Adam L. Bond
Judson Press, 2012, 128 pp., $14.99
For everyone who has decided to step into vocational ministry, there comes with that a certain sense of excitement coupled with anxiety. After you have made your initial decision, what do you do next? What kind of ministry best suits you? What kind of education should you get? How do you go about finding a job?
In I’ve Been Called: Now What? Adam Bond answers all these questions and much more. Coming out of many conversations with his own college students, Bond helps paint a very clear and basic picture of the exact steps to move from being called to ministry actually to being in ministry through three sections of the book.
Section One first takes the reader through a basic theological understanding of what it means to be called. Bond does this by reflecting on a number of stories from Scripture, as well as citing examples from his own life. There is definitely an emphasis made on calling being something unique and specific to vocational ministry throughout this section.
Section Two tackles the issue of ministry preparation. Bond shares a number of resources, ideas and questions to help readers identify the things they need to do before they enter ministry. The specific topics of discerning your specific gifts, finding a mentor and education all are discussed in this section.
Finally, Section Three address some of the nuts and bolts of ministry and finding a job. The biggest topics addressed here are how success looks, how to write a resume and cover letter and also how to negotiate a fair compensation package.
