I remember when my Lutheran School principal told me, as a 10th grader, that both he and the pastor of the congregation whose school I attended thought I would make a good pastor. I had never told anyone that the idea of serving as a pastor was on my mind a lot. In fact, I was embarrassed to admit it. It seemed presumptuous and prideful to offer oneself for such high and holy work. It seemed like something you should be asked to do, rather than something you should ask to do. So it came as a welcome relief to me when the principal asked me to consider a course of study that would make my name available for ordination into the pastoral ministry. Now I wasn't promoting myself, taking the place of honor at the wedding feast (Luke 14:8). Others were saying to me, "Friend, move up to a better place."

The school gave me opportunities to serve others with the Word through classroom devotions, informal "counseling" sessions with friends, music work in chapel services, etc. The pastor and principal spoke for the congregation in affirming that they saw the hand of God at work in these acts of service I was privileged to perform. They felt that, since I was faithful in a few things, I should be put in charge of many things (Matthew 25:21).

It is through the Church that God calls men into the pastoral ministry. This includes not only the formal divine call extended by God through the local congregation, but also the day-to-day inner workings of congregational life. Is the Holy Spirit using you to serve others with God's Word in the context of your congregational life? Are you serving the Word to others as an elder, a Sunday School teacher, an evangelism caller or in some other way? Do the pastor and people of your congregation receive this labor and recognize the hand of God in it? Do you sometimes experience rejection or some form of persecution because of your public faithfulness to the Gospel and the Sacraments?

You may notice that I have said very little about how you feel, about what you enjoy, about what gives you joy. God may want you to be a pastor even if you don't always want to be one. Many of the Old Testament prophets would have loved to be released from the responsibilities of their call. What matters is God's call through God's Church - not our own aspirations, desires, or even our personal sense of "giftedness" or the lack of it.

None of this, however, is to say that it is bad or wrong to want to be a pastor. It's not wrong. It's good. St. Paul writes, "If any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires" (1 Timothy 3:1 NASB). God the Holy Spirit often plants a holy (even if heavy) joy in the heart of the man He is calling. Jesus Himself "for the joy set before Him endured the shame" of the cross; He found a joy, though a heavy one, in His call. This joy in sacrificial service with the Word is also a mark of the calling.

Most faithful and conscientious pre-ordination students of theology (as well as many a faithful ordained pastor) often have doubts about their calling. They don't feel worthy to serve in this high office. But they press on nevertheless. Jesus said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). We bring to God only our unworthiness and emptiness. He fills it with Himself and with His Gospel. This, and nothing in us, qualifies us. Woe to the man who believes he is worthy to serve God's people "in the stead and by the command of" Jesus Himself.

Well, there is your checklist. Are God's people nudging you? Do you find joy at the thought of this service? Do you feel utterly unworthy for this service?

If your answers are all "YES," chances are pretty good that God's answer is "YES."