Make All Things New

One of the first books I was assigned to read for LAMPhilly training is Edmund Clowney’s Called to the Ministry In God’s sovereignty, I had heard some of these same principles a couple of years ago from Tim Keller (a student of Clowney’s). I am so thankful to find this small book and I commend it to you.

You can read some of the great quotes from the book over at Justin Buzzard’s blog and I am posting my short book report to encourage you to read Clowney!

Called to the Ministry
by Edmund Clowney
P & R Publishing (1964)

“What is Christ calling you to do?” This is the opening question in this small but immensely helpful book by Edmund Clowney. Does God still call people to ministry the same way he did in biblical times? Clowney systematically addresses these (and many other questions) with biblically based answers. In order to answer the opening question, Clowney writes, “We must first consider the Lord’s calling of every Christian, then we should examine what the New Testament says about the calling of the minister of the gospel.” (p. V)
According to Clowney, the first part of understanding God’s calling in one’s life is to be called a child of God. No one can be called to gospel ministry unless he is first called into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Once called into fellowship with God through Christ, the Christian is called to follow Christ into service. Gospel ministry is a call for Christian to serve. An interesting paradox is now found. “The ‘Come!’ of Christ separates us from the world to his name; the ‘Go!’ of Christ sends us into the world in his name.” (p. 18) But how, specifically, is a Christian to put Christ on display through service? “[T]he calling of an individual in the church of Christ is determined by the gifts Christ has given him, by the ‘measure’ of the Spirit he has received.” (p. 27) That is, the Christian is supernaturally-equipped to for specific service within the church and within the world.
The second portion of this book focuses specifically on the calling to ministry. Clowney describes this calling as specific to the gifting given. Summed up, “The call of the Word of God to the gospel ministry comes to ALL those who have the gifts for such ministry.” (p. 79) These gifts are given to the individual by Christ for the purpose of building his church. The work is of Christ and for Christ from start to finish.
This book serves as more than just an excellent primer for anyone wrestling with a sense of calling into gospel ministry. I say “more than” because while Clowney’s book is brief in length, it is vast in its depth of wisdom. This wisdom comes from his focus on Jesus and the scriptures for the basis of his arguments. I found his arguments excellent and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
The way Clowney helped me to understand the calling to ministry was extremely helpful to me. Specifically, understanding that there are basically three aspects of calling to gospel ministry and it is not just some internal feeling you get (while that can be part of it). Calling to gospel ministry consists of an internal call, what I might term a “burden” for sharing the gospel. Another aspect would be the affirmation of the gifting for gospel ministry by leaders in your local church (who know you well). And finally, the circumstances or opportunities to test and grow the gifting you have.
These specific points have helped to confirm my calling to gospel ministry for the sake of Christ’s glorious name!

I have heard it said that our worldview is to us like water is to a fish. As a fish what it’s like to be wet (assuming that a fish could communicate with you!) and it won’t know what you are talking about. That is, a worldview isn’t something we think about but rather something we think through or from. Thinking through our worldview is often challenging, yet always rewarding work.
At my first class in the LAMP program recently, we were asked to share a bit about  ourselves and the calling we are sensing from God. When I shared that I currently live in   New Jersey but will be moving to Philadelphia in response to God’s call to “urban ministry”, I did think much about the worldview from which I was speaking. While my friend Anthony shared a similar calling to “urban ministry” neither of us appeared to think much about how that might be misinterpreted.
Later in the class, another member of our cohort (who is born, raised and ministering in Philadelphia) mentioned (with some seeming frustration) that she didn’t understand why we referred to “urban ministry”. While it was quickly explained that nothing derogatory was meant by the term, it gave me some things to think about on my drive back to the suburbs that night.
I examined my possible insensitivity in speaking about coming to the city to minister the gospel of grace. While I certainly don’t think of myself as some hero coming in to rescue a sick city from itself, I realize how my moving from the suburbs to the city could appear that way. When I think of being called to the city of Philadelphia, I don’t think about how the city needs me but rather how I need to be faithful to God by being there. I can only imagine what it must seem like for someone ministering in the city to hear about some one wanting to come in and “do urban ministry”. It’s not about feeling pity for the city but rather seeking the shalom of the city.
I also considered how confusing it could be to join the word “urban” with “ministry” to form the term “urban ministry.” There is some truth in saying that one who misters in the urban setting calls their vocation “ministry” but when someone moves from the suburbs to the city, they call their vocation “urban ministry”. I think I can see the challenge here. Honestly, I have never referred to sharing the gospel where I currently live as “suburban ministry”!
The point that was clarified for me was this: when I refer to urban ministry as a calling, “urban” refers to the context or setting in which the ministry takes place. In this way, the person from the city who says it is just ministry is correct, just not as fully descriptive of their calling.
Christ calls us all to “come” to Him and to “go” out for Him. The city is simply where I am being sent by Christ to share His gospel. I pray that in my going, I would be sensitive to thus who are already there!