God demands our best. The Bible is clear about this: “So, whether you eat or drink, or, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). The Westminster Standards emphasize this. The first and best-known question of the catechism is: What is the chief end of man? The answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever. We give our best because, in all that we do, our aim is to glorify God.

While this is true in all of life, pastoral calling carries special responsibilities. There are limits to those who should be teachers in Christ’s church. These limits remind us that pastoral ministry is indeed a high calling.

Those who would serve must be certain kinds of men. To begin, the man must be “above reproach; the husband of one wife; sober-minded; self-controlled; hospitable; able to teach; not a drunkard; not violent, but gentle; not quarrelsome; not a lover of money” (1 Tim 3:2–3). He must manage his household well. He must have a good reputation and serve with dignity.

In addition, the Bible says, “Not many of you should become teachers, brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater harshness” (James 3:1). For those who are already in the teaching office, there is a command to continued vigilance: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching” (1 Tim 4:16a).

The standard is high because the calling is sacred. Pastors are heralds of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul surely articulates the feeling of most godly ministers when he writes, “Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor 2:16).

Maintaining the standard and guarding the teaching is one of the duties of elders. Paul commands it: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Faithful seminaries train men for ministry under the oversight of the church. At Greenville Seminary, we are governed by church elders, supported by church members, and devoted to shaping and equipping men to serve the church.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones puts it this way:

Preaching is the most important thing under the sun. There is nothing more important than to be a ‘herald’ of this good news. How vital it is that the right doctrine should be preached. How easy it is to preach false doctrine and to lead people astray. It is therefore essential that great care should be exercised to ensure that a man is really competent, that he does understand, that he knows what he is to herald. And in the same way, you see the importance of discipline. What if a man starts with the right doctrine and begins to go wrong, what do you do about it? Well, if he is sent by the church, you can do something; if he is not, you cannot. So, you see, these are some of the reasons why this question of the preacher being ‘sent’ is such an important one.

Pastoral ministry is indeed a high and sacred calling. At every step, the church — the bride of Jesus Christ — plays a leading role. Our duty as a seminary is to serve as an auxiliary of the church, and our privilege is to see men who are called trained for a lifetime of service, fulfilling their ministry, giving their lifelong best to Christ and to his people.

One of our great joys at the seminary is helping guide men through this sacred journey. Only the church can confirm a call, license a man to preach, and ordain him for gospel ministry, but the church entrusts the seminary to train up men in what they need to serve as pastors. By God’s grace we have guided hundreds of men through this process, receiving them from the church, training them alongside the church, and preparing them for ordination. The calling is sacred, the journey is difficult, but the Lord establishes the steps of those who look to Him by faith.

Would you consider praying for our new students who have begun this journey? Many of them have families with significant needs. Many of them are embarking upon a level of study they have never experienced in their lives. Most of them are new to Greenville, and still adjusting to new surroundings and settling into new churches. They will not make it through these four years without the Lord’s help. We know that God uses the prayers of his saints to accomplish his purposes. Pray that He would see them through this journey and that they would graduate more in love with the Lord, and more desirous of preaching Christ to a needy world.