People conjure up all kinds of reasons for going into the ministry. If God didn't call and choose you, ministry won't work out for your best. Regardless of how attractive it looks, don't go into the ministry seeking for an easy way of making a living. If that is your only reason, you may lose everything you've got! If it is convenience or comfort you are looking for, the ministry is the wrong place to look. A person will be sorely disappointed if they are entering the ministry for the purpose of gaining a prestigious reputation in society. These days, ministers don't have the respect they had twenty-five or thirty years ago.
Paul, who had persecuted the Church before he met Christ, declared that God had "called" him by His grace (Galatians 1:15). To succeed in the ministry, you will need the grace of God!
However, there is a great difference between being called, chosen and then sent. This has been the downfall of many would be ministers of the gospel. Many people who have sensed the call of God on their lives have mistaken the call for the commission. Having mistaken the call of God for the commission, many have headed out unknowingly on a collision course. Once a person understands that they have been called to the ministry, they must also understand that it is their responsibility to qualify themselves for the ministry. That individual must wait, look into the Word of God, seek their leader's counsel and know what they must do to qualify to be chosen and sent by the Holy Ghost. At the beginning you really don't have that much to say. You must be still and get to know who God really is and what it is He wants you to say! Make no mistake, you will not be chosen and sent by the Holy Ghost until your house is in order, and you are equipped to be effective in what He has called you to do.
Until a person's house is in order, they are not qualified to be in the ministry or to be called a minister. We have been too swift in conferring titles and positions on those who are only a novice. There are natural principles that would serve us well if we would only take heed to them. In the Marines, a man is not called a soldier until he has gone through basic training. Until he finishes basic training, he is only a recruit. A recruit isn't sent into active duty; he is sent into a training camp. At this camp he is trained and conditioned to be a soldier.
It is to a person's detriment when we confer upon them a title, a position and a minister's license too quickly. We must look at their personal life outside of church on Sunday. We must look at their marriage, family and home life. They must have good work ethics. Do they have a job? Do they work faithfully and consistently? In the event it is a woman, is she submitted to her husband in all areas? Are her children well taken care of? Is her house clean? Another important area of whether or not a person qualifies for ministry is how they handle their finances. Do they owe everyone? Do they pay their bills? Are all of their credit cards spent to the limit? Is their mortgage and car payment always behind? God uses money to measure our faithfulness, commitment and the condition of our heart (Luke 16:10-13).
Also, don't think its okay to mismanage money and not pay bills. It is not okay! Romans 13:8 says, "Owe no man anything…." If a person cannot faithfully manage a natural thing such as money, that which they have toiled all week for, they do not qualify to minister in the Lord's house to His people. If you are not faithful in that which is least, who will entrust you with greater riches?
The church has far too many novice leaders who are only guessing and practicing at how to minister in the Lord's house. There is no shortage of preachers in the Church. But we are in crisis proportion when it comes to having preachers around who actually qualify for the ministry. Many are called, but few are qualified!
Excerpt from Bishop McIver's Book; God's Chosen Vessels.
