Topic: After reading Allen’s treatment of Discerning Your Call to Ministry, define
his main argument and analyze his assessment. How has your call to ministry
been similar to what Allen promotes? How has it differed? What were the objective
and subjective elements to your call? Is it okay to question God’s call on your life
for ministry? Why or why not?
b b b b b b b b b b In the book Discerning Your Call to Ministry, author Jason K. Allen’s
main argument is a call to ministry is a call to the word of God and every Christian
has a Holy duty to do God's work. “My main concern here is to establish what a
call to the ministry essentially is: a call to the ministry of the Word. Stated another
way, a call to preach or teach the Word is the distinguishing mark of a call to the
ministry.”[1] In assessing the author's work, he is on the money, everyone called
to ministry needs to know the word of God and do God’s work in whatever
capacity they serve within the church.
b b b b b b b b b b My call to ministry was also a persistent call like Mr. Allen’s call. It came
when I began helping at a Christian School. I volunteered as the school’s athletic
director. During my time there God began to move me toward education. He
placed it on my heart to become equipped for ministry in the form of teaching.
God continually called me to teach and preach until all I wanted to do was learn
and teach God’s word. I don’t know that my call to ministry has many differences
from the call Allen promotes. I will say there was what I call a natural progression
where I began to live my life for Christ, started talking about Him at work and
began to serve others in all areas of my life. I went through all three categories he
describes in his book and when I received the call to ministry I did what I call the
Moses two-step. Are you sure God, isn’t there someone else? Even though I
resisted it was clear for me that God was calling me to teach and preach the truth
of His word.
b b b b b b b b b b There were two main areas I struggled with from an objective and
subjective standpoint One was an emotional response, maybe even a fear
response. I questioned God’s wisdom in calling me, I didn’t feel qualified and
certainly didn’t feel worthy. I had a desire and passion for the ministry but doubt
about myself and fear of the unknown blinded me from the truth in the beginning. I
believe it was similar to the call Moses received, b he had the desire, or God would
not have called him, this emotional response to ministry was something God had
to help us both through. “Desire. This word refers to the inward compulsion, or
passion, for ministry.”[2] The second was I have a son from a previous marriage
and he is not living his life for Christ. "If a man does not know how to manage his
own household, how will he take care of the church of God?"[3] This concern was
laid to rest by my church elders, they said in a nutshell that I b have seven
children, and all but one is living for the Lord, taking everything into account, that
does not disqualify you from ministry. I accepted their advice and objective answer
relating to my concern. In closing, I do believe it is ok to question God’s call on
your life for ministry, one because you want to make sure you end up where He
needs you, and two, sometimes you just need time to work through the emotional
response to being called to ministry.
Bibliography
Allen, Jason K. Discerning Your Call to Ministry: How to Know for Sure and What
to Do About It. . Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2019.
[1] Allen, Jason K. Discerning Your Call to Ministry: How to Know for Sure and
What to Do About It. . Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2019,21.
[2] Allen, Call to Ministry, 29.
[3] Ibid, 54.
