Pastors and Pastoring: An Office And A Ministry In Today’s Church Jon Wright 30 th May 2006

The office of the Pastor is part of the fivefold ministry (Eph 4:11) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers 他所賜的，有使徒，有先知，有傳福音 的，有牧師和教師 Pastor is mention once in the NT, but the word shepherd is mentioned ~17 times

What Is A Pastor 1 Peter 5:1-4 Definition of a Pastor is a Shepherd Pastors are to serve the flock, not to lord/rule over it They are to be examples v2,3 (lifestyle etc) Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd, pastors are held to be responsible to him v4 Acts 20:28-29, Paul calls the elders together and tells them to watch over the flock Pastors will often have a gift of teaching

What makes a ‘good’ Pastor? 1 st we must look at 1 Tim 3 1:10 Pastors must know the bible - how can you counsel right and wrong otherwise? Acts 20:28 - Pastors are called by the Holy Spirit Ability to build a relationship with the flock - spending 20hrs a week preparing am excellent sermon may make you unavailable to your flock Compassion - people will extraordinary things that they are ashamed of, Life experience really helps

An abusive Pastor can leave scars on a person that last for years Unfortunately pastors do sin - Paul recognized this so taught how to bring charges against them (1 Tim 5:19) 1/3 of clergy in the UK do not believe in the resurrection - not a good place to be ministering the love of Jesus from! Some pastors are more obsessed with money and or growing their Church than their flock Some should not be a Pastor get ordained in 5 mins, free of charge - titles US$ 10www.ulc.org,

What about Jesus as Shepherd? John 10:11-15 Ps 23: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’ Col 1:18 - Jesus is the senior Pastor He spoke of how a shepherd will leave the 99 to find the one lost sheep. Lk 15:3-7 He paid the ultimate price of sacrifice on the cross for the flock Jn 10:14-15, so that all who believe in Him may have eternal life Jn 3:16, He trained disciples (so he didn’t have to do it alone!) who were charged to become a new generation of shepherds (Jn 21:15-18)

What about the pastoral ministry? You don’t need the title Pastor to do pastoral work, remember pastoring is about shepherding Indeed the title Pastor is seriously misused today (worship pastor, prayer pastor etc), A single Pastor can not look after a large number of people - its hard enough just remembering their names in Oasis - we need lots of mini-pastors here 1 Cor 7:17:24 - if you decide to do some shepherding you are not called to quit your current job and become a Pastor (at least right away!)

What does a typical modern Pastor do, 2 hrs on a Sunday? From Dale A. Robbins - approx 88 hrs / wk Sunday: 16hrs (5am to 9pm) 2 services + SunSch 18 preparing sermons / teaching 26 hours pastoral care, 10 hours prayer devotions 18 admin / hours other / evangelism Pastors have to do everything, admin, evangelism, teaching, prayer meetings, hospital visits Its a lot of stress, no wonder so many get divorced + they are supposed to be ‘nice’ all the time

Some simple ways to start shepherding Compassion - if you have no compassion for people then you can not shepherd them Love - if you do not love Jesus (and yourself) how can you accept the love of Jesus and how can you demonstrate the love of Jesus to others? Time - a shepherd must make time for their flock Relationship - without relationship with people they won’t approach you when they need to

How to help your Pastor/leaders Treat them with respect (1 Thess 5:12-13) Pray for them often (Eph 6:18-20) Do not speak/listen to slander/gossip against them (1 Tim 5:19; Eph 4:29) Encourage them (Eph 4:29; Heb 10: 24-25; Prov 3:27) Support financially so they can concentrate on their work of ministry (1 Tim 5:17-18; Phil 4:10- 19)

How to help your Pastor/Leaders Be patient with them they are allowed to be themselves (Rom 15:7; 1 Peter 3:8) - remember they are human too with weaknesses and and same (in fact often greater) temptations you face, they can’t be a ‘super Pastor’ all the time Use your spiritual gifts to help in the Church, the gifts are given to benefit the whole Church not just you Be a blessing to them and also help them rest (Rom 15:32)

A Pastor can not forgive sin, only God can forgive sin A Pastor (or anyone else) can hear a confession of sin - you don’t actually need a Pastor to confess Some say John 20:23 tells that man can forgive sins, however Eph 1:4,5 is clear that it is God who chooses his people & 1 John 1:5-10 is clear that it is God who forgives our sin John 20:23 is actually saying that the apostles were authorized only to announce forgiveness of confessed sin because it has already been forgiven by God.

Suicide - Please don’t Suicide is a sin - if you are a born again believer your life now belongs to Jesus so you shouldn’t take it. Most people commit suicide because they ‘see no future or purpose in their lives’, however: Rom 8:28 (God can turn all things to His good), Jer 29:11 (God has a plan and a purpose for you) Suicides of born again believers should go to heaven, we are saved by faith not works, please talk come see someone in leadership or ministry

Summary The office of Pastor is a leadership office which is part of the five-fold ministry Many can pastor (esp in small groups) you don’t need the title You need to know your bible so you can bring the truth to those that need (but may not want) to hear Jesus is the great shepherd and all pastors are responsible to him Jn 21:15-18 Jesus says ‘Feed My Sheep’