Paul David Tripp's Dangerous Calling is really good for anybody in ministry. It's a really good, really plain reminder.
Dangerous Calling
Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry
By Paul David Tripp
Crossway
2012
When I talk to people going into ministry, I ask them about this, and I went to Bible college myself. The schools don't do a good job of preparing people for how hard it is. They say it, but people don't get it, especially young people. We didn't get it. We weren't ready for it. A friend of mine went through a church planting organization, and when I asked how often they warned him about how hard it would be, the answer was still the same: never enough.
So when you hit those really terrible moments, or one moderately terrible moment after another, it gets to you. It wears on you. You're happy to be doing what you believe God asked you to do, and you might even be doing it pretty well. But there will always be people out there working against you.
I like the idea of setting that up in advance: you're going to hate this sometimes, and here's why. This is what people are going to do to you. Dangerous Calling fits really well with Leadership and Emotional Sabotage by Joe Rigney. Both books tell you what to expect from a fallen world full of fallen people you're pastoring or ministering to. It's not just you. You're not uniquely bad or uniquely troubled. That makes a big difference. It's not misery loving company. It's more like this: maybe it's me a little, but it's not 100% me. Knowing that helps you make an honest decision about whether this is something you're willing to do.
Let me get on a soapbox for a second. The way the church talks about calling does real damage. There's an idea that if you feel called to ministry, you have to be a pastor, you have to want it, and you have to be so certain that there's no room for doubt, or else you aren't really called.
First, nothing in the Bible supports any of that. Second, everybody has doubts. Look at Elijah after Mount Carmel, afraid he's going to be murdered. Look at John the Baptist. He was doing exactly what he was supposed to do. Then he was thrown in prison, and Jesus wasn't acting the way he expected. So he sent his disciples to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:3, NIV). Jesus had to remind him. The idea that you have to be certain and never waver is just not true.
And most of the ministry jobs in the church and the kingdom aren't head pastor. Everybody is called to do something for the kingdom, even if they don't realize it. That calling could be janitor. It could be a businessman who shares Jesus with his colleagues, or a woman who earns money through hard work and gives it to support the church. Look at Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, who opened her home to the church in Philippi. That's totally kingdom work. That's a calling.
Dangerous Calling brings that to the forefront, among other things. I've obviously turned this review into an editorial, but I definitely recommend Dangerous Calling.
Reviewed by Scott Asher
