Question About Marriage and Belief

Elist_Reformation said:

So, since I was saved in 2011, I have had a desire to serve the Lord in ministry. I am a Christian, and I believe very strongly. The problem is that I've been married 3 times. My first wife was unfaithful and left, despite every exhaustive attempt to save the marriage, and the second wife did the same, even going so far as to abandon me to live in another country. My third wife is the love of my life, but she's also an atheist. I live in a country where less than 2% of the people are Christians, and there are few Christian communities. Am I disqualified from serving as a minister?

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I'm no authority to tell you whether you can be a minister. But I would say, you are qualified to be a minister if you are a true follower of Jesus and are well versed in scripture. As to being divorced and married to an atheist, I would say those factors are marginally relevant. You need to know where your faith is and be ready for the worst -- in case your wife protests your choices.

Although, we need to consider that not everyone has a role to teach. Whether that's you or not, I don't know. "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."

Perhaps the most important question to ask is, what is urging you to become a minister? That will ultimately indicate whether you should be a minister.

Not necessarily disqualified, but be prepared for the reality that without your spouse's support, many churches would have concerns about ordaining you.

What does your wife think about you going into ministry?

I think the thing to do would be to find out what the processes are for discerning a vocation/preparing for ministry in your church, and talking to the relevant person about your sense of call.

What denomination do you belong to?

So your first step then is to find a church to be involved in. Ministry is never a solo activity, but rises out of and is supported by a whole community of faith.

According to your testimony you were the innocent party in both of those divorces, you were not under bondage to each of the first two wives after they left and divorced you, and you were free therefore to marry your 3rd wife. You haven't left us enough information as to when (pre-conversion in 2011 or afterwards?) and why you married an Atheist- and there could be reasons for concern there. And obviously we don't know enough about you to know whether you're otherwise qualified to serve as a minster, but being on your 3rd marriage in itself doesn't disqualify you from serving as a Gospel Minister.

The biggest need is not for ministers or preachers etc but for Christians to live their faith.

As adviced find a church, google and sites like christianityexplored can help, try out the churches and get stuck in.

Note that one does not have to be ordained or service in any official clergy position in a church in order to be a minister, even as a career. There are MANY ways to serve as a minister, both as clergy AND as a layperson. Every Christian is a minister and has a calling to serve God in some capacity. While of course serving a church directly as a pastor or deacon is the most obvious place, there are also directors of the various types of ministries in a church (youth, education, prayer teams, pastoral care, etc.), and there are chaplains in hospitals/schools, various sorts of medical ministries, being part of a faith-based organization that helps the needy, missionaries of various sorts, etc.

You aren't going to be able to as easily explore the possibilities of these sorts of thing in your area and where you might fit in while acting in isolation from other Christians and any churches that might be in your area. It probably needs to be your first step. In the meantime, you can serve the Lord in ministry right now, even if it's by spending time with God each day in prayer and listening for what he wants you to do.