From Music School to the Ministry
“Never did I think I’d become a pastor.” If ever there was a statement that comes up in conversation when speaking of my calling and career, it’s this one. Because the reality is: this was not the plan. In fact, pastoral ministry was the farthest thing from the plan.
In the fourth grade I started playing the double bass, the largest stringed instrument in a symphony orchestra. Originally, I only chose it because of its size, but I soon fell in love with it. From that point on, the plan was always to become a professional musician. I had many opportunities throughout my education to develop my musical gift and even concentrate my studies on music in high school. Then, upon graduation, I was thrilled to be accepted into the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (IU). Everything was going according to plan. But God had a different plan.
During my senior year of high school, I was converted to Christ through some Christian friends and a hard providence. This, too, was unexpected. Even though I had grown up going to church, the eyes of my heart were still blinded until “the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness…shone in [my heart] to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV). Now I knew the gravity of my sin and how badly I needed God’s forgiveness. While my conversion did not initially alter my plans for a career in orchestral music, it was the beginning of the ministerial plans that God had for me - the plans that He fashioned for me before the foundation of the world (Psalm 139:16).
My newfound Christianity dramatically shifted my interests in college. The campus ministry I became heavily involved with through Bible studies and one-to-one discipleship had sparked in me a new passion outside of music for the first time. I became aware and started to consider different possibilities for the future. However, serving in the local church as an ordained minister was still not on the table. I was interested in college ministry, and then in foreign missions, both with a para-church organization, but not in becoming a pastor.
As I approached my senior year at IU, I shared with my pastor (at Bloomington Reformed Presbyterian Church) my developing interest in some form of ministry, and what resulted was one of the most significant conversations I’ve had, pointing me firmly in the direction of the pastorate. “Adam”, he said, “I’m glad you desire to serve the Lord in para-church ministry, but what the church needs is pastors.” This was a profound point to me at the time. He went on to remind me of what we see clearly and repeatedly in Scripture - the New Testament is comprised of letters to local churches (1 Corinthians 1:2), local churches are to be served by elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7), and some of those elders are to focus on preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17). In other words, the biblical model for ministry involves local churches being served by local pastors. My mindset immediately shifted. In God’s providence, that was the conversation that directed me to the pastorate, and to the last 14 years of pastoral ministry in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.
Why do I share this story with you? Because the church still needs pastors. Have you considered meeting that need? Moreover, have you thought about encouraging someone else to meet the need? Maybe it seems unlikely for you, but look at me. Remember, this was never the plan. It’s only by the sovereign will of God that I’m a pastor today. If He can call and equip me by His grace, then He can certainly do the same for you. And, as for others, perhaps all that’s needed is a conversation, where you show them what my pastor once did: that the church needs pastors.
