24-The Call To The Ministry
CHAPTER XXIV THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY IN the preceding chapters we have considered the ideals and methods generally approved for making the modern church an effective instrument for Christianizing society. But the mere mastery of the technique of religious work will not of itself produce the successful church leaden Spirit, temperament, zeal, inward attitudes of soul and heart are the vital elements in the ministry, and will supply the themes for discussion in the final section of this book.
Conspicuous among them is the “call” to the pastoral office. 1 In the absence of this experience, one is likely to be distinctly unhappy in the ministry, and will abandon it ultimately for more congenial employment. To interpret the meaning of the “call” is our aim in the present chapter. i. Let us begin by asking, “Is the work of the ministry really distinguished in this respect from that of other professional men?” Undoubtedly, all work may be sanctified by the spirit of service, and the same obligation is on every Christian which is on the minister to “do all as unto the Lord.” But this is not quite what is involved in a divine call the conviction that any worthy work is God’s work and that the worker stands in “living connection with the heavenly world.” Take coal-mining, for illustration.
There can be no doubt that it is a “basic” industry, absolutely necessary to human happiness. And the man who burrows underground to bring fuel to the surface for his fellow men is a most valuable servant of society, deserving ^t might be possible to distinguish between a call to the pastorate and to some other form of religious work. No differentiation of this kind, however, is made here. The term is used in its most comprehensive sense> applying to all forms of ministerial service.
245 246 THE PASTORAL OFFICE much more consideration than he usually receives. Moreover, many religiously minded miners derive an inward satisfaction when they reflect upon the service which they render, and are conscious of God’s sustaining grace as they toil. But the effect of this work upon the workers themselves is such that it would seem highly incongruous to declare that one has been divinely called to mine coal. As a matter of fact, most miners probably feel that they have been condemned to the mines by the accident of birth and the circumstances of their early lives. A “divine vocation” may be expected to enrich the mind and heart of the worker as coal-mining does not do. A “calling” should give such joy that the worker would not be engaged in other labor if he could! And it is difficult to think of miners feeling thus about their employment. All this applies to most handworkers. We do not deny the social value or spiritual significance of manual labor. The only point we are making is that men usually drift or are forced into it rather than deliberately choose it. It may be glorified, indeed, by the religious imagination, and thus yield high satisfactions, but the most devout laborers would be slow to declare that their work was a divine calling. The distinction is not so clear in the case of professional workers. The successful teacher, lawyer, physician, artist, musician, architect, and engineer must have peculiar personal fitness for their work as certainly as the minister.
Many of them are very happy in the practice of their professions. In most cases professional work is deliberately adopted after other possibilities have been considered.
Moreover, the work tends to enlarge mental horizons and is rewarding in rich fellowships. Finally, all the great professions have passed under the law of service. Financial gain is not the dominant motive, as in business. In these respects they do not differ from the ministry. But the ministry is distinguished from all these in that its aim is confessedly spiritual. However noble may be the service to the physical, the intellectual, and the aesthetic THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 247 needs of human life, religious work is more fundamental in that it deals with intangible values which give life its real meaning. This makes it impossible for the minister to know always how well or ill he is succeeding. But it constitutes the chief glory of his task. Blunderingly enough the work goes on, as the workers themselves confess, but where there is a reasonable amount of intelligence, imagination, and unselfishness, the awkward efforts of even an incompetent minister are singularly sanctified to the spiritual well-being of a community. If it be said that other types of professional work produce spiritual results, we still insist that they are secondary, and not primary. And this holy daring which prompts religious workers to make that the chief object of all their striving which others regard as incidental, lifts the ministry out of the rank of professions into the dignity of a divine calling because its aim is divine in a sense that cannot be affirmed of other professions.
Again, the effect of the ministry upon the minister himself sets this work apart. Ideally, labor should always enrich the personality of the laborer. One of the deplorable facts about modern industry is that men become as mechanical as the machines which they tend. Born human beings, they die mere grocers, or bankers, or mechanics.
Instead of the means to a fuller manhood, work too often menaces what manhood they already possess. And to this dwarfing of personality through the performance of simple processes which require no thought or imagination, must be added the positively immoral effect of the atmosphere of strife, suspicion, and mutual distrust in which employers and workers live. All this gives abundant reason for declaring, with Phillips Brooks, that work is one of the cherubim which stand with flaming swords before the Garden of Eden to prevent man’s return to happiness. The supreme test of any labor must be, not the amount of wealth, but the kind of men it produces. And one is not happy about the human product of our industrial organization, whether it be & roasters or the workers. It is very differ^ 248 THE PASTORAL OFFICE ent with the professions. All react upon their members to enrich personality to a remarkable degree. It will be found, generally, that the physicians, teachers, lawyers, so* cial workers, and ministers are the persons of broadest sympathies in the average American community. They do not accumulate great wealth, as a rule, but they possess good private libraries and overflowing reading tables, and their friendships are usually superior. Furthermore, the ethical standards of their work lay moral responsibilities upon them not imposed upon others. The shock is always greater when a professional man breaks down at the point of goodness than when a business man or laborer falls. The influence of the ministry upon those within its ranks is similar to that of other professions, with this difference - the ethical effect is very much greater. The nature of the work requires constant study, which stimulates the intellectual life. It is likewise rewarding in the opportunity it affords for social intercourse of the finer sort. But the demand which it makes upon the minister himself to live on the highest moral levels exceeds that of any other profession. In a way, of course, careless living is a disqualification for any professional work, but for the pastor it is a capital offense. And no one will hold him to as strict account as he holds himself. He will be aware of personal defects which others do not observe, and these will give him constant pain. More sharply than others he will feel the inconsistency of a moral physician becoming himself a source of evil contagion and a teacher of religion failing to exemplify in his own life the doctrine which he preaches.
We are not thinking of his being self-consciously “an example to others,” affecting a piety which he does not feel. That road leads to cant, insincerity, hypocrisy offensive to God and man. Rather we have in mind the passion for genuine and transparent goodness which must adorn his own life before he can successfully transmit it to others. Nor are we declaring that ministers always become immaculate in their saintliness. As a class they are subject to the same THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 249 temptations that befall other men, and often are defeated in the very “citadels of their souls.” But the ethical demands of their work make it more difficult for them to yield, acting as a sharp spur, impelling them to “go on to perfection” when otherwise they might cease their striving. This superior ethical influence of the ministry upon the minister is a divine effect and supplies another reason for regarding it as a sacred vocation.
Again, most ministers testify that they entered upon their work because of an inward imperative which is not often the experience of other professional workers. The physician, the teacher, the lawyer, the dentist, unite generally in saying that they like their work, but rarely does one go so far as to declare that he undertook it because of a sense of duty. The matter of peculiar fitness apart, he could have been quite as happy in some other profession as the one he chose. Indeed, many do engage successfully in business while they practice their professions. But not so, as a rule, with ministers. They are happy in their work, but something deeper than the attractiveness of the profession drew them to it. With almost no dissenting voice they affirm that their loyalty to the best that they knew was involved in their choice of a life work. It was a highly moral experience in which they were chiefly conscious of a sense of duty. An authoritative “must” was heard from the voice of conscience the “Thus saith the Lord” of the Old Testament prophets, Let it be confessed frankly that events have proven that some were mistaken in their interpretation of this experience. But, on the other hand, experience has justified the conclusion which was reached in a majority of cases. And it is significant that an attempt to abandon the ministry, or to engage in business as a side line, for reasons less noble than those for which one entered upon it in the beginning, results usually in great unhappiness. Religious work is a jealous mistress. “The Lord will have no driftwood for his sacrifices, and no drift men for his ministry.”
These three facts, then, justify the belief that the win 250 THE PASTORAL OFFICE istry is a work apart from others its spiritual aim, its ethical effect upon the minister himself, and the motive actuating those who undertake it. With more warrant than is conferred by mere poetic license, it may be thought of as a “divine calling. 33 This doctrine should be held in great humbleness of mind, however, not in arrogant self -sufficiency. The minister will prove that his is a holy office, not by proclaiming the fact self -assertively from the housetop, but by showing in his words, and life, and work, the divine spirit of kindness, love, gentleness, forbearance, and meekness.
2. We are commanded on the highest authority to test the movements of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men. 3 If these come from the Divine Father, investigation will only make that fact more clear. If spurious, the sooner we know it, the better. What, then, are the evidences of genuineness in a call to the ministry? They are gathered from various sources. a. The first is an idealistic attitude toward life. He who is more concerned with exploiting men than serving them unselfishly is inherently disqualified for religious work!
He must love men deeply and feel as his very own their misery and blindness. b. No one is called into ministerial service who is not deeply religious in his personal life. The unseen world must be for him the realest of worlds, with which he holds commerce daily by faith and prayer. He must be very sure of God and have some power at least to make other men see God in everything. In the language of the Discipline, he must have “the love of God abiding in him/’ His religious earnestness will show itself in the conviction that the sickness of the world is spiritual a matter of wrong inner ideals and attitudes rather than maladjustments in the social organization and as such the only cure is a wholehearted acceptance of the gospel of Jesus in all relations. c. An inwwd drawing toward the work is essential.
*Phit 1:9, 10* THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 251 should be warned, however, that the strength of the subjective impression is not very significant in itself. Emotional temperaments may describe it as overwhelming, while less excitable persons may feel nothing more than a strong inclination in a certain direction. It frequently happens that the most successful ministers experience this call in its milder forms. If one is unable to dismiss the subject from his thought, or finds pleasure in imagining himself engaged in the work that is allotted to a minister, he has as much mystical intimation as is accorded to most. And he has all that is needed, for this inclination must be corroborated by other evidence to make sure that it is more than a human preference for the office “a hankering after its perquisites, the position it offers, the gains and emoluments it promises.” d. The absence of peculiar physical, mental, and social fitness for the work nullifies, usually, an alleged inward call. If one is not strong in body; or if he does not possess at least average intellectual ability; or if he cannot express himself clearly and with some degree of readiness; or if he does not love people, and has little ability to enlist and organize them under his leadership, he has a right to conclude that he is not called to the work of the ministry. e. The inward call should be confirmed by the outward. That is to say, one’s personal inspirations should be submitted to the judgment of others. Dr. Gladden most wisely declares, “No minister ought to undertake the work unless he believes he has a divine vocation; but he ought to submit this conviction of his to the approval of his brethren.” 4 The Holy Spirit reveals himself in the collective wisdom of the many as certainly as in the private insight of the individual. If one possesses the “gifts and graces” which qualify him for religious service, those who know him and love the church will have an opinion on the subject which deserves consideration. If their judgment does not sustain his, it is quite probable that he was wrong in his in *Qp. tit, p. 69.
252 THE PASTORAL OFFICE terpretation of the subjective experience which was regarded as “a calL”
/. The final test of a call is some measure of success in the actual work of the ministry. If one’s efforts do not command the approval of the reflective people in the congregation under reasonable conditions, he has a right to conclude that he should serve as a layman rather than a minister.
3. The call to the ministry ultimately resolves itself into a call to a particular church. This is determined in various ways. Under a “Congregational” polity, the local church issues the invitation. The “Presbyterian” ideal requires that the choice of the church shall be confirmed by the “presbytery.” In the Church of England, the “parish” has little voice in determining who the “incumbent” shall be, the right of nomination being vested in a “patron,” who is, in some instances, the government; in others, the bishop or archbishop; in yet others, a dean or chapter, but generally a landed proprietor. 5 In the Methodist Episcopal Church the matter, theoretically, rests entirely in the hands of the bishop. In practice, however, this officer usually seeks the advice of district superintendents, and invites churches and ministers to express their wishes fully concerning “appointments.” Among the larger churches, it is becoming customary for the bishop to approve arrangements which have been entered into by churches and ministers. The right of the church and the minister to an opinion about establishing the pastoral relation can hardly be denied, even under an episcopal form of government They will be more seriously affected in case a mistake is made than the bishop can be. On the other hand, it is not at all certain that the average pastorate has been lengthened or the joy of the relationship increased by the self-assertion of ministers and churches. Where large liberty is granted a church in seeking its pastor the initiative in establishing a new relationship should ’Recent legislation by Parliament gives the parish more opportunity to express itself than was formerly enjoyed. THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 253 be taken by the church. The denomination generally is sensitive to the indelicacy of a minister actively seeking an ecclesiastical office, whether it be a pastorate, the episcopacy, a general secretaryship, or an editorial position.
Under the doctrine of a divine call to religious work, the normal state of the pastor’s mind should be, “I am where I am because God has placed me here... I should stay here until Providence makes it clear that I am needed elsewhere.” If conditions of health or work make a change seem desirable, he is at liberty to express himself in a general way to district superintendents and bishops, but not to suggest himself for particular appointments. If approached by the committee of a particular church, he may express himself as willing to accept an invitation provided the bishop approves. It will be important for him to know whether the invitation is extended unanimously or only by a majority vote. He should be more interested in the spirit and ideals of the church than the salary which it pays. And he should decline to preach a “trial sermon.” Neither minister nor congregation are likely to be at their best under such an ordeal. The customary procedure on the part of the church seeking a pastor is to appoint a committee to consult, first, with the district superintendent and bishop, and, second, with other responsible persons who may suggest the names of available ministers. The committee should not enter into negotiations with anyone until it has satisfied itself concerning his acceptability. It is an easy matter in the Methodist Episcopal Church to discover what kind of work a pastor has done in previous charges, and this is a much safer criterion than the impression he may make in a single sermon. They should as little think of asking him to “candidate” as he should think of consenting to do so. Having satisfied themselves that they are ready to extend an invitation if he is willing to accept, they may interview him, and, if he is agreed, request the bishop, through the district superintendent, to make the appointment.
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If there is a call to begin a pastorate, there may also be a call to end it. The conviction may come to the pastor that he has made his best contribution and to continue longer in the service of a particular church is unwise.
Let him make sure, however, that he is not moved merely by small personal irritations, or by the desire for an increase in salary, or by sheer restlessness. Again the conviction may come to the more thoughtful members of the church, and become so strong that they feel compelled to take the initiative in ending pastoral relations. There is a Christian way of proceeding in these matters which will be taken instinctively by persons of imagination and brotherly regard. One way not to do it is to pass complimentary resolutions inviting the pastor to return, and then quietly send a delegation to- the bishop or district superintendent insisting that he must not come back. That is unethical in the highest degree. Frankness and candor, mixed with kindly consideration, alone are justified in handling a matter so delicate.
4. Very often the call to religious work may take the form of a call to some special task or field, for example, foreign missions, foreign-speaking work at home, industrial work in cities, rural church work, or religious education. The prevailing considerations in reaching such a decision should be (i) sufficient knowledge concerning the proposed service to make possible an intelligent opinion, (2) the possession of the special abilities required for effective service, and (3) a strong inward response to the appeal of the work itself.
5. It is assumed that the call to the pastoral office is for life. The time may come, however, when the way may lead providentially into other service. It seems necessary to draft men continually from the pastorate for educational and administrative work in the denomination at large. And sometimes there are honorable reasons for withdrawing from full-time work in the ministry. For example, if it is impossible to support one’s family on the salary which THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 255 the church pays, without being embarrassed continually by debt, one is justified in resigning to engage in secular employment which will afford a living. The important thing in all such changes is to be certain that one is prompted by unselfish motives such as first led him into the ministry, and not chiefly by considerations of worldly ambition and private gain.
6. Having insisted that the ministry is a divine calling, let it be said also that it is a profession, in the sense at least that special training is necessary to a high degree of success. Irreparable injury has been done by misguided persons who have discouraged young ministers from attending college and theological school. The level of general culture is rising continually in every community, and professional standards must be elevated correspondingly. It is little short of tragic that the only professional worker who has made no special preparation for his work often is the minister. It is said that out of every five men in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, only one has received complete training for his work; two others have completed the major part or all of a college course; while the remaining two have never attended a college or theological school Anyone in doubt about the relation of training to efficiency in the ministry should write to Rochester (Baptist) Theological Seminary, Rochester, New York, for their illuminating bulletin on this subject. This training should consist primarily of a broad foundation of general knowledge such as a college course affords. Later, there should be specialized instruction in professional subjects and methods of church work, such as biblical interpretation, church history, Christian doctrine, religious education, missions, and social service, together with supervised practice in preaching, conducting public worship, evangelism, and church administration. The Conference course of study is in no sense an equivalent training. It is at best an unsatisfactory substitute devised by a church doing its work largely with untrained men, in the hope of cultivating in them habits of 256 THE PASTORAL OFFICE study and intellectual tastes which will overcome in part the handicap imposed by insufficient preparation.
BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR FURTHER STUDY Matthew Simpson, Yale Lectures on Preaching, Lectures I, II.
N. J. Burton, Yale Lectures on Preaching, pp. 31-46.
W. Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter IV.
Charles E. Jefferson, The Minister as Prophet; Quiet Hints to Growing Preachers.
James A. Hensey, The Itinerancy Its Power and Peril.
Ernest Clyde Wareing, Critical Hours in the Preacher’s Life.
W. L, Sperry, The Call to the Ministry, Harvard Theological Review, July, 1923.