold-Out-Service. So an Pre-Med student is failing Organic Chemistry and having an existential crisis, and then a chapel speaker calls the student body to Sell Out for God. The response is to feel called to ministry. We used to joke that Organic Chemistry called a lot of guys into the ministry.
Mark, I hope you post some more thoughts on this. “Deacon” is a truly great alternative for men (and women) who want to SERVE but aren’t qualified for elder. “Deacon” is often thought about as a lesser alternative, which is too bad.
Dan, aren’t the qualifications for deacon almost identical to those for elder? I haven’t looked at that in detail lately, but I’m inclined to think it would be hard to qualify for one and not qualify for the other.
Perhaps one difference is “apt to teach”?
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I think that’s a good observation, Aaron. The main difference is “apt to teach.” I believe that is better thought of as “able in doctrine,” rather than, “able in public speaking.” But also the Deacon must “hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” So there is some level of doctrinal understanding required for them.
One distinguishing feature that we inappropriately use is that a Deacon doesn’t get paid and an Elder does. I think that we should pay much less often than we do for the elder and more often than we do for the deacon. (another thread…)
Thanks to all for interacting. I wonder if I might push back against Ed’s comment that desire is a “a must, a qualification (a clear prerequisite)” for the ministry. This is the tension I’m attempting to address, and I wonder if we might dialogue. The argument for seeing desire as a “clear prerequisite” to pastoral ministry in 1 Timothy 3 seems to rest on a syntactical fallacy that the protasis of a condition must logically be folded into its own extended apodosis.
Consider the following conditional:
“If you desire to lose weight, you desire something difficult; therefore, you must be committed to the difficult disciplines of diet and exercise.”
In this statement, the extended apodosis lists two “qualifications” for the difficult task of losing weight: (1) diet and (2) exercise. It is logically incorrect to conclude from this construction that the “desire” to lose weight is “a must, a qualification (a clear prerequisite)” for losing weight (using Ed’s words). Desire to lose weight might help me lose weight, of course, but syntactically, “desire” is neither a qualification of nor a prerequisite to actually losing weight. And it would most certainly be incorrect to rank the desire to lose weight above diet and exercise among the necessary requirements for weight loss.
I would contend that in 1 Timothy 3, similarly, it is incorrect to view the protasis of Paul’s condition (“if a man desires to be an elder”) as part of its own extended apodosis (“he desires something noble; therefore, he must be noble”…according to the standards listed in vv. 2–7). It is syntactically incorrect to state that Paul lists desire as a qualification for pastoral ministry or even as a prerequisite to his list of qualifications for pastoral ministry. Again, my point is not to say that aspiring elders should not desire the appointment (that would not only be weird but potentially a violation of 1 Pet 5:2), but rather that (1) an examination of the “desire” (a.k.a., “the call”?) is not logically under consideration in 1 Timothy 3, and most especially that (2) there is no reason to deduce from this pericope that God communicates his secret will to churches by planting a “desire” for ministry into the minds of prospective pastoral candidates.
MAS
I know that Mark is responding to Ed and not to me, but I would like to say one or two things:
Mark is clearly right to point out that the “desire” (two verbs employed) is not one of the qualifications the Apostle has in mind in the context. However, I contend that it is prerequisite to the qualifications themselves. Of course, it would be silly to address qualifications to someone who had no desire to be an overseer (as Mark again points out), but we must still ask whence the strong desire? Is it based on a sustained sense of unavoidable ‘nagging’ in the consciousness (e.g. Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones)? Is it a romantic inclination or a prodding of pride in the guise of serving God? Is it the result of man worship? It’s worth asking!
Here I bring in the “sending” of Romans 10:14-15. I believe the context demands the Sender to be God.
On a non-exegetical level I would just add that there are so many men in the ministry to day who have no business being there. They get their degree and they sell their books and they prosecute a ministry based on pragmatism and technique. Where is God? Were they “called”? Was the call tested? But perhaps there is no such thing?
Dr. Paul Henebury
I am Founder of Telos Ministries, and Senior Pastor at Agape Bible Church in N. Ca.
If I might extend it a bit… I know people who simply LOVE to run. They are skinny. But for them, running isn’t an undesirable activity that they tolerate because they desire to be thin. Similarly I know people who want to and enjoy eating healthy and they watch their diets really closely.
I don’t think it’s healthy to ask in youth, “Do you desire to be a pastor?” and then start training and try to become qualified. Better to find yourself qualified because you’ve pursued the qualifications in service for years.
I guess my short answer, Paul, is that I have trouble finding in Scripture a “strong desire” that is unique to the gift/office of elder. Yes, God in his providence places people into the ministry (Rom 10 and several passages I listed originally), so in the very broadest sense my desire to pursue the gospel ministry was orchestrated by a sovereign God who works all things out after the counsel of his own will. What I am questioning is whether there is a “call” or “desire” unique to elders that exceeds the normal providence by which God orchestrates everything else in his universe. And despite the rich history of the concept, I’m not coming up with a lot.
MAS
It is possible to desire the office while holding none of the qualifications, so…
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
Do you want a pastor who does not strongly desire to be a pastor? I would default to Philippians 2:3:
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
There are many people who are not qualified to be a pastor, and a desire is far from enough. But to go to Bible college and seminary on the basis of perhaps one day becoming a pastor or not seems to me a poor stewardship of life. You don’t need that kind of training to serve the Lord faithfully in lay ministry.
Indiana has its full of pastors who have no formal training because they were called later in life. They are often very popular but not very deep. I knew one man who was a pastor for 10 years and was reading the Book of Job for the first time.
What am I not understanding?
"The Midrash Detective"
Imagine someone who says, “I really want a snickers bar - but I’ve never had one.” And you say oh, you like candy? “No-not much of a sweet tooth.” peanuts? “No, I’m allergic!” Well, what makes you think you want a snickers!?
Or, “I don’t think I could ever eat a snickers.” Oh, you don’t like candy? “I love it.” Chocolate? “That I’ve never tried.” Caramel? “Yes!” Well, you might like a snickers.
Mark,
your answer doesn’t get at what I’m saying. Paul speaks of a strong desire to be an overseer and I am asking where this desire comes from? Is it a spiritual desire or doesn’t that matter? General providence seems very unsatisfactory to me as it actually avoids the question. The answer to every question cannot be “the sovereignty of God.”
Don Johnson says “It is possible to desire the office while holding none of the qualifications, so…”
Precisely! We better get a handle on what the desire is and where it originated!
Dr. Paul Henebury
I am Founder of Telos Ministries, and Senior Pastor at Agape Bible Church in N. Ca.
Mark….
Great article. Couldn’t agree more. Sure a man must have a certain kind of internal desire but that has to be ratified by Christ’s Church just as you have laid out.
Straight Ahead!
jt
Dr. Joel Tetreau serves as Senior Pastor, Southeast Valley Bible Church (sevbc.org); Regional Coordinator for IBL West (iblministry.com), Board Member & friend for several different ministries;
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