Define his main argument and analyze his assessment.
I believe that his main argument can be surmised as being called means more than just a
desire to want to do the work of God and that all are called. His distinction is whether we are
called to ministry, called to minister, or called to the ministry. Some people like to do the
work of God just because they like that kind of work. Sometimes, people like to do the work
of God and like God but might not be saved. It could be that they have friends that are or do
like where they work because of the type of work it is. This does not mean they have been
called to minister. I once heard a man say that he was never called to preach, just that he liked
talking to people about God because he read the Bible often because he liked the stories in it.
I would be inclined to think that he preached from his own spirit instead of the Holy Spirit.
That runs along the lines of a false prophet misleading his flock because he is preaching what
he thinks they need to hear from what he thinks he should talk about from motives out of self.
That is not to say that he was not called to minister or called to minister. He just might not
have been called to the ministry. Allen did make this remark, “Martin Luther and the other
Reformers reasserted the biblical concept of vocation, which holds that God calls and gifts
every person for an occupation. Calling is not limited to the ministry; it reaches into every
arena of life. In God's kind providence He orders not only His church, but also society,
gifting persons for service in each.” *So, from the reading, all are called to ministry and [1]
called to minister. Few are chosen to be called to the ministry.
How has your call to ministry been similar to what Allen
promotes?
My call to ministry had been such that I was asleep one night and God woke me up at in an
audible voice that I had heard in my mind, he said “Read the Bible”. that was all he said, after
that morning, I have never been the same. I started and had a desire I had never had before. I
feel it falls along the lines of being called to the ministry instead of the other two options.
This is because he has opened the door for me to take a lot of evangelistic classed in my
undergrad and graduate programs. He has placed a name of a church in my mind that I
believe will come to fruition in the future. Allen said this, “Whatever their distinctions, these
offices all share one common charge: minister the Word. The same charge falls upon
overseers. Therefore, in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul lists only one skill "able to teach" alongside
the many character qualities an overseer must have. In the next chapter I will discuss why a
