There is an attitude in Christian society today to down play the importance of the position of preacher/pastor. We see that churches today view the Pastor’s position as an employee of the church, rather that an appointment made by God. One of the reasons for this is the misunderstanding of the Call of the Man of God.

We find that the Calling (Appointment) of men by God to serve Him in both the Old and New Testaments. It is this setting apart by God which makes a Pastor. No amount of formal training or talent cans makeup for of the call.

So what is this call? The Old Testament records of the call of the prophets like this: In the Book of Jeremiah chapter one verse five we find these words.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5 NASB)

Also in the Book of Isaiah chapter forty-nine verses one through three.

Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me. He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver. He said to Me, "You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory."
(Isaiah 49:1-3 NASB)

In the New Testament we see the call of the Apostles, of Paul and Timothy is examples of God’s divine appoint of men to serve Him.

W.A. Criswell in his book “Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors” said in talking about his early ministry and the world’s response to his surrender to the Call:

“When I gave life to be a preacher, the remark was made to me, what a pity to throw your life away!”

Unfortunately this is sometimes the attitude displayed in our church today. Instead of finding the understanding that each church has the responsibility to raise up men of God, we rely on schools, colleges and seminaries to give us pastors. The duty to respond to the Call rest both on the man and the people of God

This Call requires a response from both the Man of God and the People of God. These responses come in many forms. But the basic ones we will address today are the licensing and ordination of a man to the Gospel ministry.

In Baptist life we as a whole subscribe to a process in which a man answers the Call, then comes before the local church and is licensed to the gospel ministry. He is then ordained when he is called (appointed) to his first church. This process requires both the man and the church to participate.

The preacher’s part in the process involves learning how to study, prepare and deliver the message that God has given him. This may involve formal training such as college and seminary. But more often it is an apprenticeship working in his home church under a senior pastor and the church’s leadership. It is in this setting that the man of God is equipped to feed the people of God with the Word of God.

The church’s responsibility in the equipping process is to provide an environment that allows the man of God to grow to the time that he is ready for his first appointment as the pastor of a church. It is during this time that the church teaches and test the man which God has called so the he may be ready to meet the challenges that has been placed before him. As the Apostle Paul wrote to his apprentice Timothy:

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
(2 Timothy 4:1-3 NASB)

It is during this time that a church should issues a License to the Gospel ministry. This license recognizes the man’s call to preach and is normally issued by the local church after the candidate has been screen by the pastor and deacons of the local church. The licensing of the individual shows a commitment of the local Body of Christ to the equipping of men of God for the furthering of the gospel. It should be noted that in some states this is the minimum requirement to able perform marriages and other ministerial functions (i.e. listed as a minister for hospital visit off hours, etc..)

The time a man should be licensed before being ordained is not defined; a good rule of thumb is two years. The measure that is used is found 2 Timothy chapter three:

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7 NASB)

It should be noted that the above scripture talks about the heart and attitudes of the individual and not always the actions, for no one has ever been prefect except Christ Jesus. Thus the standard laid down in 1 Timothy chapter three is to show that the Man of God is maturing and growing in his spiritual walk with the Lord.

The Ordination of a Man of God is according to Herschel Hobbs:

“Ordination is the ceremony whereby those who have a vocation and have given some evidence of ability for the ministerial office are set apart for the work of their calling. (Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists)”

As such the practice of ordination is the setting apart of man dedicated to the service of caring for the Body of Christ. After the candidate has been examined by both the church and other ordained individuals the local church votes to ordain. It is after this vote that the Laying on of Hands takes place; this is to show the separating or sanctifying of a life to the service of God. There is no special power and gift in this act; it is a symbolic statement proclaiming God mark on the man of God.

A man is normally ordain after he has been called (appointed by God) to his first church or ministerial position in the church, i.e. Pastor, Youth Pastor.

The Licensing and Ordination of the Man of God is a process based on the Bible and grounded in the truth that God still Calls, the question is how we will respond.

Do we pray that God will raise up men to lead the church, or do we look for men who will entertain us? The Ordination process is one in which God has given us an opportunity to lift up men, equip them to lead us in the work that God has put before the local church. It is the duty of every church to encourage young men, men and old men to seek whether God has place a Call on their lives. They say there is shortage of pastors today, but I am afraid the true shortage is men willing to say “Here am I send me, LORD”.