Call to Ministry: Biblical perspective

Both the Old and New Testaments unfold with God calling leaders to serve Him.
From the plains of Ur where God called Abraham to the burning bush where God
appeared to Moses, He spoke directly to them. Isaiah’s call in the Temple in the
year that Uzziah died began with the burning question “Whom shall I send and
who will go for us?” and Isaiah’s resounding response, “Here am I Lord, send me”
(Isaiah 6:8).

In the New Testament we find Jesus calling out Peter and Andrew, saying, “Follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18,19). Marks tells us that
“He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them
out to preach” (Mark 3:14).

The Apostle Paul recounted his Damascus Road experience: “i heard a voice
speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are
You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and
stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a
minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things
which I will yet reveal to you’” (Acts 26:14-18).

How are Church leaders chosen and placed? Paul instructs Timothy concerning the
office of bishop (επισκοπος episkopos), “This is a faithful saying: If a man desires
the position of a bishop, he desires a good work” (1 Timothy 3:1). This seems to
place the initiative on the one who feels called.
On the other hand, Paul instructs Titus to appoint elders
(πρεσβυτερος presbuteros), focusing on the authority of Titus, as his apostolic
delegate, to select elders (Titus 1:5).
The debate regarding the call to ministry in the local church results in two clearly
defined positions:

The general call: The call to salvation includes a call to service. As one’s gifts are
discerned and developed by the church, the individual believer may be assigned
ministry roles by the local church. In this view, the gifts of the believer are
observed by the body, and the gifted individual subsequently is placed in ministry
at the direction of the elders of the church.
The individual call: There is a definitive, personal call to vocational Christian
ministry. The individual’s conviction is usually expressed to the local church in
which he serves. He does not enter the ministry by a personal dictum but by the
affirmation of the body of believers who attest his biblical qualification and gifts.

Ken Hornok challenged the individual call: “‘Being called’ to ministry is perhaps

among the most hotly debated aspects of beginning a new ministry or planting a
church. Many look to a past event in their life which had such a profound impact
on them that they made a decision to pursue ministry.

The individual call is defined and defended by Erwin Lutzer: “God’s call is an

inner conviction given by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the Word of God and
the body of Christ.”3 “Though the idea is not popular today, I believe God still calls
individuals to specific ministries, particularly preaching and teaching His Word.”4
Kent Hughes agreed: “Those who would deny or minimize the fact that God calls
individual Christians to special service must not only discount the facts of human
experience but the evidence of Scripture, which records the calls of Moses, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Paul, and the commissioning of the apostles.”

Paul chooses this word to describe what God did for him in putting him into the
ministry (1 Timothy 1:12). In both Ephesians and 1 Timothy he uses the aorist
middle voice indicating that the action was performed by God himself
independently of the choice of men.”

Warren Wiersbe and Howard Sugden, strong proponents of a definitive, individual

call to ministry emphasized: “The work of the ministry is too demanding and
difficult for anyone to enter without a sense of divine calling. Too often people
enter and then leave the ministry because they lack the sense of divine urgency that
comes with a call. Nothing less than a definite call from God can ever give you
success when the going gets tough in the ministry.”

Brian Croft agreed: “Though all Christians are called to serve the cause of Christ,
God calls certain persons to serve the church as pastors and other minister.

First, there is an inward call. Through his Spirit, God speaks to those he has called
to serve as pastor.
Second, there is the external call. Baptists believe that God uses the congregation
to call out the called. The congregation must evaluate and affirm the calling and
gifts of the believer who feels so called.”
Bruce Waltke strikes a balance: “In my view, ministry is a calling, and God not
only puts a burning desire in the heart of the learner, but also places people around
the student who encourage them to use their gifts in the church.”

Christian Church as Disciples of Christ

The Disciples of Christ (DOC), officially called the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) is a denomination emphasizing Christian unity, inclusiveness, and social
action. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as
God has welcomed us.”

Neither Stone nor Campbell knew of each other when they separately began their
own ministries. When they met, they became friends and discovered that both had
the same beliefs, which were different from mainstream Protestant denominations.
Stone and Campbell both sought unity in their churches, thus, they merged with
each other. In 1906, the Disciples of Christ was started. In the present day, there
are over 380,000 active members.
The DOC teaches the priesthood of all believers and is therefore not hierarchical in
church polity. They teach believer’s baptism by immersion and therefore do not
baptize infants. The church also places a heavy emphasis on communion,
symbolized by the chalice they use as their denomination’s logo; most Disciples of
Christ congregations observe communion every week.

The Disciples of Christ’s belief system is different from mainline Christian beliefs.
As per the Disciples of Christ official website, they hold strongly to their
confession statement. The Confession Statement of the Disciples of Christ is listed
as follows:

As members of the Christian Church, We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ’s name and by his grace we accept our mission of witness and service to
all people. We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in God’s covenant
of love which binds us to God and to one another.
Through baptism into Christ we enter into newness of life and are made one with
the whole people of God. In the communion of the Holy Spirit we are joined
together in discipleship and in obedience to Christ. At the Table of the Lord we
celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ.
Within the universal church we receive the gift of ministry and the light of
scripture. In the bonds of Christian faith we yield ourselves to God that we may
serve the One whose kingdom has no end. Blessing, glory, and honor be to God
forever. Amen.

The confession highlights the importance of immersion by baptism and the

necessity of Communion, yet the confession does not specifically state a person
has to believe in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to be saved, which is prior
to baptism. It is not biblical for a person to be baptized unless the individual is a
born-again believer (John 3:1-21).
The Disciples of Christ emphasize their focus on accepting all people of various
beliefs into their church. They reject any conversion before becoming a member of
their church. The DOC does not want to isolate any person, thus, they accept
people of various religious backgrounds.
This is their way of seeking unity within the church. Basically, the DOC does not
believe in absolutes. The Bible has to disagree as it is clear that Jesus is the only
Way to salvation (John 14:6).
Furthermore, the DOC believes a person can lose salvation. It is not biblical to
believe an individual can lose salvation. Once a person accepts Jesus’ death, burial,
and resurrection, the individual is permanently saved. Jesus tells believers that we
can never be taken out of His Hand (John 10:28-29).
The Holy Spirit indwells believers at the moment of salvation, and He never
leaves. The seal of the Holy Spirit is permanent and unchanging (Ephesians 1:13).
An individual can never lose salvation

Belief
The Disciples of Christ believe that the church is a sacramental community, a
covenant fellowship brought into being by God's initiative of grace and sustained
in its life by the Holy Spirit. Baptism and the Lord's supper are accepted as
sacraments of the church, and are the primary elements in shaping the ethos and
identity of the Disciples of Christ. Baptism marks entrance into membership in the
church universal. Holy Communion is the central act of each Sunday's worship
service; the invitation is always to an "open table". Christ is present at each Lord's
supper both in the elements as they are received and in the life of the community
itself.