A Call to the Ministry. What Is It?
By George I. Butler
There seems to be in the minds of many people a degree of vagueness in regard to the nature of a call from the Lord to labor specially for him. I propose, in this article, to offer a few thoughts upon this subject; for it is eminently a practical one, and one that should be clearly defined. Our cause is in great need of laborers to go out into the harvest field to work for God and humanity. In no other respect, perhaps, do we suffer so much as in this. And I seriously question whether the commonly-received idea of a call does not stand in the way of some entering the ministry who might do good and bring souls to Christ. If this be so, it is certainly time that there should be a well-defined view among us concerning it. If I understand the matter rightly, many people hold an idea something like this: that a call from God to preach is a sort of undefinable, indescribable something which a person feels pressing upon him continually that he must go out and speak to the people in public. Some poor souls carry this burden around with them months and years, and are in terrible distress of mind if their brethren do not see the point as they do, and help them forward in their proposed course. I have known persons half distracted over this thing for years, so that they could hardly content themselves to do any business, and could take no comfort themselves or permit those around them to do so. And yet no other person could see any good sense in their views, and when actual trial of the matter occurred, it proved a failure. I should have more patience and charity for this kind of a call had I not seen so many who were moved this way demonstrate their utter incapacity when giving the matter a trial. When God calls a man to do any work, he will not make a wrong selection, and it will not be found, when actual experiment is made, that the person chosen was wholly inadequate for the emergency. He understands what he is about. The difficulty, then, comes in by persons’ mistaking certain things for evidences which are not really such. What, then, are real evidences of a call from the Lord to enter the ministry? While we believe it is not some mysterious, incomprehensible something that nobody can define, we, on the contrary, believe it is something evidently rational and reasonable, that can be understood. God’s work is always sensible. When it is properly understood, it will be found to agree with good common sense every time. As the same God who made the human mind also gives his Spirit to enlighten it, there will be a beautiful harmony between the two, when that mind acts rationally and in harmony with its highest intuitions. We lay down this principle, then, that when God calls a man to do any work, there will be found some degree of natural fitness and adaptation to do that work. This is the very reason why he calls that particular person. He acts as sensibly as man. When men have a job to do, they look about them for some one who can do it. So God, whose eyes are over all the works of his hands, searches out those who will consecrate themselves to him and have some, at least, of the necessary qualifications for the position. His Spirit impresses their hearts if they are really in a suitable condition. Fitness, then, and consecration are the two important prerequisites necessary. By fitness, I mean the possession of some, at least, of those natural gifts of mind which will be called into exercise when doing the work they will have to do. If a man is to labor as a mechanic, he must, to make a success of it, have those organs of mind that will be called into exercise in his business or he will not have success. He will make a botch of his work. If a man labors as a merchant or clerk in the mercantile business, he must have judgment in such things, nice ideas of order, more or less business tact, and a pretty good capacity for mathematical calculations, to enable him to keep his accounts correctly, or in all probability he will make a failure. If a man should give himself to teaching others the truths of God’s word, to persuade men to serve the Lord, he must have ability to do so to a certain extent, in order to be successful. A person who can reason logically and sensibly on other subjects can reason also upon religion when his heart is consecrated to the Lord. The reason why some men can talk so glibly upon everything else, but can say very little upon religion, is because their hearts love something else, and their experience has all been in some other direction. The faculties that will be specially called out in the labors of a minister are the moral and intellectual. Conscience, reverence for sacred things, love of justice and right, and ability to show the importance of these, are specially needed. If a person has never, by his life, given any evidence to his acquaintances of possessing these to a reasonable extent, they would not be warranted in believing him called of God to preach, however much he might wish he was. If a person has never given any evidence of possessing force of character to accomplish what he undertakes, it is very probable he would fail in this profession; for there are difficulties to be encountered of no small magnitude. A good, sound, common-sense judgment is a very important qualification, which will make up for many other deficiencies. A practical mind that can adapt means to ends well, will succeed in almost anything it undertakes, when united to force of character. If consecrated to God, it can do good in his cause. To consecrate, is to devote to the service of God. We all know very well what it is to devote one’s self to business, to pleasure-seeking, or something of a worldly nature. From early morn to dewy eve, men give themselves to money-making. They allow nothing else to get in the way of it. Early they hie themselves to their toil, to watch and labor for the dollar. Pleasure has no charms for them, for the time being. The dollar is what they are after. They turn themselves, they think closely, they watch the market reports, to buy cheap and sell dear, that the dollar may come to their pockets. This is devotion to business. It is thought, in these days, to be the highest wisdom. It ends in death and eternal ruin to those who make it the great aim of life. Why cannot men thus devote themselves to God? What would a man do if he did? He would manifest just the anxiety and interest that I have mentioned in helping forward the cause of God and in laboring to save souls for whom Christ died. He would not let pleasure or business or any worldly interest keep him from the one great aim. The service of God requires of us personal obedience to his will, which is plainly set before us in his word, and earnest labor to help others to see their duty to labor in the same direction. We cannot do God any good personally, but we can bring ourselves, by earnest effort, and by his blessing, where we shall be acceptable to him; and we can influence others also. Here is our duty. Now, I claim that every person who has natural ability to instruct others and make plain to their minds principles and facts that are important for their well-being, when he will thus consecrate or devote himself to God’s service, is called to labor in this direction. I have no hesitation in saying that many of our people have a call if they would only heed it, and bring themselves where they feel as much interest in bringing souls to God as they do in bringing dollars into their pockets, or even greater. Have they no education? We have an excellent place now prepared in which to get it. Have they thus far given themselves to worldly pursuits, and succeeded in amassing property so that business seems to be the only thing that comes natural to them? It is high time, then, to turn their talents in another direction and no longer have them buried in the earth. Have they made teaching the sciences a success? Religion is more important than science, and the salvation of souls, for whom Christ died, exceeds everything else in magnitude. The person who can make science plain to other minds can make the truths of God plain, if the love of God fills the heart. Do any say, We have no taste for such things? We cannot get up an interest to talk and pray with others about religion, as we can upon worldly things? Then, dear friend, you stand not only where you will do no good in the world, and where your influence will count for the world, but where your own heart needs converting to God. Your affections are not really set upon the right object. How many there are laboring upon their farms, or in their workshops, or making money in one kind of business or another, who could save souls from death if they were really in earnest for God; if they would walk out by faith, determined to succeed. They could make God their trust by cutting loose from every worldly hope, as well as others, but they will not. Who knows but souls will rise up in the day of God and lay their eternal ruin to their charge? They might have done their duty, but they would not do it. Worldly riches will then be esteemed at their true value. The Lord is coming, careless professor. You will then have to give an account of your talents. You will get no reward if they have been buried in the earth. In conclusion, we wish to say that every one who has a reasonable amount of ability of that kind which would enable him to present God’s truth plainly and clearly before the minds of others, and has the necessary judgment and force of character to enable him to act sensibly and judiciously in other directions, when his heart is imbued with the spirit of true religion, and when he prizes it at its proper value, is called to go into the Lord’s vineyard to work for souls. Possibly, the Spirit of the Lord may impress this upon his heart and he may realize it. Possibly, false modesty and diffidence may keep him from it until his brethren call his attention to it. Many self-conceited and self-deceived persons may get a false burden; but in this time there is much to be done. Where are our young men who are intelligently taking hold of this work? Has selfishness, and love of ease, and hatred of responsibility and burdens, kept them from doing their duty? Go, labor in my vineyard, says the Master. There are many places to labor. He don’t tell us to wait for a certain feeling, or to simply talk from the rostrum. But we are to labor in every way possible to snatch souls from Satan, to talk and pray in private as well as in public. Who will be on the Lord’s side?