Review: Am I Called?: The Summons to Pastoral Ministry

Am I Called?: The Summons to Pastoral Ministry by Dave Harvey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The content is relatively engaging and he quotes from theologians like Sinclair Ferguson and Charles Spurgeon. Especially insightful and inspiring would be the small excerpt of the struggles/journey of a minister at the end of each chapter. Also great would be the recommendations for further reading, also found at the tail of the chapters. Harvey's illustrations are so-so, but not as gripping as Duane Elmer, Sherwood Lingenfelter or Dan Allender's. There is, however, a critical and unnecessary flaw in the book.

While I appreciated how concise and accessible the content was, I felt that it was a great pity that Harvey started the book by being divisive with his proclamation of complementarianism on Pg 19 "I believe the Bible clearly teaches that the call to pastoral ministry is only for Christian men." Well, that is his interpretation of what the bible says, and to claim that it is the clear teaching of Scripture is a bold but unfortunately misinformed assertion. To make such a definitive claim (on what to me is a non-dogma issue) leads me to be concerned about Harvey's submission to the authority of Scripture of whether he is making Scripture affirm his theological positions. Hence, I'd recommend Edmund Clowney's excellent title Called to Ministry (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...) instead for readers seeking direction on this topic.

I hope that Harvey would heed the advice of his fellow complementarian and bible scholar Thomas Scholar on this matter to “bend over backward to love those with whom we disagree, and to assure them that we hope and pray that God will bless their ministries, even though we believe that it is a mistake for women to take on a pastoral role.” (P85-86 from Women in the Church: An Analysis and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 by Kostenberger and Schreiner, 2nd Edition, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25...).

For readers wondering what this matter is about, the most helpful title on Women in Ministry would be Zondervan's 2005 Counterpoints title Two Views on Women in Ministry (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...). I affirm the co-editor's position on this doctrine; Craig Blomberg “modified hierarchicalism” makes a full egalitarian argument with the exception of the senior pastor role being reserved for males only (p326). I also uphold Craig Keener’s advice to “give the ‘benefit of the doubt’ to who claim that God called them and who evidence that call in their lives, rather than passing judgment on them.” (p113 from Paul, Women & Wives: Marriage and Women's Ministry in the Letters of Paul).

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