Honoring ‘the Call’
F. Bruce Williams is an advisory board member of The African American Pulpit and senior pastor of Bates Memorial Baptist Church in Smoketown, in Jefferson County, Louisville, Kentucky.
…and how shall they preach, except they be sent… Romans 10:15 (KJV)
Is it just me or does it seem like everyone wants to be a preacher these days? I remember when I was contemplating my call to preach. Just about every preacher I spoke to had one thing in common—initially, none of them wanted to preach. They all ran from the call; some ran for years. I could identify because I was not interested in preaching either.
I had made up my mind that I would be a lawyer. My father had been a preacher and pastor and I had seen how some church folks had treated him. So, I was determined that I would never be a preacher. I would be a lawyer. That way, I could work when I wanted, make as much money as I wanted, drive what I wanted, dress the way I wanted, live the way I wanted and if I did not want to deal with people, I did not have to. And the good thing was I could still do something that would be of some benefit to the community. But I was not, under any circumstances, going to be a preacher. I didn’t care how many old saints in my church said I had ‘the mark,’ whatever that was.
But once the Lord got a hold of my heart and life, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I didn’t choose it; it chose me. I didn’t take up preaching; it took me up. Even if I resisted the call and became a rich, successful attorney, I knew I would be miserable. I started feeling that call when I was about 18. I finally yielded when I was about 20. That was about 30 years ago.
I started preaching because I had to! It was not for fame or fortune. My soul was going to have no peace until I yielded to the Lord’s will. I would go where God wanted, do what God wanted, and live the way God chose. I was compelled to preach, and I come from a tradition where people preach because they are called by God to preach.
As I have already stated, back then, nobody I knew really wanted to preach. But these days it seems as if everyone wants to preach. It appears that every time I turn around someone from my congregation is telling me that they believe they are called to preach. Now, some folks say that is just the sign of a healthy church. Others have suggested that so many are answering the call because God is doing a new thing. The world is so messed up that if there is ever a time we need preachers to preach God’s truth it’s now! All of that may be true. If it is, praise the Lord! Whatever God is behind, I’m for it.
But I have a suspicion that there is another reason why some are claiming they have been called to preach. They are claiming a call because they are attracted to what seems to surround preaching and preachers these days. Television, videos, magazines, DVD’s, and YouTube have made many preachers stars. These days, being a preacher is associated with being popular and rich! And I suspect that many people, whether consciously or unconsciously, are drawn to this image of the preacher. Mega churches, expensive cars, fashionable clothes, high profile interviews, personal websites, TBN appearances, radio broadcasts, vast clerical fan bases, visions of hob knobbing with the rich and famous, first-class flying or private jets, crowd adoration, and a host of other things associated with fame and fortune have drawn people to the preaching ministry with an almost irresistible gravitational pull.
Now if the Lord blesses your ministry with any or all of the previously mentioned things, may the Lord keep on blessing you. I hope you use it all to God’s glory. But it’s one thing to come to the ministry and have your fruitfulness (work) bring attention to you; it’s another thing to come to the ministry seeking fame, fortune and notoriety.
Such persons do not sense a divine call to the ministry and are not stirred to ask “What in me for it?” But they are lured to the ministry by the prospect of the glitter and glamour of ministry and are moved to ask “What’s in it for me?”
There are pastors who have the difficult responsibility of helping men and women discern their call. It is incumbent upon us to take the task very seriously and not get caught up in personal ego gratification that so many are being called under our ministries. We must do a thorough job of helping our parishioners understand whether they are hearing from the Lord, enamored by what they believe are trappings of ministry or wrestling with some issue or event that they have spiritualized into a call.
In the final analysis, only God knows for certain who is sent by God and who just went for themselves. But we who pastor have the responsibility to do our best to help those who come to us regarding the preaching ministry understand the nature of ‘the call’ and the nature of ‘their call.’
Here are some suggestions that can assist us:
1.Create a system that helps parishioners discern the authenticity and nature of their call. Some denominations already have them within their ecclesiastical structure. But I am part of a denomination that does not have a reliable, uniform approach to helping people understand the call to preach. In my denomination, one could literally be saved one week, say they are called to preach the next week, preach their initial sermon the next week, and pastor a church shortly thereafter!
2.Create a system that insists that certain meaningful requirements be met before persons do their initial sermon and are licensed. Sometimes the very fact that a person knows that they have to complete certain requirements and uphold certain standards before they are allowed to preach or get licensed helps weed out those who are motivated by the wrong things. If nothing else, it at least weeds out the lazy ones who are called! Your system should include a strong emphasis on the importance of theological education. A call to preach is a call to prepare. And we ought to let those who cannot complete a three-year seminary program know that they can still learn and grow and they must!
Also, if they have not, require that persons faithfully participate in some ministry of the church that you select. Check their level and quality of participation. Are they faithful? Do they get along with others? Are they professional in their dealings with church members and officers?
3.Provide or guide them to opportunities for them to preach in settings other than the pulpit.. If a person who claims to be called to preach is unwilling to preach in preaching labs, at nursing homes, Salvation Army facilities, street corners, prisons, jails, etc., they need clarification on what the call to preach concerns. If they only want to preach at ‘prime time’ then they may be preaching for the wrong reason. A preacher will preach anywhere.
4.Help them understand that most preachers do not have mega churches, large salaries, and name recognition.. The average church has fewer than 250 members. If they just want to be famous and rich, suggest that they choose something other than preaching. Also, make clear that every preacher call is not called to pastor!
5.Model before your congregation the priorities of a preacher called to preach. A pastor/preacher whose conversation is primarily about money, clothes, cars, getting the best preaching engagements, and how many members are in their congregation but rarely speaks about family life, service, sacrifice, faithfulness, prayer, personal holiness, saving souls, righting wrongs, and personal balance is a poor role model for parishioners contemplating and/or trying to be faithful to their call to preach.
Persons called to ministry need the assistance of pastors and others who can help them discern how to faithfully live out their calling. If you are one of the persons who is to provide such assistance, make sure that you have a written, systematic, and well thought out plan to help those whom the Lord has placed in your care. The plan should be malleable enough to assist persons of all ages.
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