Ministry of the Pastor
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
Christ Jesus
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
This now brings us to the ministry gift of the pastor. A pastor is a shepherd of the sheep, and in the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus referred to Himself as the good Shepherd. And so we see that as with all of the ministry gifts, Jesus is the pre-eminent pastor in the church. As with the ministry gift of the evangelist, there are only two classes in this ministry gift and the first class of pastor in the church is the Lord Jesus Himself.
Present Day Pastors
Acts 14:23 “So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
This brings us to the second class of pastor, which is the class of pastor that exists in the church today. There are no foundational pastors in the church, for as already mentioned, that class of ministry pertained only to the ministries of the apostle and the prophet. We saw earlier in this teaching that the Lord Jesus listed the ministry gifts in order of their importance to the church, which would mean that the pastor is classified as the fourth most important ministry gift in the church. In other words this ministry gift is ranked above the teaching ministry in order of importance. So why is that? The reason is because as we will see in this section, the pastor fulfils two primary roles in the church, i.e. shepherding the local flock and feeding them through the teaching of God’s word. And so whereas the teaching ministry fulfils only one of these roles (feeding the church), the pastoral ministry fulfils both, and it is for that reason that the pastor’s ministry is more important to the church than the teacher’s ministry. The word translated elder can also be translated pastor, and in the above quoted passage of scripture we can see that the apostle Paul and his ministry team appointed elders in every church that they planted. In addition to this we also have record of Paul sending Titus to the churches in Crete to ensure that elders were appointed in each and every church on that island (Titus 1:5). And so we can see from these passages that unlike the ministry gifts of apostle, prophet and evangelist, which are appointed in very limited numbers in the church, every church has at least one pastor appointed to it. The Lord Jesus confirmed that truth to us when He appeared to the apostle John on the island of Patmos, and instructed John to address His letters to each pastor of the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 2 & 3). The word translated “angel” in that portion of scripture can also be translated “pastor”, which in the context of the passage is the correct translation, because the Lord does not instruct His ministers to write letters to His angels, only to His church.
1 Timothy 5:17 “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine.”
As with all ministry gifts the primary function of the pastor is to preach or teach the word of God, and just like the ministry gifts of apostle and prophet, pastors can either be anointed to preach or to teach. Seldom is a pastor anointed to do both however. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that special honour should be given to those elders who labour in the word of God. The reason that Paul says that special honour should be given to pastors that labour in the word, is because of the two main functions that pastors perform, teaching the word is the most important. The last time our Lord Jesus had breakfast with His disciples, He instructed Peter twice to feed His sheep and once to tend His sheep, thus implying that feeding His sheep took precedence over shepherding His sheep (John 21:15-17).
Luke 12:42-44 “And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? (43) Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. (44) Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord pronounces a special blessing on those ministry gifts that rule over His household, and feed His sheep with their portion of food in due season. Although this blessing is applicable to all the ministry gifts, it is especially applicable to the ministry gift of the pastor, for it is the pastor who primarily rules over the local sheep and gives them their portion of God’s word in due season.
Acts 20:28-30 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (29) For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. (30) Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”
A shepherd is called to feed his flock, and part of the pastor’s responsibility is to see that his congregation are fed a varied diet. We have seen in this teaching that the gifts of apostle and prophet are specifically given to the church to travel from church to church in order to minister to the saints. And so pastors should expose their congregations to these ministries so that the saints can be fully equipped. Pastors who refuse to open their pulpits to these particular ministry gifts however, will have to give an account to the Chief Shepherd on that day. Obviously pastors should only open their pulpits to recognized ministry gifts of apostles and prophets however, as there are false apostles and false prophets who would do damage to the flock if allowed in. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul warned the elders at the church of Ephesus of exactly that danger. And so this is one of the areas where the shepherding aspect of the pastor’s ministry comes into play.
Hebrews 13:7-24 “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. … (17) Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. … (24) Greet all those who rule over you, and all the saints. Those from Italy greet you.”
In the passages of scripture quoted earlier, the terms “rule” and “ruler” are used by both the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit in describing the role of pastors in the church. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit emphasises three times, the fact that pastors rule over the members of their congregations. And so we see that scripture very clearly states that the pastor is called to rule the Lord’s flock. There are two primary ways that pastors are to rule over the saints. Firstly, as we have already mentioned, they are to teach the saints how to walk as sons of God, through the teaching of God’s word. And then secondly, they are to show the saints, through the example of their own lifestyles, how to walk as sons of God. By ruling in this manner, the pastor is to watch out for the souls of his flock. The Chief Shepherd has placed His sheep under the care of the pastor, and pastor will be held to account by the Lord Jesus on that day as to how well he ruled the Lord’s sheep. I want you to notice also, that the saints have their part to play in the rulership of the pastor, which is to be obedient to do that which he instructs them to do. The Holy Spirit warns us that those saints who choose not to humbly submit to the pastor’s rule do so to their own detriment.
1 Peter 5:2-3 “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; (3) nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”
Pastors are not to rule over the Lord’s flock in the same manner that this world’s leaders exercise their authority, but rather they are to do so by example and serve (Luke 22:26). In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Peter reinforces this truth to us, when he instructs pastors to lead their congregations by example. And so we see that the members of the congregation should be able to look at the lifestyle of the pastor as an example of how they should walk their Christian walk. In fact the example that all pastors are to display is that of the Chief Shepherd Himself, for when the apostle Paul put himself forward to the church as an example that they could follow, he did so by telling them that he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). It cannot be said any clearer than that. It is a hypocritical pastor who preaches one thing and lives another, and we all know our Lord’s view about hypocrites.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
Something else about a pastor’s ministry is that he should know his sheep. We know that when Jesus made the above quoted comment that He was referring to Himself, but remember that He is the Chief Shepherd and He expects His shepherds to follow His example. In other words pastors should know their sheep, and this can only be done as the pastor spends time with the members of his congregation. Those who have the gift of pastor do not travel from church to church. They are based in the local church specifically because they need to be with the flock, so that they can know their sheep and so that their sheep can follow their example.
Michael E.B. Maher
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