Commitments of the Shepherd

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Commitments of the Shepherd
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Commitments of the Shepherd

• The document begins by stating that there is a
  need for some sort of principles of conduct.
• What does this say about the pastors in the Synod
  and their need for pastoral ethics?

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• The document states that People's expectations
  of pastors have grown quantitatively and
  qualitatively. The biblical models and
  descriptions of who a pastor is to be and what he
  is to do are being seriously questioned, or, if
  not questioned, are being expanded by demanding
  parishioners.

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Ministerial roles1934
• Teacher
• Preacher
• Worship leader
• Pastor
• Administrator
• (Brown and May)

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Ministerial roles1980
• All of the above, plus
• Open and affirming style
• Know how to foster friendship
• Aware of denominational activities
• Provide witness against world injustice
• (David Schuller)

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Ministerial roles1986
• All of the above, plus
• Planning ability
• Worship facilitator
• Sensitive to the congregation
• Spiritual development for the congregation

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Ministerial roles1986
• All of the above, plus
• Pastoral Counseling
• Development of Stewardship
• Volunteer coordinator
• Developing world mission
• (Hartford Seminary Center for Social and
  Religious Research)

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Notice that the no longer are pastors called upon
  to be brokers of the truthor even
  theologians!as much as technocrats doing a
  specific duty.
• What kind of pressures do you think this
  ever-expanding list of pastoral roles has on
  pastors and their congregations?
• What type of response does this call for on
  behalf of the Church at large?

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• The first four topics
• Commitment to Self and Personal Spiritual Growth
• Commitment to Spouse and Family
• Commitment to Congregation
• Commitment to the Wider Church
• What does this list say about the priorities that
  the Council of Presidents thinks we should have
  as pastors and Church workers?
• Which of these do you find the most difficult?

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Section 3 B asks the question, Should the pastor
  have friends in the congregation? What is your
  answer to that question.

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Section 5 is entitled Appropriate Social
  Behavior But the section mostly deals with
  adultery, pornography, and homosexuality.
• In what way is this a realistic issue for
  churches and church workers today?
• How can pastors work to protect and help
  themselves in these issues? How can the churches
  work to protect their pastors and the
  congregation?

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• 5E talks about engaging in non-sinful behavior,
  which might still cause offense. How might a
  pastor and congregation deal with these kinds of
  situations?

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Commitments of the Shepherd

• Are there any other issues in this document that
  jump out at you that you would like to discuss?

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Allies and Mentors Along the Way
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Allies and Mentors Along the Way

• "Synod" means "walking together"
• We are a group of pastors and churches who have
  made an agreement, a covenant of love, to walk
  together.

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Allies and Mentors Along the Way

• Ideally, we serve each other as allies and
  mentors.
• The Elders and leadership of your congregation.
• Brother pastors and other church workers.
• District Presidents

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Allies and Mentors Along the Way

• Structure of the Synod
• Commission on Theology and Church Relations
• Commission on Worship
• The Seminaries
• lnternet lists Lutheran Pastoral Theology (Yahoo
  Groups)

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict

• Acts 15

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• The issue the relationship between Jews and
  Gentiles

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• The question What is the Gospel?
• Some of them were teaching the necessity of being
  circumcised for complete acceptance by God.
• Their teaching was based on God's Word Genesis
  179-14
• Their teaching also flowed from their heritage of
  Judaism

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• In response Paul and his associates asked the
  same question What is the Gospel?
• They based their arguments on experience
• and on Scripture.

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• When they met there was a huge debate.
• When they met there was a huge debate among
  brothers.
• When they met there was a huge debate among
  brothers led by teachers in the church.

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• When they met there was a huge debate among
  brothers led by teachers in the church and they
  came to agreement

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• When they met there was a huge debate among
  brothers led by teachers in the church and they
  came to agreement and they asked the Gentiles to
  make concessions for the sake of the mission.

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict Acts 15

• The goal was not to enable contact between Jewish
  and Gentile Christians.
• The goal was to enable missions among the Jews to
  go forward.

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Allies and Mentors in Conflict

• Peacemaker Seminar

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Peacemaker Seminar

• What is conflict?
• Conflict is a difference in opinion or purpose
  that frustrates someone's goals or desires.

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Peacemaker Seminar

• Conflict comes from
• Misunderstanding
• Differences in values, goals, gifts, calling,
  priorities, expectations, interests, or opinions.
• Competition over limited resources.
• Actions that lead to other sinful words and
  actions.

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The Slippery Slope
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Peacemaker Seminar

• The Slippery Slope
• Escape responses are used when people are more
  interested in avoiding a conflict than in
  resolving it.

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Peacemaker Seminar

• The Slippery Slope
• Attack responses are used by people who are more
  interested in winning a conflict than in
  preserving a relationship.

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Peacemaker Seminar

• The Slippery Slope
• Conciliation responses seek a Biblical answer to
  the dispute.

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Peacemaker Seminar

• The Slippery Slope
• Escape focuses on me.
• Attack on you.
• Conciliation on us.

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Peacemaker Seminar

• The Four Gs of Conflict
• Glorify God
• How can I please and honor the Lord in this
  situation?
• Get the Log Out!
• How have I contributed to this situation?

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Peacemaker Seminar

• The Four Gs of Conflict
• Gently Restore.
• How can I help others to understand how they have
  contributed to this conflict so that we can be
  restored to each other?
• Go and be Reconciled
• How can I demonstrate forgiveness and encourage a
  reasonable solution to this conflict?

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Peacemaker Seminar

• These principles all flow from the One G the
  Gospel.
• We respond to the peace that God won for us
  through his Son Jesus Christ.
• We are called to be peacemakers because Jesus is
  our Peacemaker.

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Glorify God

• Conflict always provides an opportunity to
  glorify God
• If you do not "glorify God" when you are involved
  In a conflict, you will inevitably glorify
  someone or something else.

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Glorify God

• We glorify God when we
• trust him
• obey him
• imitate him
• Glorifying God means that we have to have a high
  view of God.

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Get the Log Out!

• Two kinds of logs that need removing
• Negative attitudes that leads to unnecessary
  conflicts
• Actual sinful words and actions.

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Get the Log Out!

• Overlooking sin
• God commands us to overlook minor offenses
  (Proverbs 1911)
• When should we overlook?
• If the offense does not dishonor God
• If your relationship hasn't been permanently
  damaged
• If others are not being hurt

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Get the Log Out!

• Examine Yourself
• When we see that we have sinned, we need to
  repent.
• Repentance is not remorse, it's a change of the
  way we think and act.
• Repentance takes place when we see sin for what
  it is an offense against God.

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Get the Log Out

• When we repent and confess our sins, we get three
  benefits
• Clear conscience before God through absolution
• First step toward constructive change
• Set an example that others will often follow.

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Get the Log Out

• The Seven As of Confession
• Address everyone involved
• Avoid if, but, or maybe

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Get the Log Out

• Admit specifics
• Attitudes
• Words
• Actions

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Get the Log Out

• Acknowledge the hurt
• Accept the consequences

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Get the Log Out

• Alter your behavior (A fruit of repentance.)
• Ask for forgiveness

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Get the Log Out

• What if the other person wont forgive?
• Make sure your confession was complete. Ask if
  there is anything else that needs to be brought
  up.
• Allow time (the eighth A)

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Get the Log Out

• Never confess to
• Get a burden off your shoulders
• Gain comfort for yourself
• Minimize the seriousness of your sin

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Get the Log Out

• Instead
• Seek to glorify God
• Bring comfort to the person you have wronged

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Gently Restore

• When you know someone has something against you.
• You may clear up a misunderstanding.
• You may learn that you were really wrong.
• You may help deliver someone from unforgiveness

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Gently Restore

• We often dont want to confront because we do not
  want to look like we are judging.
• We are commanded to use proper judgment.

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Gently Restore

• Confrontation is necessary when someone is caught
  in a sin.
• The purpose of confrontation is to restore the
  offender to usefulness with God.

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Gently Restore

• Going is not optional
• From an essay by Southern Illinois District
  President Herb Mueller

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Gently Restore

• In confrontation
• Speak in order to build up
• Listen carefully
• Prepare

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Gently Restore

• Pray
• Choose the right time and place
• Believe the best until you can prove otherwise

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Gently Restore

• Talk in person if possible
• Plan your words
• Be gracious

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Gently Restore

• Be objective (facts vs. personal opinions)
• Use Scripture carefully and correctly
• Properly apply the Law
• Properly apply the Gospel

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Gently Restore

• Remember
• Your job is to speak the truth in love as clearly
  and persuasively as possible
• Gods job is to change the persons heart.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Forgiveness
• Forgiveness is not
• A feeling
• Forgetting
• Excusing
• Forgiveness is a decision!

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Go and Be Reconciled

• The major penalty of sin
• Separation
• Forgiveness releases us from this penalty

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Go and Be Reconciled

• The Four Promises of Forgiveness
• I will not think about this.
• I will not bring this up again or use it against
  you.
• I will not talk about this to anyone else.
• I will not allow this to come between us.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• The First Promise
• Immediate
• Made to God
• Unconditional

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Go and Be Reconciled

• The other promises
• Conditional A commitment made to the offender
  after repentance and confession.
• You can always overlook minor offenses.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• What about consequences?
• There is a time for mercy.
• There is a time for consequences.
• Personal forgiveness does NOT free us from
  material consequences.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Overcoming unforgiveness
• Unforgiveness will separate us from God

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Go and Be Reconciled

• We need to renounce sinful attitudes and
  unrealistic expectations
• Expecting someone to earn or deserve forgiveness
• Desiring to punish the other person
• Demanding a guarantee of behavior

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Remember your baptism and your forgiveness from
  God.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Reconciliation
• Reconciliation means your relationship is
  restored to at least the condition it was in
  before the conflict arose.
• Reconciliation takes work.
• If you are coasting, you are probably going
  downhill!

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Go and Be Reconciled

• The replacement principle (Luke 627-28)
• In thought (Love)
• In word (bless)
• In deed (do good)

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Not forgive and forget
• But forgive to forget.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Resolving the issue The PAUSE Principle
• Prepare
• Pray
• Get the facts
• Identify issues and interests

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Seek godly counsel
• Study Scripture
• Plan your opening remarks

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Affirm relationships
• Be polite
• Spend time on personal issues
• Exercise authority with restraint
• Be wiling to submit to authority

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Earnestly understand the others concerns and
  perspectives
• Look out for the interests of others
• Confront in a gracious manner
• Allow face saving

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Understand the difference between issues,
  positions. and interests
• Issues
• What the conflict is about
• Ask it in the form of a question that can be
  answered by either party.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Positions
• Where the parties stand on an issue.
• A position is a desired outcome for a definable
  perspective on an issue.
• Positions tend to be mutually exclusive and
  incompatible.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Interests
• Why the parties take their positions.
• Interests are the motivations that underlie a
  position and may reflect values, concerns,
  desires, needs, or limitations.
• Interests may be concrete or abstract and more
  easily dovetailed than positions.

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Go and Be Reconciled

• There are exclusive interests and common
  interests
• The questions is how we can use our mutual
  interests to work through the issue to bring a
  new and creative solution

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Search for creative solutions
• Brainstorm Separate inventing from deciding.
• Expand the pie discover other interests and deal
  with them

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Go and Be Reconciled

• Evaluate options

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Go and Be Reconciled

• An exercise
• You and a friend are going to a movie, but you
  can't agree on which one. Identify the following
• the issue (in the form of a question)
• your two positions
• the interests underlying your positions. List as
  many interests you can.