The Divine Call to Preach: Discernment and Vocation

The Nature of the Divine Call

The divine call to preach is a special message that one receives, and it is different from other divine calls. Some people receive a call — that is, have a vocation to be a servant of God — in a manner that does not involve preaching or caring for souls in that particular way. Some are called to be brothers or sisters, contemplatives, or laborers in the vineyard (Matt 20:1–16). There are many types of vocations, and preaching is a special type that must be tested, tried, and affirmed through the assistance of one's spiritual advisors. This paper analyzes what it means to be called to preach and shows how the characteristics of this divine call can be discerned.

A divine call is, in most cases, more than just a message that one receives and immediately responds to. It is more like a process — an evolution — that one goes through in order to emerge as the person God wants one to be. This can be seen in the examples given in the New Testament. Christ called His disciples to follow Him (Matt 4:19), but that did not mean they were necessarily prepared for the task that lay ahead. They had some talents: Peter, for example, was a fisherman, and Christ used that skill for His own purposes, saying, "I will make you fishers of men" (Matt 4:19). Others were despised, such as Matthew, who was a tax collector — yet Christ called him as well. This sort of unexpected and unlooked-for message may not have an earthly explanation, or it may have something to do with the internal character of the individual and the store of goods within the soul.

Whatever the explanation, none of the disciples who were called to follow God demonstrated any outward signs of being individuals who would lead a church, let alone the early Church founded by Christ. In fact, those who expected to be approached by God were ultimately responsible for His crucifixion: the High Priests of the Temple.

The Process of Being Called

What Christ did with His disciples upon calling them is what all those who hear the call from God must undergo: a time of training, a time of testing, a time of action, a time of prayer, a time of fasting, a time of growing and developing, and a time of anointing. They must be directed and guided; they must be prayerful so that they can grow in the Spirit. It should be remembered that of the original twelve Apostles, one would not go on to preach — Judas — which shows that though one may be called, it does not mean that one will necessarily become a preacher.

The call to preach is a special call that cannot be discerned simply. It must be discerned throughout the process of responding to the vocation, and discernment cannot be performed alone. One must be guided by a spiritual leader who can examine the development of the recipient of the call and assess whether the attributes needed for preaching are present — whether the natural evidence exists for the individual to be a preacher. The spiritual leader will look for signs such as the disposition of the soul, the individual's character, patience, interest, desire, ability, knowledge, social and emotional intelligence, and so on. The preacher is a kind of leader who must not only possess skill with words but be inclined to take the commanding position at the front of a congregation.

Physical Skill and Finding One's Voice

Moses, for example, was called to deliver God's message to Pharaoh and to the Israelites — yet he was not called to be a preacher because he lacked the physical skill needed to speak well publicly. He was a poor public speaker, which is why God appointed Aaron to be the mouthpiece for Moses. Aaron, not Moses, was thus called to be the preacher (Ex 6:28–7:7).

The example of Moses and Aaron illustrates the extent to which physical skill and ability play a part in being called to be a preacher. Even if one has the ability to speak, one still has to find one's voice (Hooks, 1986). That voice must be both human and divine — guided by the Holy Ghost, yet capable of reaching the ears of men. The preacher acts, in this sense, as a mediator between God and the congregation, hearing the words that God wants conveyed and then expressing them in ways that will be understood by those listening. When the Apostles were visited by the Holy Ghost, they were given the gift of tongues, which allowed them to speak to people whose languages were not the Apostles' native ones. In other words, the Apostles had to translate their speech into forms that could be understood by those they encountered in the world.

It must also be understood that the Holy Ghost did not descend upon the Apostles until after they had spent a long time with Christ — listening, watching, observing, learning, and praying. Even after the Crucifixion, which was the greatest test of their faith (and one that Peter himself failed three times, just as Christ predicted), the Apostles were still not confirmed in their faith. They were afraid, weak, some in hiding, others planning to return to their former lives (Luke 24:13–35).

Conclusion: The Call as a Lifelong Process

The call to preach is not a call that one answers simply, setting about preaching the very next day without any training, character strengthening, Bible study, or spiritual growth. If one hears the call to become a mouthpiece for God — as Aaron was for Moses — one must be able to purify oneself. One must humble oneself and submit to one's spiritual leaders, so that they might assess the physical and spiritual attributes one possesses as signs that can identify one as having the gift to be a true preacher. In short, the call to preach is a process and a vocation that is realized over many years of study, practice, and growth.

References

Earley, D. (2010). Evangelism is: How to share Jesus with passion and confidence. Nashville: B & H Academic Publishing Group.

Hooks, B. (1986). Talking back. Discourse, 8, 123–128.