Hundredfold Ministries, Int'l

In this chapter we will examine the call to ministry, the preparation for ministry, and the family relationship of those in ministry.

The Call

First, let me make it clear that in a very realsense every Christian is called to the ministry. God has called every believer to spread the good news of the gospel to those he or she comes in contact with on a day to day basis. That means if your are a shop keeper, a student, a farmer, a policeman, a full time home maker, or whatever, you have a call on your life to tell others about Jesus. However, most Christians are not called to earn a living within the church or para-church structure. Most Christians are out in the world earning a living by secular means.

So how do you determine if your are called to full time ministry? That is, how can you decide if the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ should be your life's work and you are to earn a living by doing it?

Let's look first at the classic call to Jeremiah. Scripture leaves no doubt that God spoke directly to Jeremiah specifically telling him that he was to be a prophet to God's people.

The Lord then proceeded to dialogue with Jeremiah in conveying the first of his many messages:

But do the vast majority of us who are truly called to full time ministry have God inform us of our call in such a dramatic way? The answer is most certainly, "No."

In fact, I believe that the kind of supernatural call that Jeremiah, and others like Isaiah and John the Baptist experienced is more the exception than the rule. In fact, most of us are called to ministry without a supernatural experience such as Jeremiah's. I believe the awareness of the call on our lives is usually a process which occurs over time.

How Do You Know if You Have a Call to Ministry?

If, then, a supernaturally direct call from God suddenly informing you that you are to be a pastor, or evangelist, or whatever, is not likely to happen, we ask the question, "How do you know if you have a call on your life to full time ministry?"

The answer is, at least in part, and however subjective it sounds, that the Lord will show you your call. Usually, a recognition of the call comes
1) from certain inner characteristics present in the one who is called,
2) combined with the leading of the Holy Spirit, and
3) with confirmation from the spiritual leaders around you. In other words, it is most often a combination of factors which will ultimately confirm your call.

When God calls, He always equips with the right gifts, skills and abilities to do the job. For example, if you are called to be an administrator, you will like order, you will easily see how a project should get done, and you will like doing it! A called teacher will enjoy studying the Bible using as many other references as he or she can lay their hands on. A teacher will invariably enjoy teaching students who are eager to learn.

Pay attention to what you enjoy doing. I have never known an evangelist who didn't enjoy being out there passing out tracts or telling someone about Jesus. They love it! While the person with the gift of administration would far rather be planning an evangelistic crusade from behind the scenes.

It is also important to seek the Lord about the timing of full time service. One of the sure ways God has of telling someone that the time is near is when the person is feeling discontented with his or her current job. Now that doesn't mean that everyone who is tried of his job, or wants a change, is called out of the world into full time ministry. He may just need to change jobs. No, I am talking about a deep, inner discontentment with continuing in your current work coupled with a growing longing to be serving the Lord full time. When God is preparing someone for full time ministry, the Holy Spirit will be pulling on his mind, soul and spirit, wooing him or her.

Let me say a word here about the ministry call within marriage. I strongly believe that a husband and wife should be in full agreement if one or the other is called to quit a secular job or leave full time home work to enter the ministry. That doesn't mean that all the details must be worked out and agreed upon between them, it just means that both know that the call is there and the time is right.

Let me close this section by encouraging you that God's timing is always right. We are to be patient but as ready as we can be to serve Him and His church. God is faithful to those He calls. It may take years, or even decades, but God's call is irrevocable! (Rom 11:29) If we cooperate, He will always be faithful to put us in the right place at the right time.

Preparation for Ministry

Once we know we are called to ministry, we should begin to prepare ourselves to fulfill that call. God called me to be a Bible teacher in 1965. Specifically, He told me He would, "Send me to teach the nations." When God's call came I knew that at that time I could not teach the nations because I needed teaching myself. I had nothing to say to the nations, even if I went. I knew it was a great responsibility to teach others the Bible and that I had to go through a long process of learning before I would be ready. That process included as much Bible training and maturing as I could get. Even as a young man I realized that the call and the commission were different. There is the call, the preparation, then the commission.

Every person whom God calls to the ministry faces the same question, "What must I do to prepare for the ministry?"The training will vary from person to person. Sometimes God speaks directly to us about when, where and how we are to become trained. For others God simply seems to open doors for training for the ministry. It is up to us to determine which doors are open and to walk through them.

1. Bible School
By far the most common method of training for the ministry is to attend Bible school. It is in this setting that learned, experienced teachers systematically teach the Bible and Bible subjects. Bible schools vary in length of study and academic quality. When given a choice, the better the school, the better your training will be. When there is no choice, take what you can get and thank God for it.

Some Bible schools offer a Bachelor's degree. These schools usually require four years of study. Others do not offer a degree but do give a completion certificate.

The cost of attending Bible school will vary from school to school. Students must pay tuition, books and living expenses. Often, this is where God begins teaching students valuable lessons in faith.

2. Seminary
For those who complete a 4 year college course seminary may be an option for furthering education. Four years of Bible school (or any course of study) plus a Master's degree from a seminary provides an excellent ministerial foundation. For those with the desire and money, many seminaries also offer Doctor's degrees.

There is a seminary in Los Angeles, California that offers free Master's degrees to students from non-Western nations. If an applicant qualifies for their scholarship, they provide free room, board, tuition and books. It is:

The International Theological SeminaryPhone213/413-8683
1600 Wilshire Blvd. Fax213/413-6991
Los Angeles, CA 90017Webwww.itsla.edu
Emaildean@itsla.edu

Their general requirements are:

1.Applicants must be in an active ministry.
2.Applicants must have a Bachelor's degree from Bible school.
3.The applicant must have money for his/her round trip airfare.
4.The applicant must provide his/her own daily expense money for things such as laundry, tooth paste, soap, clothing, etc
5. Applicants must return to their country after graduation.

This seminary offers two masters' degrees, Masters of Divinity (2 years), and Masters of Theology (3 years.) Christians and churches in America who are missions minded support this seminary. They recognize that educated nationals are far more effective in their own country than someone sent in from outside.

3.Ministry Training Programs
For those unable to attend Bible school, or for those who delay Bible school attendance, there are often local ministerial training programs available. A large church or a denomination usually offers weekend or evening classes. The courses will vary in length. These classes are very effective teaching tools and those who are serious about their ministry call but who are unable to attend Bible school should try to attend these classes as much as possible.

4.Correspondence Courses
Correspondence courses are yet another way to prepare for ministry. Many schools offer correspondence courses to those who are unable to travel and attend their classes. The Assemblies of God (America) runs one of the most widely recognized correspondence courses in the world.

They call it the:

International Correspondence Institute
6300 North Belt Line Road
Irving, TX 75063 Phone 972/751-1111

5.Mentoring
Another very effective way to become trained for ministry is by sitting under a trained, knowledgeable minister. Such training often takes several years since both the minister and student(s) have other responsibilities but is well worth the time and effort.
In order for mentor based training to be effective both parties must schedule regular training sessions and diligently follow through with them. The mentor will give general instructions on a given subject, assign the student study and/or work to be done, then discuss the assignment during the next session. The mentor should also take his or her student along to meetings, etc. to expose the student to as broad a range of ministry functions as possible. A dedicated mentor can produce highly trained students.

6. Self-Study
No matter what type of other methods you use to prepare for ministry, self-study should be part of your overall training. Although it requires self-discipline, it can be very effective as a teaching tool. Some self-study tools are: 1) books, 2) audio/video tapes, 3) radio/television (shortwave), and, 4) lots of Bible reading and prayer.

7.Ministering
One of the most effective ways of learning is by doing. When a teacher teaches a Bible class, rest assured he learns more in preparation for the class than anyone in the class will learn!

I cannot over emphasize the importance of this principle. Learn, do; learn, do; learn, do; the growth in ministry and Bible knowledge is astounding when one applies this principle on a regular basis.

Years ago Carolyn and I saw a church in the Philippines assigning their young student evangelists to various public busses to stand in the front of the bus and preach! In many African nations young evangelists often preach at bus stops. Such training is very valuable and highly effective in preparation for the ministry.

The Minister's Family

Most everyone in ministry is or will be married. Most who marry will have children. As everyone who is married and has children knows, it takes a great deal of time and effort to establish and maintain healthy, loving family relationships.

Ideally a minister's family should be wholesome, openly loving one another and God. The love between the husband and wife should be obvious to all. The husband's conduct and life should be such that everyone in the family respect him. The same applies to the wife. The husband and wife should share the problems of life. They, along with the children, should be a team. The family needs to feel that, after God, they come first.

Priorities

Every minister should have his or her priorities right before God and others. I believe that these priorities should be first, your personal relationship with God, second, your relationship with your family, and third, your ministry. When your priorities are not in this order, things will always eventually go wrong.

Let me give you an example. Suppose you are a pastor and a man in your congregation comes to you and says his family is a mess and his wife wants to leave him. You ask him some questions and eventually find out that he works 60-70 hours at his job and maybe spends 3-4 hours a week with him family. You would know immediately that his priorities were wrong, that he put his work ahead of his family, and that it is no wonder that his family doesn't work. Yet you, the pastor on the other side of the desk, may be doing exactly the same thing with your family. The only difference is that his job is at a store or bank and yours is at a church!

If you were counseling this husband and father the first thing you would tell him is to spend more time with his family, be more attentive to his wife, take her out once in a while without the children, communicate more with each member of the family, and the list goes on. Well, every minister should be doing the same thing in his or her own family.

I once heard of a very busy pastor who set out to build a house for his family in his spare time. He managed to get the outside walls and roof on the house and moved his family in. There were no dividing walls, only the framing for interior walls. There was no running water in the kitchen. His wife carried water into the house from a faucet in the yard and heating her dish water on the stove. This situation lasted eight years! Whenever his wife asked him to finish the house, he always answered, "I'm too busy. The work of the ministry must be done."

What message did he send his wife and children all those years? To the wife it must have been something like this: "My husband doesn't love me or care about me. The needs of everyone else come ahead of me and our children." To the children it must have been something like, "Dad doesn't care about me. He listens carefully when other people have problems, but he never listens to me. He says he is serving the Lord. I'm not sure I want to serve a god who treats me this way."

While this is obviously a severe case of family neglect, I have heard dozens of similar stories at ministers' gatherings. To slightly bend and misquote a Scripture verse I ask, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his [family]?" (Mat 16:26)

What Are the Needs of a Family?

It helps a minister to recognize that his or her family is like any other family. The spouse of a minister has the same needs as the spouse of a shop keeper or school teacher. Each child of a minister has the same needs as every other child. These needs require undivided attention. Every member of your family needs your undivided attention at times. Each member needs to know and feel your love in a tangible way.

What To Do If The Family is in Trouble

Whenever the minister recognizes that his or her family is getting into trouble, or that it is already in serious trouble, he must make some life-changing decisions. By life-changing I mean decisions that cause him to permanently alter his life and habit patterns. These kinds of decisions and resulting actions are necessary even if not all of the problems are the minister's fault. If the family is in trouble, the minister must be at the heart of trying to remedy the situation.

Correcting Steps

I have outlined below five steps to take to help your family. These steps are not intended to be substitutes for in-depth counseling which is often helpful. Rather, I intend these steps as a self-help guide for those in the ministry who recognize family problems and understand their responsibility in helping to correct them.

Step One: The first thing you must do is admit that there is a problem. Nothing will change unless you have recognized and faced the problem.

Step Two: Have long, honest discussions with your spouse in which you accurately identify the problems. These discussions may take several days or even weeks. Usually the problems are too complicated and emotions too sensitive to identify them all quickly and accurately.

Step Three: Recognize that you are only responsible for your own actions. You are powerless to change another's heart. Only God can do that. Repent for your own sins and misdeeds and begin taking steps to make past wrongs right.

Step Four: Set the following priorities, allowing only valid emergencies such as a death or a life-threatening situation to alter them. To remind you again, the priority is, ONE: God, TWO: family, THREE: your ministry. This means you will spend time with your family, including non-spiritual time for games, walks and other fun activities.

Step Five: Listen to your family. Talk to your family. Communicate, talk and then communicate some more. This is key to any relational healing. This is key to maintaining every good, healthy relationship.

These five steps will not offend God. In fact, they will please Him. He gave you your family and your ministry. He wants to see you succeed in both. Let us not, as Paul admonished, "... become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Gal 6:9 NIV) Remember, as a minister, your first congregation are those who live under your own roof, your family!

Take Your Sabbath

My word of advice to every minister who reads this book is to be careful to take your sabbath every week. I know this can be difficult because usually your hardest working day is Sunday which is everyone else's sabbath. This means you must, I repeat must, select another day of the week, declare it your sabbath, and rest from your daily work. The most successful ministers I know are the ones who reserve time for themselves, their families, and who keep their own sabbaths on a regular basis.