o r d a in e d minister? We h a v e placed the call o f secular employ ment alongside the call to preach the mighty claims o f Jesus Christ. God does guide. He does direct lives. The church may have pro vided escape routes to its past generation o f youth by its advo cating that God needs teachers as much as ministers and sales men as much as missionaries. Is the term call o f God used within the Scriptures in relation to secu lar employment? Where is this found? Not only must the church have a deeper understanding o f who is called but also how God calls. The one in the ministry must not be there because o f man’s coercion or direction. Nor should he be there because he must fill “ needs” within his own life, but only be cause God Himself has called him. Acts 15:7 states, “ And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word o f the gospel, and believe.” Here it is clearly declared that God makes the choice. Man is not to assume that he is to be in the ministry, but rather that he is there because of a summons. The minister must be sure that his call is from God. Then he can say as did the prophet to the king o f Moab, “ I have a message from God unto thee.” This is the task o f the ministry. Christ said to His first ministers, “ You have not chosen me but I . . .” (John 15: 16). The greatest problem that we face in the church today is to un derstand how God presents this call in our present age. We are very aware o f the way in which God called Paul, and know that Peter was called by Jesus as one o f the twelve. But today let the church embark upon any means o f recruitment or direct enlist ment o f their youth and the cry is raised and echoed that man is usurping what should be the pre rogative o f God Himself. Many
INNOVATION INLEARNING
namely those who enter the min istry. The church has fluctuated from one extreme to another. Some churches restrain th em s e lv e s from encouraging youth to con sider the ministry lest they be persuaded to enter this calling by man’s influence and not God’s. But at the other pole one finds coercion and manipulation occur ring on the part o f a church to give numbers for the ministry. And further involved in this con fusion lies the basic question o f what constitutes a call to the min istry, and how God selects His servants. A quest for the answer may result in a renewal on the part o f churches to place God’s call to the ministry in its proper perspective. The term call has been used in a multi-fold manner. Some have claimed that God is calling them to be teachers. A n o t h e r pro claims, “ He is calling me to be a lawyer.” Is a call to this position or vocation in life any different from His call to the ministry? Call is used in various ways with in Scripture. Paul in Romans 1 :7 and I Corinthians 1 :2 states that the Christians to whom he is writing are “ called to be saints.” They are not called saint, but they are called to be something! Called to be a saint implies we are called to be saintly in charac ter. This is a calling to every per son. Another use o f the term is in volved with the special call o f God to the preaching o f His Word. It is a directive from the Highest in command to His subjects to serve Him. Paul described this as an appointment to be an ambassador representing the Creator God to all people fo r the purpose o f rec onciliation. It is a high calling. Perhaps it is because we have equated upon the call or claim o f God upon our lives with all other professions that we as His church have done disservice to this con cept o f the call. Is it true that God requires teachers, lawyers, nurses and businessmen as much as He needs or depends upon the
by H. Norman Wright T h e e m p t y pulpit speaks with its own solemn voice. Some where in a darkened church it stands, a silent, tragic embarrass ment and example o f the steady depletion o f the ministerial ranks. These pulpits, whether they be wood-hewn or c o n s t r u c t e d o f modernized materials, were not made to stand vacant, but to be filled by men chosen by God with a message from Him to His peo ple. The plight o f the church in America is steadily worsening with the lack o f called, prepared ministers. A letter from one wom an echoed the fear that haunts local congregations today, “Our minister just left, and we don’t know where we are going to find another to take his place.” Many churches must wait months or in some cases even years before find ing a man to serve as their min ister. Is this an unreversible condi tion that will continue until the established church ceases to be an instrument o f God’s message? This would not appear to be in God’s design or will. I f not, what are the causative factors and posi tive solutions? The ministry is God’s plan to foster the furtherance o f the Gos pel to this world, no matter what the generation. The office o f the ministry apparently is not the problem, but the call to service i s ! Today the church wrestles with this dire concern because it has failed to reproduce its own kind—
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