The Church is continually subjected to secular, cultural pressures. As a result, the role of the pastor has experienced serious challenges as well.
The Church is continually subjected to secular, cultural pressures. As a result, the role of the pastor has experienced serious challenges as well. Pastoral theology however must flow out of Scripture, not out of the culture. It is God’s Word that must set the criteria for establishing and pursuing ministry work. Hence, we must not exchange the “user-friendly,” “purpose-driven,” “seeker-sensitive” use of demographic and cultural analysis for the far more important understanding of God’s revealed will in the Scriptures.
The Pillar
Pastors assume a huge responsibility when they take on the task of shepherding God’s flock (Heb. 13:17, 1 Pet. 5:1-4, 1 Cor. 4:1-5). And the benchmark by which God will commend or condemn the labor of the pastor is God’s Word. The approach to ministry that a pastor is to employ must, therefore, not be man-centered, consumer-driven, need-based, and culturally-defined. Instead, God’s work in the Church must characteristically be God-focused, Biblically-defined and Scripturally-prioritized.
The Practice a. The Work of the Pastor
A pastor (whether the senior pastor or an associate pastor) is a vocational elder—meaning, he is engaged in his work full-time. His primary activities include:
Praying (1 Thess. 1:2-3,3:9-13) Evangelizing (1 Thess. 1:4 -5,9-10) Equipping (1 Thess. 1:6-8) Defending (1 Thess. 2:1-6) Loving(1 Thess. 2:7-8) Laboring (1 Thess. 2:9) Modeling (1 Thess. 2:10) Leading (1 Thess. 2:10-12) Feeding (1 Thess. 2:13) Watching (1 Thess. 3:1-8) Warning (1 Thess. 4:1-8) Teaching (1 Thess. 4:9-5:11) Exhorting (1 Thess. 5:12-24) Encouraging (2 Thess. 1:3-12) Correcting (2 Thess. 2:1-12) Confronting (2 Thess. 3:14) Rescuing (2 Thess. 3:15) b. Male Leadership The office of the pastor is restricted to qualified males (1 Tim. 2:12). c. Tenure Pastors serve for life unless they are disqualified or have compelling reasons to resign their office, e.g., physical incapacity, family problems, relocation to another country, change of ministry calling. Such reasons however are subject to confirmation by the eldership. Where there is a possibility of reinstatement, the eldership shall evaluate his reentry and prescribe a process of confirmation. d. Relationship with the Elders
The senior pastor is the presiding elder of the board of elders. He makes himself accountable to the other elders for the evaluation of his life and doctrine. e. The Pastoral Staff It is composed of vocational pastors and ministers under the leadership of the senior pastor. It may include women (vocational ministers who may or may not be deaconesses) who minister to other women, youth and children (Titus 2:3-5) and vocational minister trainees. f. Financial Support The pastoral staff is not salaried and is supported by church members through their tithes and offerings and other forms of giving. The church leadership may also opt to use church funds to provide for certain of their needs as they see fit. g. Qualifications Vocational pastors and ministers must meet the moral and spiritual requirements established in Scripture (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). They must likewise show clear evidence of a Spirit-imparted desire and gifting (1 Pet. 5:1-3, 1 Tim. 3:1, 4:12-16). h. Confirmation process The calling of all vocational pastors and ministers is subject to testing and confirmation by the board of elders.
3. The Parameters
The pastor must be driven by a concern for God, His glory and His truth and not by a desire for ego fulfilment and a need to be in charge. No one dominated by self is fit for the pastoral ministry (Matt. 20:25-26). The pastor must not be self-willed; instead, he must be open to other people’s ideas. Most of all, he needs to seek out the mind and heart of God and to do only what God wants done in His church.