Pastor Ben recently received a divine Call to serve as one of the pastors at Calvary Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. He and Jenny will be visiting Calvary soon to learn more about Calvary’s ministry. Over these next weeks Pastor Ben will consider prayerfully where God would have him serve. He expects to reach a decision by the middle of November.
I have received a few questions about Pastor Ben’s status as a Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) and his eligibility to receive a Call. As was stated at the time Pastor Ben was being accepted into the SMP program, most pastors trained as SMP pastors remain in the congregation they were serving at the time they received their training. This is because SMP pastors can only receive Calls that have the same ministry focus in which they were trained. For example, Pastor Ben could not receive a Call to be a senior or sole pastor in a congregation, or as a pastor overseeing an early childhood ministry, because he was not trained to do these things. On the other hand, since his ministry focus at Trinity is discipleship as part of a multi-pastor staff, and the Call he has received to Calvary also has a discipleship focus as part of a multi-pastor staff, that is a Call he can receive and consider.
Please pray for Pastor Ben and Jenny as they consider this Call. Pastor Ben would welcome conversation with you about his ministry at Trinity.
