Beloved Brethren,

I am glad to have this public forum to communicate to you my gratitude in the Lord that you have called me to be your Associate Pastor. It is no small matter for the Church of Christ to call a man to be a Minister of the Gospel. It deserves, then, further elucidation. Indeed, some of you have told me that you struggle with whether the Lord is calling you to the Gospel Ministry. Therefore, let me explain how the Lord has called me to the Ministry, for your edification and instruction.

Since High School, I have desired to go to seminary. However, I desired to attend seminary mainly for intellectual growth in theology. I wanted to be able to understand more of the pieces of the puzzle. I yearned to have a fuller picture of Who God is and what I am in relationship to Him. I had many questions; my head was swimming with many theological conundrums. Therefore, I desired to go to seminary in order to have all my questions satisfactorily answered. This is not, however, a valid reason to be a pastor. This intellectual desire for knowledge is not enough from which a man can feed the sheep. It is not, further, what a good seminary promises to accomplish. A seminary education, while answering many questions, normally multiplies exponentially your questions because it exposes thoroughly your ignorance. Truly, having a desire to grow in theological knowledge is admirable, but only when it is a truly sanctifying knowledge, a whole-man desire to grow in grace (intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually). For the pursuit of theological knowledge, you see, is only profitable when pursued with child-like faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior. Thus, I went to seminary, and I learned a great deal of theology, but, along the way, I also realized that I knew less than I had ever imagined. And, in so learning, I began to understand more than I had ever anticipated. I began to grow in grace as never before.

I was not committed at that time to being called as a pastor. Rather, I was considering teaching theology. It is easier. One must not speak with the absolute authority of Scripture, may raise questions without answering them, may leave the students in the class-room setting, and may be free from work responsibilities and pressures during the summer months. It seemed an attractive option to me. Nonetheless, midway through seminary, I realized the importance of preaching (II Timothy 4:1ff; Romans 10:14-17). I became increasingly aware of the privilege and responsibility of shepherding a particular flock. Further, I became increasingly convicted that God has revealed to us that He works in the Church (Romans 12:4-14; Ephesians 2:19-22; I Corinthians 12). The greatest spiritual labors are in the care of a particular flock. Christ commanded His most eminent Apostle to feed the sheep (John 21:15-17). Clearly, then, I wanted to have nothing to do with such awesome and taxing responsibilities. However, in a manner similar to Jonah (without the extra-ordinary revelation, of course), I became increasingly aware that the Lord was calling me to the Gospel ministry. How was I becoming convinced of this? Wherever I had opportunity to preach, the sheep and under-shepherds received the sermon well and commended me to continued labor in preaching. I began to fear that the Lord was calling me to preach the Gospel. Since God had apparently gifted me to preach, what else could I do but become a Teaching Elder? The Lord does not gift someone without expecting that one to exercise those gifts, and the gift of preaching is to be exercised by a lawfully ordained minister of the Gospel (Romans 12: 6; I Corinthians 14:12; Ephesians 4:7, 12)! Therefore, what else could I do? With reluctance and feeling the weight of such responsibility, I resigned myself to such labors in the Lord.

I did not have an over-powering desire to be a pastor, as some did. However, I began to realize the importance of what is often termed the external call. That is, the Lord speaks through His church in calling a man to the ministry. In fact, in Scripture, we might say that this is the primary element of a true call. The Lord calls the person to a particular ministry. It was so, clearly, with Jonah—despite Jonah’s desires. It was so, in some sense, with Paul, when he cried out, who is sufficient for these things? (II Corinthians 2:16; 3:5-6; 12: 9). This is not to diminish the importance of God gifting a person and so working in that person the desire to serve Him appropriately. However, the Lord is not overly concerned with our slothful and reluctant love for Him. Rather, He gifts and calls as He purposes. And, He uses His church objectively to call a man to the Gospel Ministry. Feelings come and feelings go. What remains ever important is the will of God, the truth! How is one to discern the truth in such situations? As Jonathan did, the man of faith is obliged to say, It may be (I Samuel 14:6). It may be that the Lord is calling me to the Gospel Ministry. This is the most useful ministry, the primary means of grace. It may be, therefore, that for His own glory, God would even make someone like me a preacher of His Gospel! It may be. Thus, it was incumbent upon me, as Jonathan did, to act in faith—actively to seek to discern the Lord’s will by His providential guiding of all things.

After completing seminary, therefore, I sought further to test my gifts within the sphere of the Church—the organ authorized to judge my calling. What I really desired was to have an internship under a seasoned minister and session. I desired to see from behind the scenes how a long-standing and mature church functioned. I recognized that such practical training and insight would be invaluable for a possible future ministry, and I desired to have such a church confirm or deny my calling! And thus, with the aid of one of my fathers in the faith and by the agreement of your pastor and session, the Lord called me to fulfill my (Lord willing) final internship at Immanuel PCA. The Lord brought me to a church that has truly modeled maturity and applied truth. And, as the Lord does exceedingly more than we ask or think, it pleased the Lord to confirm my call to the ministry with finality. Further, during this time, the Lord was pleased to increase my reluctant desire to serve Him as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I began to think increasingly on and increasingly desire the Gospel ministry of preaching the Word. I began to feel that there was nothing else I could do without remaining in willful rebellion to my Christ and denying my desires for His specific service. I began to understand experientially what Paul meant when he said, Woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel (II Corinthians 9:16). The Lord works mightily in and through His poor people. We may never allow our feelings from sinful sloth and reluctance to deny the Lord’s powerful grace operative in our lives. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the church, especially, to aid young men in discerning a call to the ministry. Christ has authorized His Church to extend or deny a call to the Gospel ministry to men such as myself.

This is the importance of a tangible call to a local church. Without you calling me to be a pastor, I would remain uncertain of and unable to exercise my inward call to (and my increasing desire to serve in) the Gospel Ministry. That is, without your call to the ministry, I could not be a minister. Christ has decided to exercise His authority through the Church. Therefore, ministers are called and sent by the Church. Further, this calling and subsequent ordination to the Gospel Ministry is no small matter in itself. It is no formality. Certainly the Church is recognizing God’s gifting (already) of a man for the ministry. However, consider, further, that Paul exhorts Timothy not to neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership (I Timothy 4:14). Thus, to be called by you to the Gospel ministry and to be ordained in this Presbytery is a sober and important matter. You have called me to the ministry, and your Presbytery, if satisfied that I am fit for it, will confer on me the authority to that ministry!

And, with the honor and privilege of the Gospel ministry come grave responsibilities. My father warned me of this when he said, “If you can do anything else, do it!” Since the Gospel Ministry is the most useful for building the Kingdom of God, it is also the most liable to abuse. Since it is the primary means of grace, it will be attacked the most by the enemy of our souls. The Gospel Ministry carries with it grave responsibilities. Since I have been equipped and called to this ministry, I must be committed to serve my Lord in this manner, despite the consequences. It is necessary, then, for a man to be reminded—despite any feelings that may arise amidst the difficulties of the ministry—that the Church has objectively declared him qualified and has called him to the Gospel ministry. The Church has declared her desire to be served by me. Thus, this is my commitment to you. By God’s powerful grace, I will preach the Gospel truth without the adornment of worldly wisdom (I Corinthians 2:1ff). I will not shrink back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God, despite how offensive and inconsiderate it might seem (Acts 20: 27; I Corinthians 1:22ff). I will put the preaching of the Word at the forefront of my ministry, reserving the main portion of my time and energy to its preparation, bathing that work prayer. I will reprove, correct, and instruct in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16). I will take heed to myself and my doctrine first, that I may save both myself and my hearers (I Timothy 4:16). In short, I pledge by the grace of God working in me, to preach the Word in season and out of season (I Timothy 4:2). Pray for me. Please pray. Pray that I would be able to use this privilege and responsibility to please the Lord and that I would find increasing joy in ministering in the capacity of a Gospel Minister.

Your servant in Christ,

Ryan Speck