Class Notes
LESSON 3 The Pastor
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s we studied in the previous lesson, Christ has given some people special functions in the church. Although they do various types of ministry, one of the principal functions of these servants of Christ is to “prepare God’s people for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12). We noted that though the Scripture calls them apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, they have modern equivalents. In this lesson we want to focus on the person and ministry of the pastor of the local church. The New Testament word translated pastor means “shepherd,” one who leads sheep. Goals of this lesson: •
To understand the role of the pastor as presented in Scripture.
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To understand that pastors can have different ministries, according to how God has gifted them.
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To understand and evaluate the relationship between the pastor and the elders in leading God’s people.
The Role of Pastor The word “pastor” is a Latin word meaning shepherd. What is a shepherd supposed to do? To be able to answer this question better, let’s look at what a shepherd does, as described by David, who was a shepherd. 1. Turn to Psalm 23. As you read this passage, don’t try to “spiritualize” it, by interpreting what the Lord does for us, but rather, try to answer the question: How does a shepherd take care of a flock of sheep? Clue: pay attention to the verbs that are used. Write down your observations. You should observe at least 5 things that a shepherd does.
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2. How does this apply to a pastor?
Read I Peter 5:1-4. This passage is addressed to elders. A pastor is an elder, but he’s more than an elder, because of God’s call on his life and ministry, and the abilities and gifts God has given him to lead a congregation. 3. How does Peter refer to himself in this passage?
4. Why does this passage say that a shepherd should serve willingly?
5. How does this relate to the fact that we say that a ministry is a calling not a profession?
6. What are the two statements that deal with negative and positive attitudes? a. b. 7. Why is greed such a danger to a pastor?
8. Why should a pastor avoid having an authoritarian attitude?
9. Who is the Chief Shepherd that this passage speaks of?
10. What is the pastor’s responsibility to the Chief Shepherd?
11. What is the reward of a faithful pastor?
To summarize, a pastor has the responsibility of leading God’s flock. He needs to keep in mind that these are God’s “sheep” not his, and that he is responsible to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
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Lesson 3 – The Pastor
Various kinds of pastors
Class Notes
We should also understand that not all pastors are stamped out of the same “mold.” In fact, each pastor is unique. Though pastors are called of God, He has given them as a gift to the Church to equip the body for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12). This is why it is important to try to match the ministry of a pastor with the needs of a particular church, so that the pastor is effective in his ministry and the church is encouraged to develop ministries that the people can be trained to carry out. In our present church organization we usually call any minister a pastor, unless he has some special function, like a district superintendent or a specific staff role. Although we don’t usually use the five titles for ministers (as found in Ephesians 4:11) in our churches today, I believe that there are people that we usually call “pastors” who fulfill these functions. 12. How did we define an apostle’s ministry in the previous lesson?
Today there are pastors whose principal ministry is to plant churches. They may not have a long ministry in a church, because within a reasonable time they turn the congregation they have started over to the ministry of someone else who has the capacity of building up that church and taking it to maturity, so that the church-planting pastor can go establish another church. There are others who could be called pastor-prophets. 13. What was the principal ministry of the prophet, as we discussed it in the previous lesson?
Some pastors have a ministry of proclaiming God’s Word, and they could be called pastor-prophets. Dr. A. W. Tozer was perhaps such a man. He did not possess many of the care-giving qualities that many pastors have, but rather devoted most of his time in his study, listening to God, reading the Word, and seeking God’s presence. His reputation as a pastor-prophet who spoke for God went far beyond the limits of his congregation, through his writing, lecturing, and Bible conference ministry. Other ministers could be called pastor-evangelists.
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14. What did we say in the previous lesson that an evangelist is?
An evangelist need not give full-time as an itinerant evangelist, like Dr. Billy Graham. A pastor-evangelist’s ministry is not planting a church, nor is it principally in the pulpit, but God has given him an unusual ability to train others in outreach and to bring people into the Kingdom. His evangelistic ministry can take on many forms, from speaking effectively in “seeker” services, to personal witnessing, to being directed by the Lord to people in need of Christ in home, hospital or prison visitation, and teaching others to win people to Christ. There are other combinations of pastors. Some are care-giving pastors, whose principal ministry is in giving loving, tender care to the congregation. Often their ministry is in the home or in hospitals, ministering with great love to individuals or families in times of crisis and need. Still others are pastor-teachers, who have a ministry of biblical teaching which gives spiritual nourishment and sound doctrine to the congregation. 15. What are the five kinds of pastors that we have mentioned?
16. What type of pastor is currently ministering in your church?
The ideal would be to have all five kinds of pastors in the church. Notice the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1) had two kinds of ministers on their pastoral staff. 17. What were the two kinds of ministers in Antioch?
Many congregations do not have this luxury, so they must decide what kind of pastor is really needed in the church to fulfill the vision and goals of the church. Remember that the minister’s responsibility is to train God’s people to do “works of service.” Usually he will train them in the areas where his ministry is strongest. A pastor-evangelist will often teach his congregation to have an effective outreach ministry. Usually a pastorteacher will train others to be teachers of God’s Word as well. 18. Have you seen this pattern emerge in your church’s history?
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Lesson 3 – The Pastor
It is also good that when the congregation searches for a new pastor, they try to find a pastor who has a different ministry from the previous pastor, so that the church can have an all around development. Some people in the church will want a pastor just like the previous one because they feel comfortable with the ministry he has trained them to do. However, if the church wants to develop new areas of ministry, they need to seek a minister with a different kind of gifting.
Class Notes
The relationship of the pastor to the elders Let’s go back to 1 Peter 5:1-4. 19. To whom does Peter address his remarks? 20. How does Peter describe himself? 21. How does John describe himself in the opening sentences of 2 John and 3 John? 22. Were Peter and John elders or apostles?
Apparently they were both. They were elders because they were spiritual leaders in the church, but they were apostles because Christ had called them to that ministry (Matthew 10:1, 2). They were elders because of their position in the local church, but they were apostles because of their calling. Is the pastor of the church an elder? Yes, but he is more than an elder. He is an elder because he is a member of the local church, but he is also a pastor because God has called him to that ministry. Some church systems of government differentiate between “ruling elders” and “teaching elders,” saying that the ruling elder is the equivalent of the pastor, and the teaching elders are lay elders. However, the Scriptures don’t make that distinction. 23. What does 1 Timothy 5:17 say that the “elder who directs the affairs of the church” does?
The pastor serves as the “chief” of the elders that lead the church. He serves as the leader of the elders, teaching them their duties, giving them their ministry assignments, and supervising their ministry. The elders work with the pastor, and should report to the pastor the results of their ministry and consult him if there are difficulties. The pastor is an elder
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because he has oversight of the spiritual well-being of the church, but he is set apart from the rest of the elders by his vocation (calling). He should not “lord it over” (1 Peter 5:3) the other elders, but work with them as the chief among equals.
Authority and Submission Throughout Scripture we see a principle of authority and submission. Authority is not to be flaunted and submission is not to be considered as being inferior. Let’s look at the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Turn to Philippians 2:5-11. 24. Was Jesus Christ inferior to God the Father?
25. How did Jesus show His submission to the Father?
26. What did the Father do to the Son because he had submitted to Him? (9-11)
27. What does Hebrews 1:13 say about the position of the Son?
God the Son submitted voluntarily to God the Father through his humiliation. But the Father did not treat the Son as an inferior, but rather as an exalted equal. Jesus does the same thing with the Church, His Bride. 28. What does Ephesians 2:6 say that our position as believers is?
Because the church submits to the lordship of Christ (Ephesians 5:24), Christ has exalted the Church to His level, seated in the heavenly realms at God’s right hand. This same principle applies in the marriage relationship, as Paul points out in Ephesians 5:22-33. It is not our purpose to give instruction in this area, but simply to point out that this passage points out that the wife is to submit to the will of her husband, as unto Christ, just like the church submits to the Lord. The husband is instructed to love and treat his wife, not as an inferior, but as an equal, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her.
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Class Notes
Lesson 3 – The Pastor
The point that I want to make is that this same kind of relationship should exist between the pastor and the elders of the church. The elders should recognize the pastor’s authority and respect him as a Man of God, one whom God has called to lead that congregation. The pastor on the other hand, should not treat the other elders as inferiors, but as equals.
Class Notes
Even though the congregation pays the pastor’s salary, the leaders of the church should not consider the pastor as their employee. The pastor is first of all a servant of God, because God has called him to the ministry, and the pastor has dedicated his life to God. The pastor is also licensed (approved) by the district of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. The district superintendent appoints the pastor to serve in the church, after the church has extended a “call” (invitation) to the pastor to minister in that church. In the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the pastor, therefore, is responsible, first to God and then to the district of the C&MA for the well-being of the church. The elders are to work with the pastor, under his leadership and supervision, for the glory of God and the growth of the church.
Administrative duties of the pastor Though the Scripture tells us what the spiritual duties of the pastor are (1 Peter 5:1-4), it does not spell out specifically what the administrative responsibilities of the pastor are. Read in the C&MA Manual the section on the Senior Pastor in the local church constitution (page A5-4). 29. What are the administrative duties of the senior pastor in The Christian and Missionary Alliance?
In this lesson we have seen what the role of the pastor is, based on Scripture. We have also seen that the pastor is a unique person and there are various types of ministers. Regardless of their differences in style and type of ministry, their responsibility is to teach the people in the congregation to minister to others, so that the Church of Christ is built up, working toward maturity. In order for the church to function well, the pastor(s) must establish a good working relationship with the elders of the church. Take a moment to thank the Lord for your pastor, for the ministry and abilities that He has given him. Application to your local church situation:
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1. How do the by-laws of your church define the responsibilities of the pastor(s)?
2. How could you do to make those guidelines clearer?
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Class Notes