Balance Patience and Ambition

“I know this is disappointing to hear, but you are not ready to be in pastoral ministry.”

This is one of the hardest things I periodically have to tell men aspiring to be pastors. I believe it is also the kindest thing I can say to save the men, their families, and their future congregations great heartache and pain. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).

Churches must train the ambitious patiently, giving them time to show their true colors.

Places and Spaces

Places and spaces must be made to have hard conversations about ministry readiness. The aforementioned men had committed themselves to a season of training at our church, but during their preparation, issues surfaced that temporarily or permanently disqualified them from pastoral ministry.

For some, character qualities emerged that conflicted with 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Others did not yet know their Bibles well enough to rightly divide it and defend the faith against false doctrine. A number who did know their Bible well needed more practice and life experience to be able to teach and communicate effectively.

In a few instances, places and spaces revealed deep-seated habitual sins and ungodly motives for ministry. Whatever the situation, the hard conversation of readiness must come. Part of pastoral ministry is providing the space to make that happen.

The Church Is Your Friend

The adage “you don’t know what you don’t know” rings true in pastoral ministry. I have heard many brothers say they regret not having more time for preparation, especially to handle ministry issues that seminary or Bible college do not or cannot teach you.

Formal theological education is a good supplement, but pastoral preparation must happen in the local church. Men need the opportunity to have “on the job training” with real pastors in real situations. Many issues, questions, and scenarios will arise during this life-on-life training season that will teach the aspiring pastor there is a lot he does not know.

Certainly, no one will be completely ready for ministry or have all the answers before they start. We should grow throughout our ministries (2 Tim. 2:15). Yet the Lord has given the gift of his church to help men know when they are qualified to pastor.

Time Is Your Friend

Time gives opportunity to see how an aspiring brother will respond to a vast array of situations. Anyone can fake readiness for a short season. When given enough time, a person’s true self comes out.

The apostle Paul exhorts us to be patient and let time do its revealing work by Word and Spirit:

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. . . . The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. (1 Tim. 5:22–25)

Encouragement to the Present Pastors

Scripture offers a pattern of life-on-life mentoring—Moses with Joshua, Elijah with Elisha, Jesus with the Twelve, Paul with Timothy. Being kingdom-minded, then, means prioritizing mentorship. One way for us to do this is to make clear pathways for internships, apprenticeships, leadership trainings, and the like.

Brother pastor, train your church to see it as her mission, above all other Christian institutions, to prepare men for ministry.[1] Invest your life in fulfilling Paul’s exhortation to Timothy: “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

Only by immersing aspiring overseers in your life, ministry, and church will you discover who these faithful men are and when they are ready to pastor.

Encouragement to the Aspiring Pastors

Pastoral ministry requires ambition. A man must be driven to serve our King by serving his bride, or he will not last. Ministry is hard, really hard. Spirit-given ambition must be like a “fire in the bones” that pushes one through the discouragements, difficulties, and devastations of pastoral ministry. I have not met many current or aspiring pastors that lack ambition.

Yet let me encourage such men to first direct their ambition towards being trained. Such men must be patient, trusting that the Lord will raise them up to pastor at the right time. Let God’s Spirit use God’s church and its undershepherds to mold you and tell you when you are ready.

If a man is unwilling to do this, he is not mature enough for the ministry. If his ambition to preach Christ cannot endure training, his ambition will not endure the ministry either.

Aspiring brother, be patient and humble and search for ways to be trained in the local church. Below are some questions you can ask those who will be honest with you in love.

• Do I have the social skills to be able to connect with people?
• How do I handle being told “no” or “not yet”?
• How do I handle conflict?
• Do I humbly receive and extend forgiveness?
• How do I handle being given non-glamorous projects and tasks?
• Do I finish tasks I have been given?
• How do I handle being proven wrong?
• How do I handle having wrong done to me?
• How do I handle that “prickly” church member over time?
• How do I suffer?
• How do I help those who suffer?
• How do I serve the least in the congregation?
• Do I show partiality?
• Am I slow to speak?
• Do I listen to people?
• Do I struggle with the fear of man?
• Am I aware of areas of pride in my life?

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes 7:8 wisely states, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” There is great need for patient preparation. Let us be humble and train well in the beginning, so we can rejoice at the fruit the Lord brings in the end.

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[1] I would recommend Phil Newton’s book The Mentoring Church to help teach this.