Introduction to a Philosophy of Ministry

Pastoral ministry is often subject to the whims of the day; in an era when so much is in flux, how is one to discern what pastoral ministry is supposed to entail? The unchanging word of God must be our source if we are not to be blown around by every wind and wave of doctrine (James 1:6). In this document I will be proposing six elements which are at the heart of pastoral ministry.

Preaching and Teaching

A prototype of the pastoral calling is found in John 21:15-17 where Jesus’ commission to Peter, “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep” is predicated upon the answer to the question, “Do you love me?” Before we speak of any work done for Jesus, the foundational question must be answered first: do you love Him? Gospel ministry done like any other work–for the pleasure of doing something needful and the necessity of making a paycheck–makes a mockery of that work. Without the love of Christ compelling the works of Christ, God’s will will never be established in God’s way.

With the love of Jesus Christ established as the one foundation for any pastoral ministry, how can we understand Jesus’ words about feeding and tending? What kind of food is this? Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me…” (Jn. 4:34). Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread…” (Mt. 9:6); coupling these two verses together, it is clear that the sheep in Jesus’ flock are to desire to do the will of the Father just as Jesus Himself did. Provided that sheep have an instinct to eat (i.e. to do God’s will), pastors, who are called to feed and to tend are called to make the will of God plain such that the effort expended by God’s people is less focused on determining the will of God and more focused on accomplishing the will of God.

Preaching is supposed to be an authoritative proclamation of truth. Paul commissioned Timothy with these words: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word…” Preach the word! Whose word is it? The word of God! I believe that this is why Paul told Timothy elsewhere, “Let no one despise your youth,” (1 Tim. 4:12). If a gospel preacher is young, he may yet speak with authority because the words are not his own. Even old age does not give a man a right to be heard unless that right be given by virtue of that older man preaching the true words of God. Men of any generation who stoop to declaring their own opinions lose whatever authority they might have had if they had stuck to the substance of God’s revelation.

It is a humbling thing for a pastor to realize that his message is not his own, but rather, that he has the solemn responsibility of accurately representing his Master. Peter gave this instruction: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God…” (1 Pet. 4:11) Only being absolutely sure of what the Bible says will give a man the confidence to speak as an oracle of God. That is the pastoral call: Become so saturated by the word of God that when you speak, your words are His. No man alive knows the perfect word for every situation; therefore the other conclusion which we may draw from the Scripture at hand is that when a pastor has no direct revelation of God’s word, he should not venture to speak.

So far we have noted that preaching is directed at establishing an understanding of the will of God so that the substance of obedience is understood; we have also stated that preaching is authoritative as much as it flows from the Bible. Now I wish to note that one purpose of preaching is to elicit faith. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Without faith there is no possibility of salvation (Eph. 2:8,9). Without gospel preaching there is little possibility of faith. Besides this, faith is needed for more than salvation. We do indeed enter the Christian life by the avenue of faith, but we also walk from beginning to end by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Pastors ought to be equipping their people through their preaching to stand by faith (never giving up) and to walk by faith (making steady progress).

Counseling

That which a pastor performs from the pulpit for masses of people sometimes needs to be repeated in closer quarters for the sake of working through specific problems with specific people. One of the miracles of preaching to a large body of people is that the Holy Spirit often takes the same spoken word and applies it to several hundred different needs of which the pastor is mostly ignorant. But in counseling, some of that ignorance is removed and the man of God is confronted with one of the greatest challenges to his ministry. Now, with at least partial knowledge of a specific problem, he must prescribe a solution.  At such times it may be helpful to remember that the Great Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ, was prophesied to have the name, “Wonderful Counselor.” (Isa. 9:6) What Jesus is in perfection, we ought to strive to be in what measure we may. Since He is truly abiding in the spirit of every believer, we who labor in pastoral ministry ought to expect that He who is wonderful in counsel will share His perfect wisdom as we need Him to.

Christ-centered confidence has to be differentiated from self-confidence. I don’t give all of the right answers because I am just that smart or educated or experienced; the minute I begin to trust in myself is the minute I have ceased to be a help to the people who came to me for help. “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” (Ps. 33:20) It is good for a pastor to listen to a problem and pray with the people. If God’s answer is not immediately evident, say so. Give homework which involves seeking the wisdom of God. Seek it yourself. (James 1:5)

Sometimes the counsel of the Counselor will be ready on your tongue. “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.” (Rev. 3:18) Just in this one verse there are at least three pieces of counsel which might apply to an array of difficulties. Refining is a process which most people do not willingly undergo. Who in their right mind opts for fiery trials? Yet these are useful tools in the hand of the Master who has promised to work all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28) We pastors are not the Wonderful Counselor, but we can pass on His counsel.

Vision

Over the past couple of years the true importance of clear vision for a church has come to my attention. People have a need to be needed and a desire to be involved in a purpose which they believe in. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Without vision, the people perish. But he who keeps the law, happy is he.” The law is one definition of righteousness. Vision is for the sake of obedience. Sin may be defined as the transgression of a command–and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  God’s first two commands were, “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Gen. 1:28) Fruitfulness is a universal human drive; one large outlet for this is in our careers. But God’s church ought also to be a community of people who know why they exist and for what purpose. Pastors need to cast visions for their churches so that their churches make the most of every opportunity, redeeming the time (Eph. 5:16).

Administrative personnel have to make numerous decisions as to which activities  their church will plan to participate in. How can this decision be made intelligently without an overall vision of what the particular church is focusing on? Without a clear vision, the leadership team of that church are consigned to aimlessness in their leadership and the congregation is left to wonder if there is any reason for them to be there. Ideally, with a vision in place, leadership meetings would consist of the pastor giving assignments to his fellow leaders while also asking for progress reports on past assignments. These meetings would be excellent opportunities for the pastor to give helpful suggestions to those who have authority with him.

In developing a vision for a church, the elders of that church ought to be keeping the glory of God central in their thinking, planning and wording of that vision. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31) The glory of God has something to do with sin, something to do with work, something to do with fellowship and  something to do with worship. Romans 3:23 tells us that sin is falling short of the glory of God. Would we be a church which brings God glory? Then we must be a church which confronts and eradicates sin. Our work is to be done heartily as unto the Lord. (Col. 3:23) I read “as unto” as indicative of work being worship.  We see in Romans 15:5,6, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here is a weaving together of the aspects of worship and fellowship!

Administration

 Administration is one of the spiritual gifts which are listed in 1 Cor. 12:28. While not all pastors are gifted administrators, the more aptitude a man has for administration, the better. Visions don’t merely need to be articulated; visions need to be actuated. Great ideas without a clear plan of action come to nothing. Pastors without a gift of administration must either seek the Holy Spirit to give them the gift they lack or else surround himself with administratively gifted individuals. The church’s primary vision has directive influence over every program which the church runs. From the nursery to the various outreach programs to mission trips–everything must serve a vision which magnifies the person of Jesus Christ.

After a vision is acquired and understood, an administrator must delegate authority to other capable and faithful ministers who will see God’s work done according to the understanding which has come to the leadership of the church. This delegation of most of the work of the ministries leaves the senior leadership more free to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Skilled administrators have the ability to identify spiritual gifts and abilities among his people to the end that those who are best suited to a given work will be assigned to that task.

Prayer

Praying pastors have to trust God alone apart from any other resources for their ministries. Can we possibly regard prayerless ministry as anything but irreverent? Time in focused prayer must be guarded at all costs by those who lead God’s people. Paul went so far as to say, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess. 5:17) While this word was not directed specifically to pastors, pastors have a heavy responsibility of embodying that which the general population of the church are supposed to be growing into; therefore this exhortation to pray is especially binding on pastors.

In the early church there was an opportunity for its first leaders to lose their focus on what matters most because of the crying needs of other aspects of the ministry. Acts 6:2 records the apostles as saying, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.” They continued on in verse 4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” When the apostles were in charge of the church, they considered that it was vital for them to be devoted to prayer. Pastors must prioritize prayer as they seek to establish God’s will among God’s people.

Further back in biblical history, Samuel said to the nation of Israel, “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you…” (1 Sam. 12:23). How is a failure to pray for God’s people a sin against God? Although it is more natural for us to regard the sin as primarily against the people, the proper perspective is that God wills to accomplish His desires on earth in response to His people’s prayers. Because God originally gave dominion to our race, He still considers His people to be His regents. Thus, if God’s people fail to seek His heart and petition for His will to be done, in a sense God’s hands are tied because He has ordained that His will be accomplished by means of answered prayer. There is a graciousness in this: God is unwilling to do His mighty acts on the earth without the participation of His chosen ones. This is a privilege and a responsibility. I dare not sin against my God by ceasing to pray for His church.

Evangelism

What a great blessing that Paul’s letters to Timothy are preserved for us in the Bible! For instance, in 2 Tim. 4:5 Paul commands Timothy (a pastor), “Do the work of an evangelist.” Evangelism is a separate spiritual gift from pastoring. Should we not leave work to those who are equipped for it? Not according to Paul. What is the purpose of doing something you are not gifted in? When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to prophesy, the mechanics of obedience were not out of his reach because he was gifted as a prophet. But what happens to a man without a spiritual gift who is commissioned to do a spiritual work? That man is cast in dependence upon Christ. Evangelism is like that for me; I am not gifted as an evangelist–yet I carry a deep burden to evangelize. This burden causes me to cry out to God, who called me, to cover over my weakness and inability with His perfect strength so that I may walk in obedience to His call.

Not all evangelistic work is recognized by the pastor who does it as such. Paul tells Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Tim. 4:16) A pastor’s care in preaching the word is a salvational issue! Not only is the salvation of the congregation on the line but a pastor’s own eternal destiny is in jeopardy if he does not remain true to the eternal gospel. Thus, maintaining doctrinal purity in the church may be regarded as an evangelistic work since the result of careful teaching is the salvation of the hearers.

I have for many years been in awe of 1 Cor. 9:16 in which Paul exclaims, “Woe is me if I do not preach to gospel!” I have carried a part of the weight of that cry now for more than thirty years. At least two things are taught in this short sentence. First, we see that there is a possibility of preaching without preaching the gospel. If a pastor would be faithful to his calling, he will take care that the gospel is never absent from his teaching. Another possibility is that there will be a cessation of preaching altogether. How many social situations seem to go more comfortably if we just be normal people — not making things awkward by bringing Jesus into the conversation. However, we do well to remember what Jesus said on the subject: “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26) Frightful thought! I can be awkward in this short life or else have Jesus be ashamed of me before the Father! Oh God, strengthen me to be a faithful evangelist!

Conclusion

Pastoral ministry is a feeding and watching over the souls of God’s flock, the church. Preaching is the main means of feeding people; literal watching as well as counseling constitute caring for the flock. Administration cannot happen effectively without vision just as evangelism will not likely be effective without prayer. Pastors who pursue their calling by faith with prayer and diligence and watchfulness and love for Christ will in the end receive a hearty “Well done!”