Every pastor has a story. Some peculiar. Some extra spectacular. My calling was more of a process. How I became a pastor is a long story. I have written part of the story in fulfillment of my chaplaincy requirement during my ministerial internship training. I am sharing it with you. May it help inspire others who are having doubts whether they have been called into the pastoral ministry.
Feel free to download and save the pdf attachment.
Excerpts:
"Perhaps you wonder if it was God who really called me at all. My story is quite different from the experiences of other pastors who have been called into the ministry. There are those tragic accidents that led to a second life encounter with God. A demon possession that ended in spiritual deliverance. Or the tender wooing of the Spirit in a child’s heart that eventually led to a decision to become a minister. And countless extraordinary ways by which God transformed the life of an individual and called him to the ministry.
"As I attempted to excel academically, my quest for an understanding of what righteousness by faith deepened. As far as I can remember, I know I have a relationship with God, but I just did not have an assurance of salvation. I often wondered and thought , “How can I be sure that God loves me and that I have this assurance of salvation.” "Since a young child, I was somehow thought that I have to obey all of the ten commandments in order to be saved. And to be kept saved, it has to be kept perfectly. And I was so far from obeying all ten of it. While in college this fear of hell haunted me.
"I lived a fearful life before. As a Christian I lived to please other people and God. He was to me a cosmic policeman who is always out there to check for my inadequacies and failures. The God that I have been taught was tyrant God.
"By his grace He cleansed me from my sin and promised power over it. During that time he gave me the assurance that all I needed to do was to accept him fully by faith. My part was simply to receive Him in my life through faith. As simple as that. From then on I understood the power of the everlasting gospel and received the assurance of salvation which was missing in my life." "After my father narrated that story, he reminded me of his solemn oath to God many years ago. That story sent a shiver on my spine. So I had been dedicated to God’s service a long time ago. And God recalled my Dad’s promise by calling me personally the night of February 1991 by writing his call with the illuminating streak of a falling star.
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