7 Lessons for New Pastors, Second Edition

Your First Year in Ministry

Matthew D. Kim

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781725268593
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Ministère chrétien

In 7 Lessons for New Pastors, leading author Matthew D. Kim gives seminarians and new pastors a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a pastor. Drawing on his own experience as a senior pastor and the wisdom of seasoned pastors, Kim seeks to prepare future ministers mentally, emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually for the first year so that it can be a solid foundation for a lifetime of effective ministry. Both new and experienced pastors will profit from reading this book. This second edition is revised and expanded, including questions for personal or group reflection and two bonus mini-lessons.

1

Be Certain of Your Calling

A Mother’s Dedication

When I was ten years old, my mother shared with me the story of my near-death experience. This tragic event occurred on the day of my birth. During the course of delivery, the obstetrician operated with unhygienic forceps to draw me out of my mother’s womb. The forceps severed my scalp on every side. Those cuts soon morphed into a vicious infection. After a few months, even specialists confirmed that there would be no chance of survival. Thus, in an act of great desperation, my mother pleaded with God to intervene. She dedicated my future to full-time pastoral ministry. Her decision forever altered my plot in life. At least, it has often seemed that way.

As a child, my Sunday school teachers sought to bring biblical characters to life. The people who were similarly dedicated to the Lord’s service by their parents were especially captivating. For instance, I remember learning about Hannah, who set apart Samuel for the Lord’s work. In 1 Samuel 1:27–28, Hannah said, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

Obviously, major differences exist between my humble beginnings and Samuel’s. First, my mother dedicated her firstborn son whom she almost lost after childbirth, whereas Hannah committed her child out of her inability to conceive. Second, Samuel is one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, and my origins pale in comparison to his prominent life’s work.

Yet rather than appreciating my mother’s prayer and thanking God for sparing my life, I spent a significant portion of my early years questioning my mother’s actions. Why did I not have a say in all this? Growing up, I had grand visions of becoming a Supreme Court Justice or a professional baseball player. However, those aspirations were shattered in that act of dedication—even if they were merely childhood dreams. I spent much of my earlier years rebelling against this ministerial path prescribed for me.

It would be an entire decade before a pivotal event brought forth great appreciation for what God had done through my mother’s valiant prayer, and it sent me to my knees in humble submission to God’s calling for my life. (I will recount this story later.) If you are considering ministry as your vocation, this lesson speaks to the magnitude of being absolutely certain of your calling.

Confusion about One’s Calling

For most seminary applications, I would assume that potential seminarians are asked to describe their calling experience. What do people write down as their testimony? Was it a supernatural burning bush experience akin to Moses’s story? Perhaps it was a logical conversation with a trusted friend that led someone to realize their gift for ministry. Maybe it was a fiery sensation in one’s heart to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Over the years I have witnessed an ever-growing population of seminarians who enter parish ministry without a clear conviction of their call. The number of students who have questions about the call or question their calling is astounding. “How did you know that you were called?” they ask. It may be the number one issue that comes up during office hours or in casual conversations.

What is clear is that much confusion abounds in today’s seminaries about this issue of calling. For many, it’s a difficult concept to pin down. E. Glenn Wagner shares this story:

A good friend of mine who used to teach at a well-known evangelical seminary once asked several of his classes, “Can you identify a sense of call to ministry?” Most of his students met the question with blank stares. Only about 30 percent in his most “enlightened” class could answer this question in the affirmative, while a scant 4 percent in his most uninformed class could say “yes.”1

Despite their uncertainty, people still feel set apart for the pastorate, although the numbers are shrinking. Inevitably, there will be some traveling down this path toward full-time ministry who learn the hard way that they were not truly called by God in this way. We’ve all known friends in seminary who’ve called it quits. More than the actual tediousness of completing academic exercises, it was often a lack of clear conviction about the call. Allan Hugh Cole, Jr. observes,

Sometimes students will even begin to question their vocation, speculating if coming to seminary was right for them after all, asking if they are “cut out” for parish ministry, wondering if they are “thick skinned” enough to lead others in faith, and growing uneasy about whether they “know enough” to serve as a pastor amid all the demands they have found out the ministerial life tends to bring.2

During my first year in seminary, I lived on a dormitory floor with thirty male seminarians. I will spare you the details of the lack of cleanliness and the musty stench that skulked in the common space, bathroom, and showers. As time went on, several of these floor mates began to sense that the pastorate was not for them. Some opted out of seminary to transfer to law school or to pursue a non-seminary graduate degree. Others decided to work in parachurch organizations. A few even abandoned their faith in Jesus Christ altogether. The bottom line is that they were not called by God to enter the pastorate.

The office of pastor is unlike any other profession. Whether we admit it or not, we can negatively impact the people seated in our church’s pews. The seriousness of pastoral ministry cannot be understated. For those not truly called by God, it is wise to get out before we potentially destroy a church and perhaps even damage our faith in the process.

What Does It Mean to Be Called?

In the Old Testament, God used the Hebrew verb qara to indicate his unique calling on certain persons for his service. For example, in reference to God, William Mounce observes, “And when he calls someone, he expects that person to answer to his call; anything less is disobedience. This use can be compared to the contemporary notion of a person being called by God to teach and preach his Word.”3

The New Testament counterpart is the Greek verb kaleo, which means “to call, invite, summon.”4 Mounce notes, “When Jesus began his ministry, he ‘called’ his disciples (Mt. 4:21; Mk. 1:20). This was a call to physically come to Jesus, but the more important element was a spiritual call, which the disciples heeded.”5 According to these biblical examples, one’s calling to ministry was an act evoked by God and adhered to by the recipient of that call.

Is an ordained pastor’s calling different from the universal calling of Christians to love and serve the body of Christ? In Resurrecting Excellence, L. Gregory Jones and Kevin Armstrong state, “[The pastoral ministry] is a...