5. Do I find myself stirred by bad preaching?
The last point was obvious. This one is less so, but just as important. I think there ought to be a fire in a man’s bones when he hears the word of God handled badly.
6. Do I enjoy being around people?
Some pastors are extroverts; many are not. I’m sort of in the middle. I look forward to being with people more than some pastors I know, but not nearly as much as many men I admire.
But whatever your personality, you won’t be a good pastor if you don’t like people and recoil from them as much as possible.
7. Do I make friends easily?
This is a subjective test (like so many of these questions), but a lack of meaningful friendships is not a good sign. It could be an indication that you are too harsh, too much of a loner, or, frankly, too awkward to be effective in pastoral ministry.
8. Do I like to read?
Thankfully there is no GPA or SAT requirement for pastoral ministry. And yet, if we are to be “apt to teach” we must be eager to learn. Preaching grows thin and ministry get stale without time in the Book and the books.
9. Have I thought about doing this for more than a few months?
Often when students or adults come to Christ, they quickly assume that because they are zealous for the Lord they ought to go to seminary and prepare for the ministry. This is usually misguided, sometimes because of pride and sometimes due to misplaced zeal. There’s a reason the Bible insists that church leaders not be recent converts.
10. Do I still want to be a pastor if I never write a book, never speak at a conference, and never have a big church?
Our passion must be to feed the flock, not feed our egos.
