Kansas City, Mo.—Jason Allen believes there are 10 questions that will help a Christ-follower decide whether or not they are being called by God into the ministry.
In the book “Discerning Your Call to Ministry,” Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s president poses questions to help students, aspiring pastors, and even current ones, grasp whether ministry is for them. Within the 154-page work, Allen gleans from Scripture, church history, and his own personal experience as a former pastor and seminary president to offer a proper view of the pastorate, assisting readers in making an informed, confident decision about their service to God.
“The impetus of this book stems back to memories of confusion and a lack of direction as I was sensing God’s calling in my own life,” Allen said of the book that was released Sept. 6 by Moody Publishers.
“Now, years later as a seminary president,” he noted, “I daily receive correspondence from earnest men and women who are at a similar point as I once was. My desire is for them to read this book and obtain clarity, one way or the other, of their calling.”
The primary audience for the book includes any person sensing a call to pastoral ministry, Allen said. But it also can include those who are already serving in various capacities within the local church and may have incorrectly sensed such a call.
“Most Christians have an undeveloped, insufficiently-informed understanding of what it means to be called to the ministry,” Allen said.
“They are often in their own state of suspended animation, seeking certainty and assurance yet feeling ill-equipped to follow God’s call,” he said. “These are urgent and consequential deliberations. After all, what could be more unsettling than to embark on the ministry unsure if God is indeed leading you?
“God’s call is too noble, too consequential, and too glorious to be neglected,” Allen said. “Each person sensing a call to ministry must know for sure whether God has called them or not. My aim is to show them that they can.”
To purchase Discerning Your Call to Ministry through Moody Publishing, go to www.moodypublishers.com/books/bible-study-and-reference/discerning-your-call-to-ministry2/.
Patrick Hudson