The inward call to Pastoral ministry
was reading through Thomas Oden’s book “Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry” the other day. In it he says that if someone in considering going into full time pastoral ministry they need to have a persistant inward call over a period of time.
He also said that the person needs to honestly reflect on a number of questions. As the book is quite old I have paraphrased them.
- Have I learned to pray?
- Have I learned to worship?
- Have I learned to study the Bible and feed myself?
- Am I competant to lead a group of Christians?
- Do I feel a deep empathy towards others who are hurting?
- Am I prepared to give my life sacrificially for the service of others?
- Have I got a fair understanding of how I tick?
- Am I competant in interpreting and teaching the Scriptures?
- Have I learned to live inside a community of faith?
- Am I someone the community of faith can place their full trust?
- Can I live with intergrity and be accountable to the church?
By no means are they all the questions one needs to ask. However, I found these questions quite interesting and useful place to start if someone is interested in the area of pastoral ministry.
In the next few days I will share about what Oden says about “The outward call to ministry”.
