Pastors and Pastoring: An Office And A Ministry In Todays Church

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Pastors and PastoringAn Office And A Ministry
In Todays Church

• Jon Wright
• 30th May 2006

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The office of the Pastor is part of the fivefold
ministry

• (Eph 411) It was he who gave some to be
  apostles, some to be prophets, some to be
  evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers
• ????,???,???,?????,??????
• Pastor is mention once in the NT, but the word
  shepherd is mentioned 17 times

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What Is A Pastor1 Peter 51-4

• 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 2028-29, Paul calls the elders together and
  tells them to watch over the flock
• Pastors will often have a gift of teaching

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What makes a good Pastor?

• 1st we must look at 1 Tim 3 110
• Pastors must know the bible - how can you counsel
  right and wrong otherwise?
• Acts 2028 - 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

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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 519)
• 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 www.ulc.org, get
  ordained in 5 mins, free of charge - titles US 10

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What about Jesus as Shepherd?John 1011-15

• Ps 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not
  want
• Col 118 - Jesus is the senior Pastor
• He spoke of how a shepherd will leave the 99 to
  find the one lost sheep. Lk 153-7
• He paid the ultimate price of sacrifice on the
  cross for the flock Jn 1014-15, so that all who
  believe in Him may have eternal life Jn 316,
• He trained disciples (so he didnt have to do it
  alone!) who were charged to become a new
  generation of shepherds (Jn 2115-18)

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What about the pastoral ministry?

• You dont 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 71724 - if you decide to do some
  shepherding you are not called to quit your
  current job and become a Pastor (at least right
  away!)

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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

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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 wont approach you when they need to

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How to help your Pastor/leaders

• Treat them with respect (1 Thess 512-13)
• Pray for them often (Eph 618-20)
• Do not speak/listen to slander/gossip against
  them (1 Tim 519 Eph 429)
• Encourage them (Eph 429 Heb 10 24-25 Prov
  327)
• Support financially so they can concentrate on
  their work of ministry (1 Tim 517-18 Phil
  410-19)

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How to help your Pastor/Leaders

• Be patient with them they are allowed to be
  themselves (Rom 157 1 Peter 38) - remember
  they are human too with weaknesses and and same
  (in fact often greater) temptations you face,
  they cant 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 1532)

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A Pastor can not forgive sin, only God can
forgive sin

• A Pastor (or anyone else) can hear a confession
  of sin - you dont actually need a Pastor to
  confess
• Some say John 2023 tells that man can forgive
  sins, however Eph 14,5 is clear that it is God
  who chooses his people 1 John 15-10 is clear
  that it is God who forgives our sin
• John 2023 is actually saying that the apostles
  were authorized only to announce forgiveness of
  confessed sin because it has already been
  forgiven by God.

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Suicide - Please dont

• Suicide is a sin - if you are a born again
  believer your life now belongs to Jesus so you
  shouldnt take it.
• Most people commit suicide because they see no
  future or purpose in their lives, however Rom
  828 (God can turn all things to His good), Jer
  2911 (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

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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 dont
  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 2115-18 Jesus says Feed My Sheep