The Lord has sometimes had me fill the office of being a pastor...
That is a hard calling, for I grew up as a PK,
and knew ahead of time, the heartache and pain of pastoring...
The office of pastor in a body church embraces a complex variety of tasks.
He/she is placed in that position to serve, to minister God's messages,
and to exhort and encourage.
He/she is not there to be the plumber, janitor, or whipping boy...
yet, most pastors face that kind of job....
He/she is there to give all that God gives him/her to a needy, hurting, and thirsting group of Christians.
His/her ministry should be stripped of the "chores" that usually clutter a ministry.
His/her calling is from God,
and his ministry is to follow God's direction...
not a committee's directives.
Though the pastor may not be an evangelist, he/she will often do the work of one.
Though the pastor may not be an administrator, he/she will often do that work.
He/she will most often need to be searching the Word of God,
interceding in his/her private prayer closet.
His/her prophetic ministry depends on his/her sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
His/her teaching may sometimes be to a large group,
but most often need to be done individually and confidentially.
Sometimes he/she may be called to leave the great, large worship centers,
and go into an apostolic ministry.
His/her counsel for others will come from the Lord, and be given to them with meekness and humility.
The true pastor is not
a cowboy who is "driving cattle",
but
is an under-shepherd who will
"lead" sheep.
There is a vast difference in "driving" and "leading."
He/she will not try to be a "lord" over the others, but seek to serve them as an example of what God wants all to become.
The true pastor will carry a burden for the flock.
The pastor will love and care for all regardless of their spiritual condition, their length of time as a Christian, their personal wealth, and their relationship with the pastor.
He/she will not question their past, but see their potential... as our Lord does.
The watchful vigilance and intercessory prayers of the true pastor will be time consuming...
but vital.
The true pastor is worth more than any congregation can afford,
but he/she is not a hireling.
The true pastor will not serve for the money,
and will exhibit personal risk,
inconvenience and total sacrifice in his/her courageous ministry.
The true pastor will feed and nourish the congregation in order to fit them for fruitfulness.
He/she will seek to enlarge the cell ministry of each Christian in the body church.
The reluctance of others to stir themselves toward the Lord, the discouragement that follows unsuccessful attempts to awaken the spiritually drowsy,
the heartbreak of seeing some apostatize from God,
the despair of fighting damnable doctrines that the devil tries to instill within a body church...
will make the office of pastoring a body church one of the most difficult of ministries.
There is no fortune on earth that can ever properly pay the true minister.
Most true ministers are vastly underpaid and yet the true pastors will be so intent on the spiritual rewards of their ministries
that they will seldom distress themselves with financial concerns.
Being an under-shepherd is not a pastime.
It is serious business.
The task of the pastor in simply caring for the congregation is a high calling that demands great honour and respect of all the cell churches that attend the body church.
It is a high privilege for a body church to have the God-appointed person of God in the pulpit. Many a church has seldom seen this happen, and suffer from the work of a hireling, a false prophet, or a mis-directed Christian.
Jesus explained His ministry in Luke chapter 4.
First He gave the claim to be appointed and anointed to a ministry.
Luke 4:18
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me for He has anointed Me..."
Thus, the first necessity of a pastor is a Spirit-anointing. The Holy Spirit will show the one who is chosen of God by the anointing that is upon the chosen person. We should look for someone who has an evident anointing from the Lord. It will show, and it will be felt, discerned, and exhibited.
Secondly, the person that is so chosen will have an overwhelming desire to propagate the good news. Without the good news, the world is poor, bewildered, bored, miserable, and ignorant. To proclaim the gospel is "good news. Too many proclaim the "bad news" and include lists of "do's and don't's" The condemnations may sometimes have to come from the called pastor, but they will come reluctantly.
Luke 4:18
"He hath anointed Me to preach good news
to the poor..."
Thirdly, the truly called servant that is given a pastorate to lead will exhibit a ministry of giving freedom and light to the body church.
Luke 4:18
"To proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind..."
Some are bound by sin and ignorance.
Some are blinded to the truth by misconceptions.
Some are locked and imprisoned by grudges and hate.
Some blindly grope for help, but don't know where to turn.
Some come to church to sing, to recite a prayer, but never have learned what a church really is.
The truly called pastor of a body church will gladly announce the freedom and sight to the prisoners and blinded.
Fourthly, the truly called pastor will rejoicingly set free those who are suffering from the oppression of the devil.
The devil likes to oppress people.
He likes to create depression, hopelessness, heavy burdens, bitterness, and despair.
Sometimes unforgiveness, or another sin, will allow the devil to oppress some in the congregation.
The truly called pastor will preach a message of being set free from such oppression.
Luke 4:18
"...to set at liberty those that are oppressed..."
Fifth, the truly called pastor of a body church will be greatly excited about the presentation of grace, mercy, love, freedom, healing, blessing, rapture, resurrection, heaven, and eternity with God to the congregation.
Luke 4:19
"...to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord..."
Jesus stopped quoting from Isaiah at that point, and omitted the next part of the verse... "vengeance of God..."
The pastor is not here for the "vengeance" part.
The pastor of the church is primarily here to tell the "rewards" part to the saints...
He/she comes to pronounce a "fear not" to the "body of Christ".
He/she may tell them why the fear can be eliminated from the saint's mind, but he/she will not try to scare the saints.
Often Jesus said, "Fear not!"
The "fear" that He preached was for the Pharisees and Sadducees.
These hypocrites received the condemnation.
The thief on the cross, the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, the backslidden Peter, the doubtful Thomas, the confused Nicodemus, and the rich young ruler...
all received a kind,
but challenging, message from our Lord Jesus.
A truly called pastor will have that same mind...
as was in Christ Jesus.
The office of pastor in a body church is terrifically expensive. It costs in many senses of the word. The price paid is beyond understanding of any who have not been appointed by God to such an office. The truly called pastor is always reluctant. He/she will avoid the calling if possible. He/she will feel ineffective, unworthy, incapable, and scared of the calling.
It is reported that John Wesley received a letter that told him that the writer felt the Lord wanted John Wesley to know...
"while you know Greek and Hebrew, He (the Lord) can do without your book larnin..."
John Wesley replied to this with:
"...I already knew that the Lord
could do without my 'larnin.'
I wish to say that while the Lord does not direct me to tell you,
yet I wish to say to you on my own responsibility that the Lord does not need your ignorance either."
Too many ministers are empty-headed.
The desire to learn more, and to find out from God through prayer and Bible study what he/she needs to know is vital for any pastor of a body church.
Empty-headed ministers usually end up with empty pews.
A pastor who is truly called will find great pleasure in long hours with God Himself, and with the Word inspired by this same God.
Any who would rather not, or who choose to neglect the study of the Word, are like the mechanic who feels his mechanical talent will enable him to successfully become a brain surgeon. Presumption like this has damaged many a congregation.
The cell churches should seek a body church in which to worship and serve.
Many are available. Some have leadership with the wrong type of concept of the body church. Some are being led by a false prophet. Some are being led by a hireling who serves for the money. Some have a mis-directed Christian leading them who does not have the anointing of the Spirit for that ministry.
Careful prayer and direction from the Lord are necessary in choosing the body church in which we are to worship.