Appointed to Preach by David W. Hegg is a very helpful book both for men discerning their call to full-time preaching ministry, and also to those pastors conducting ordination councils.
The first half of the book is written for those men discerning whether they are called by God to enter the pastoral ministry. Hegg does a great job laying out the main things they should consider as they’re evaluating their call: character, affirmation of God’s people, desire, message, and gifts. Hegg demonstrates how all these criteria for evaluating one’s calling are grounded in Scripture.
The second half of the book gives the pastoral candidate an idea of what to expect during the ordination process, and it also provides the ordaining council a helpful model for what this process should look like. Hegg makes it clear that he believes the role of the council is not to try to encourage and pass men who may be unqualified for ministry, but to discern who truly is called to ministry and to affirm them.
This book was the most helpful work I’ve read that helps men figure out if they’re called to the preaching ministry and to ordination. It was an enjoyable read, I was challenged in areas in which I need to grow, and I highly recommend this resource to anyone considering the preaching ministry, or who will ever be part of an ordination council.
(Hegg, David. Appointed to Preach. Mentor Publishing: Glasgow, 1999)
0 comments:
Post a Comment