At the beginning of the worship service at Trinity Baptist Church Fulton, Mississippi July 30, senior pastor David Haynes called Theodore “Teddy” Haffey to the pulpit, presenting the 15-year-old with a License to Preach certificate.
“I shared with him that the license symbolizes his home church stands with him in his pursuit of God’s will,” Haynes recounted.
After Haffey preached for the first time during an evening service several weeks ago, Haynes wanted to make sure the church put their “stamp of approval” on what God was doing in the young man’s life.
“It was important to me and the church due to its historical nature,” Haynes said. “It reminded me of when I was licensed to preach in the year 2000. It also reminded our church of other men who were licensed in previous years.
“If 100 years from now someone reads the minutes of our church’s business, then it will show that Teddy Haffey was licensed to the ministry. Only the Lord knows where He will lead Teddy [and we] are thankful to have a part in the process.”
Unique interest
Haynes notes Haffey’s unique interest in desiring more from Sunday’s sermons.
“Often after a service, Teddy would have [an indepth] question or two,” he said. “I noticed that he was studying and preparing for our worship services.”
According to Haynes, Haffey first made his call to ministry public at an evangelism event sponsored by Itawamba Baptist Association, and soon made the decision known to the church.
“Without my mentors and teachers I never would have gotten such a deep understanding of God’s word,” Haffey said, “and without that I would never be able to preach.
“Brother David has always encouraged me in all aspects of studying. Whether it be in my many questions or asking about roles in church leadership, he has always helped me feel comfortable, and when I realized my calling he was right there to get me started.”
‘Calling out the called’
John Pace, director of leadership development for the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) in Jackson, noted licensing someone to ministry “is the church’s tentative approval for a man to serve until he has proved himself to be qualified for ordination.”
Ordination is “setting apart a God-called man as a preacher/minister for a ministry calling and usually takes place when a minister begins serving in a ministry position in a church,” Pace explained.
The action of recognizing someone for ministry is a key focus for Shawn Parker, MBCB executive director-treasurer, as he initiates a season of “calling out the called.”
MBCB men’s ministry director Jon Martin is team leader for the initiative.
“I think the consensus in Mississippi is that there are fewer pastors and more churches looking for pastors today than there were 30 years ago,” Martin noted.
“Giving young men the opportunity to preach, teach and lead while they’re preparing to answer the calling that God has placed on their lives is important.”
Martin calls the commitment of seasoned pastors to recognize and mentor young men who are moving toward the call to preach “critical.”
“I think that image is a picture of what we must see in our churches today.
“It’s like passing the baton to the next generation,” Martin said. “If it doesn’t happen we will turn around one day and find ourselves with fewer pastors to fill the pulpits in our churches.”
Haffey noted he is “homeschooled and once I finish my classes for graduation I plan to attend [MBCB-affiliated] Blue Mountain Christian University.
“I want to follow God’s will for my life, and whatever that may be is what I’m trying to do.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Tanner Cade and originally published by the Baptist Record.
