MATURING AND CLARIFYING YOUR CALLING AS A PREACHER
When I first felt called to preach, it was a general call to ministry and to the office of the evangelist. In the initial seasons of my calling, I didn’t need more than that from God, and I wouldn’t have known what to do if the Holy Spirit had given me the 20 year plan. As I obediently and faithfully followed the call, God began to clarify. Fulfilling your calling is going to be a series of a lot of small steps of obedience. I never anticipated what and how God would orchestrate my steps; I just knew I needed to be faithful with the next step and go from there. When we start in ministry, most of us would be considered a jack of all trades, or at least we need to see ourselves that way. Learn to jump into a local church and do whatever you can to build and advance the Kingdom of God in that city. Most people’s calling doesn’t look like a clear, straight line; I know mine hasn’t. Most of the time, it’s jumping from one door of opportunity that God opens to the next.
Faithfulness and fruitfulness are what open each new door.
I’d say it was over 15+ years into following the call of God before He began to drill in and clarify my primary focus within my ministry calling. While there are many different callings and gifts of the Spirit, there are five specific church leadership roles or gifts within the body of Christ that He gave:
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
My initial call into ministry was to the role of the evangelist. But it took 15 years before I really operated in that office. Since then, the Holy Spirit began to clarify and speak to me and others about a shift towards the office of the prophet. And then again, a highlighting of the teaching role. So, as of this edition of the book, when I look at the five primary church leadership gifts, I’d say I’m a combination of the prophet and teacher. As a quick note of clarity, when I use the term “office,” I’m referring to someone operating in one of those five primary leadership and visionary roles in the church. There’s a difference between the role or office of the evangelist and someone who shares their faith or the office of the pastor and someone who provides spiritual wisdom. As believers, we’re all given spiritual gifts as articulated in 1 Corinthians 12, but not all have been called to step into the role of the 5 Ministry Gifts. Many have attempted to help clarify what the primary functions of the 5 Ministry gifts are. As I drilled into them in an attempt to clarify my calling, this was how I felt like I could best get a handle on the gifts. It’s by using the visual of THE PATH. If the 5 Ministry roles are designed to lead and mature the church along the PATH, then this is how I see each of their primary functions. This will help you get a general sense of which one or two you primarily lean towards.
The Apostle: Clears and Reveals The Path
The Prophet: Calls People Back to The Path
The Evangelist: Brings new people onto The Path
The Pastor: Walks with people on The Path
The Teacher: Shows people how to walk on The Path
You may know right away which of the five you lean towards, or it may come as you walk out your calling. I find there’s usually an initial journey of preparation that God first takes us on to shape our character, and then He clarifies our calling. We all operate in each gift at some level, but we’ll lean more heavily toward one or two. I’d also like to mention that before you claim one of these five, allow confirmation from the Holy Spirit and the trusted pastors and ministry leaders around you. Each new season of ministry my wife and I stepped into was by the prophetic release into the next season of ministry through the pastors and authority God had positioned us with. Don’t step beyond His hand!
Our First Call
It’s important to remember our first priority and calling isn’t to do the work of ministry but to be with the one who calls us! Jesus is to be the focus of my heart and to have the primary attention of my life. Often, we begin our calling out of a passion for His presence but too quickly move into going through the motions of ministry. Maybe as you read this book, you’re at the beginning of your calling and full of passion for Jesus and his presence?! Or you may be someone in ministry who has been serving God’s call for years and is going through one of those dry seasons where you look up and realize you’ve been going through the motions. I know I’ve had many of those over decades of following the call, and each time, the Spirit of God lovingly calls me back to His heart!
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Revelation 2:3-5 (NIV)
