Reply To: Pastoral Ministry 2023/2025 Discussion Board 1

[femionas]

Apart from the case studies of calling and separation as taught in this course, choose a case study of any Bible character whose life and ministry display a calling and a separation and discuss the concepts of calling and separation.

Case study: Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 1:3.
Nehemiah 2:6
Nehemiah 12:27
Nehemiah avoided distractions and remained committed to God’s calling, reviewing his priorities to ensure his alignment with the core mission. We should follow Nehemiah’s example in our Christian calling and separation, by:
• Allowing our hearts to be captured and broken by the needs that cry out to us
• Believe and act upon God’s promises.
• Boldly act when the time is right
Nehemiah served in the trusted position of cupbearer to the king while in exile. He was to be an agent of God’s intervention for the remmant, to use his gift as an inspiring leader, his administrative gifts to manage a huge project and the people, to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem in the face of strong opposition. Nehemiah was called and separated for this purpose.
To be Called means : To be invited or appointed: coming from a root word that means to call aloud, to summon. While Separation is to set off by boundary, excluded or to divide. It has a dual meaning, separating someone from something.
The above definition shows us some simple truth about ministry.
i that the call of God is loud and designed to be heard by the one who is being called.
Ii The higher you go in Ministry, the lonelier and more separated it becomes
The key points to note here are:
• There is usually a time lapse between calling and separation. During this time qualifications may also be acquired. This period could be short or long, just like in the case of Nehemiah, his time in exile, specifically in the Persian court is significant as it highlights his continued loyalty and duty to the Persian empire. And the favor he held with King Artaxerxes, eventually allowed him to obtain leave to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city

• Just as a believer is called to an office, so also at the time of separation is the believer separated to a particular place or assignment: Nehemiah understands his leadership as a calling from God. (Nehemiah 2:12b) He listened and came to see the need.

• The timing of both calling and separation are positionally set by God. right from the womb. Therefore, when a believer is experientially separated from the Ministry, it can be likened to when the end of something was set before the beginning. Galatians 1:15
• The time of separation is not necessarily a function of qualification. But more, a function of keying into the grace of God. Ecclesiastes 9:11