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Pastoral Calling and the Local Church Introduction The Christian ecclesias of the initial century church were administered by local leaders. Paul had the pattern of appointing elders in the churches (Acts 14:23; 20:17). Paul gave leadership responsibility to Timothy at Ephesus and to Titus at Crete. Peter in speaking to elders of the parts of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia challenged them to be shepherds of God's flock. Actually, he refers to himself as a fellow-elder and, therefore, a shepherd. He also identifies Christ as the Chief Shepherd (2 Pet. 5:1-4). We see a pattern then in the first century church in which the administering of the neighborhood churches was done by elders whose function was to be comparable to that of a shepherd. The word 'Pastor' is used once in the brand new Testament in Ephesians 4:11. In Latin, the term is derived from the term Pastoral is and in French, Pastor. Both words are translated 'Shepherd'5. The word 'Pastor' is therefore imagery of shepherding which should characterize the elders of the neighborhood ecclesia. 'Pastoral' can be an adjectival word which, in the context that it's being considered, bears the following meaning: "relating to any office and work of a minister of religion." The definition brings out clearly our consideration in this Chapter: We shall examine Pastoral calling in relation to its nature - that's, the office, and its task - that's, the work. The Nature of Pastoral Calling The office and work of the minister of religion or pastor or shepherd or elder, whatever title may be used to designate any office and work, are unique. Anyone could become a Pastor but not everyone may become a Pastor. Here, we are coping with a specialized office into which entry is pre-conditioned by the influence of the divine and the human. You will find a calling involved. We often hear people say, in the neighborhood church setting in Sierra Leone, "I'm called by God to ministry." A leader of a church that was started with the final five years and whose church keeps growing rapidly in a quantitative manner describes his calling by God as having occurred through a dream. Another leader went into a location in the West end of Freetown in 1993, used residence there and begun to organize evangelistic outreaches. Inside a year, he's got won some individuals to Christ and contains started a church. This same leader was in league with another leader who runs their own private ministry (a church). Via an interview with him, it was found out that he could not pull alongside the other leader so he broke away from him to set up his own independent ministry. When asked why iglesia cerca de mi was wanting to set up a church in the brand new area into which he has moved he replied, "I was called by God." He made no mention of the rift between him and another leader which was the motivating factor for him to move off to start their own ministry; nor did he make reference to the conditions which caused him to have sought residence in that new locality and had consequently decided to make there his base for evangelism. Rather, it had been just the blanket statement, "I'm called by God." A third example came out of an interview with the National Superintendent of an evangelical church which has been in Sierra Leone since 1969. He mentioned that their own call was firstly a subjective experience. The work of the ministry seemed worthy to him. He saw the job as noble. Such factors resulted from the strong-sense of God's call toward the ministry which can only be expressed rather than described. At the time of such a subjective experience he had not been only in any employment; yet, he felt a stronger pull in him for involvement in ministry which seemed noble and worthy to him instead of involvement in secular employment. Secondly, this leader described his call as also an objective experience. The objective is due to tangible evidences. One of such evidences was the need for manpower in the ministry of this church; thus, circumstances triggered the objective experience. Included in the objective experience was the confirmation of the leaders of the church. The leaders saw the worthiness of this man who had a solid inner drive for involvement in ministry. Over a period of time, and with training, his sense of call was confirmed by the leaders and he became one who fulfilled the need for manpower. In cases like this, the subjective experience didn't standalone. It found fulfillment and confirmation in the objective. The next two questions were put to exactly the same leader: (1) Should one have a sense of call to be engaged in ministry? Yes, he replied. "One must develop a desire or love for the Lord's work. Just having an inclination is not enough. (2) What do we mean by call? "A series of events leading to a climax. Objective occasions connecting and interplaying with the subjective." The forgoing three examples are representative of the perceptions which many local church leaders in Sierra Leone have concerning the nature of Pastoral calling. In the first example, it had been via the medium of a dream. In the next, it was calling emanating from the individuals availability from subjective feelings finding fulfillment and confirmation in objective realities. We will further analyse these types of calling and the characteristics of the patterns.
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