According to the Baptist confession, chapter 26 article 11

11.____ Although it be incumbent on the bishops or pastors of the churches, to be instant in preaching the word, by way of office, yet the work of preaching the word is not so peculiarly confined to them but that others also gifted and fitted by the Holy Spirit for it, and approved and called by the church, may and ought to perform it.
( Acts 11:19-21; 1 Peter 4:10, 11 )

This being the case.

How would a person discern if his gifting to preach and teach the Word of God (which was recognised and recieved with gladness among the saints) is evidence of a call to full time pastoral ministry?

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"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent." John Calvin

John from Scotland
Denomination: Attending Baptist church
Confessional Subscription:London Baptist Confession
Blog: [url]www.three-streams.co.uk[/url]

The extent of the gift, for a start. It varies.

A former pastor of mine had a way of talking of one or two brothers who preached in the church: 'they have an acceptable gift of preaching'. Which meant generally (and speaking frankly) that it was sound, edifying, but no-one wanted them to preach every week. Sounds harsh but that was the reality.

Of course, if young men are not encouraged to preach, we have no idea if they actually can preach.

And there is much more to pastoring than preaching - I know people who are able preachers but have almost zero pastoral ability, and equally vice versa.

Further, it is not inconceivable that someone could be a very good preacher but have no call to 'the ministry' at all. I don't think that the Baptist Confession confuses the issue - the answers to the question 'How do I discern a call to the ministry?' are the same whichever day of the week it is or whether a person has preached to great acclaim or not. Is there an internal call, is there an external call, what are the circumstances?

Believe me, this is SO close to the situation I am in that I really do know what I am talking about. As this is an open forum I can't be more specific!

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Jonathan Hunt

Elder holding forth the word of life at:
Cheltenham Evangelical Free Church (Confessionally Based)
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
-- Thomas Elsworth

I have been told on more than a few occasions that I should pursue the pulpit, based on teaching/preaching ability (I have written and given 'sermons' in prison ministries). However, that is not the only benchmark. One cannot minister to a church if one does not have other pastoral gifts, such as sound rulership, sincere love for the lost and other Timothy/Titus requirements. One way I've heard it put is this- Yes, you may be able to fill a tent on Sunday, but so could Barnum and Bailey. A true calling is far more holistic than mere preaching.

Theognome

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Bill Cunningham
Covenant Reformed Church, URC
Kansas City
There are three kinds of people- those who can count, and those who can't.

How would you define an internal and external call?

p.s if you want to p.m at some point that is ok.

As a pre-seminary student I was taught that you don't have a call to the ministry until God calls you through a church. Prior to that you may feel or believe that God is leading you in that direction, but your feeling or belief could very well turn out to be wrong.

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Wes Bredenhof
Pastor, Providence Canadian Reformed Church
Hamilton, Ontario
www.bredenhof.ca
Gospel Talk Radio Program

How do I define it? Internal - how I feel, purely subjective yet important. External - the call of a church as Wes has said.

Here's a great teacing series to help you learn some insight regarding the call to ministry.

A Call To The Ministry By Al Martin

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John
Member
Christ Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.christpres.net