Reflections on the Call to Pastor- part 1

"Pastor, your preaching is great! We need to buy TV equipment and get you on TV!" I replied, 'God has not called me to be a TV preacher or radio personality, He has called me to care for His sheep here locally.'

That is my drive and ambition, to be the best pastor that I can in serving God and His sheep. I believe that is my specific calling. I want to give some reflections on the call to pastor in the next couple of blogs.

"There is a specific calling to pastor. If you don't have that calling from God and yet you are pastoring anyway, you are living a lie. To one called to an office, God will give the grace, wisdom, patience, and anointing to fulfill that office. If you are not called to that office, you will not be able to fulfill it with grace, wisdom, patience, and anointing. In order to hold on to that office, you'll have to lie to yourself and others, play one person against another, threaten, and manipulate people. Sadly, in my opinion, that is common." BrotherMel

Years ago I was in a conference here in Dallas with John Maxwell and Bill Hybels. An amazing thing happened. Bill Hybels spoke about ministry gifts. He said that if you didn't have the ministry gift of leadership and you were serving as Senior Pastor or number one man, then you needed to reconsider your call. He said you may have a call to be a number two man rather than a number one lead man. The results were sobering. Men began to cry and stood telling of their dilemma. What were they to do? The answer was dramatic, 'Go back, step down and find what you are called to do!'

2 Peter 1:10
Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall. AMP

We need to make our calling sure. We need to walk in what God has called us to with the grace, wisdom, patience, and anointing that He gives us.