WHAT IS A PASTOR TO DO?”  Pt. 1

(The Church – God’s Masterpiece – Part 20)

by Pastor-teacher Dennis Rokser

 

Did you hear the story about a man who was flying in a hot air balloon and finally realized he was lost.  As he lowers the balloon, he happens to spot a man down below.  He shouts down, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?”  The man below yells up, “You are in a balloon about 30 feet above this field.”  To which the balloonist replied, “You must work in the computer field.”  “Yes, I do” replied the man down below.  “But how did you know?”  To which the balloonist immediately responded, “Well, what you told me was technically correct but of no use to anyone.”  “You must be in management” retorted the man below.  To which again the balloonist replied, “Yes, I am.  But how did you know?”  “Because you don’t know where you are or where you are going, but you expect me to be able to help.  You are in the same position you were before we met, but now it’s my fault.”

 

This humorous story not only illustrates an acute problem in corporate management, but one which is also often true in the pastorate.  Too many pastors do not know where they are or where they are going, but they expect the sheep to help.  And, if something goes wrong, it’s not their fault.

 

So what does God say a pastor should be doing?  In our past articles in this series we have examined the Scriptures together regarding…

 

1.      The NEED for Spiritual Leadership in the Church…

 

2.      The NAMES of Spiritual Leadership in the Church… and…

 

3.      The BIBLICAL QUALIFICATIONS for Spiritual Leadership in the Church.

 

 

Now I want to devote our next few articles to…

 

4. The RESPONSIBILITIES of Spiritual Leadership in the Church.

 

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;  Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.  (1 Peter 5:1-4)

 

I find it interesting amidst all the various stereotypes that the religious world places upon the function of a pastor, that God’s word narrows everything down to simply one word.  “Feed the flock of God.”

 

Notice that it does not say to “fleece the flock of God,” as too many pastors have used their ecclesiastical authority to financially rip off the unsuspecting.  It does not state, “force the flock of God,” as a shepherd is to lead the flock; he is not to drive the sheep.  Nor does it read, “fight the flock of God,” as that happens in too many churches already.  It reminds me of a church I ran across in Pennsylvania called “Battleground Bible Church.”[1]  This could be put on the marquee outside many a church in our land.  Dear fellow-pastors, don’t you just love the clarity and  simplicity of God’s instructions on the one hand, and its profound meaning on the other?  Pastors are to “FEED THE FLOCK.”

 

The Greek word translated “feed” (KJV) is poimanate which literally means “to shepherd.”  The Greek word order reads, “shepherd the among you flock of God.”  This is to be the pastor’s decisive and urgent devotion (aorist tense) which he is to choose over and above everything else he could be doing (active voice) as this is God’s clear will for him (imperative mood).  This is to be fulfilled by the grace of God, under the Headship of Jesus Christ, with the recognition that these believers belong to God not to you (“the flock of God”).

 

But this simple command to pastors begs the question, “What does shepherding God’s flock involve?”  I find great joy as a pastor-teacher that the Bible is the best explainer of itself, leaving no instruction to my own imagination.  According to the Word of God, shepherding basically boils down to six responsibilities.  For the sake of memory, I will start each of them with a “P.”

 

A.    Shepherding God’s flock involves PROVISION… as a pastor is to feed the flock of God the very Word of God.

 

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (2 Timothy 4:1-4)

 

After Peter’s thrice denial of our Lord during His betrayal and trials, and consequent restoration to fellowship with Him, Jesus Christ declares…

 

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed (boske) my lambs.  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed (poimano) my sheep.  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed (boske) my sheep.  (John 21:15-17)

 

Two out of three times the Lord Jesus instructs Peter to boske or to literally “feed” His sheep.  One time our Lord commands him to poimano or to “shepherd” His sheep.  The responsibility of feeding God’s sheep the Word of God underscores the primary, though not exclusive, priority of a pastor.  Furthermore, this emphasis intersects with the various injunctions of the pastoral epistles concerning the priority of biblical preaching and teaching for the pastor.

 

·      If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.  (1 Timothy 4:6)

 

·      These things command and teach.  (1 Timothy 4:11)

 

·      Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  (1 Timothy 4:13)

 

·      Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.  (1 Timothy 4:16)

 

·      And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.  (2 Timothy 2:2)

 

·      And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 

(2 Timothy 2:24-25)

·      Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.  (2 Timothy 4:17)

 

·      But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;  (Titus 1:3)

 

·      Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.  (Titus 1:9)

 

·      But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:  (Titus 2:1)

 

·      These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.  (Titus 2:15)

 

Did Peter remember these instructions from the Lord to “feed His sheep?”  The early chapters of the book of Acts focus on the Spirit-empowered preaching of the apostle Peter and its God-given results.

 

·      Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.  (Acts 5:28)

 

·      And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.  (Acts 5:42)

 

It is also noteworthy that Peter underscores the need and value of faithfully preaching God’s Word to God’s sheep in his epistles where he writes,

 

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  (1 Peter 1:23)

 

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

(1 Peter 2:2)

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.  (2 Peter 1:12)

 

Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.  (2 Peter 1:15)

 

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.  (2 Peter 1:19)

 

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.  (2 Peter 3:15-18)

 

Dear friends, it is my conviction that the weakness of the church of Jesus Christ today is not due to poor programming or marketing.  Madison-avenue gimmicks abound ad infinitum, ad nauseam.  Its weakness is primarily due to poor teaching and a misfocus away from Jesus Christ and the grace of God.  I find it interesting to observe that the increase of personal counseling among those in the pew is directly proportionate to the decrease of Bible teaching over our pulpits.

 

What does an effective teaching ministry that feeds God’s sheep require of the pastor?  It requires…

 

·      relative spiritual maturity (1 Tim. 3:1-7)… as a pastor preaches out of the context of his own walk and growth in Christ.

 

·      spiritual giftedness to teach – “apt to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2)… as the Lord has supernaturally gifted certain individuals to effectively communicate the Scriptures.

 

·      practical authority (Titus 2:15)… which comes from a sense of God’s call, along with confidence in God’s message.

 

·      the time, tools, and willingness to be diligent in the study of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15).

 

·      an on-going abiding, depend-ence on Christ as your Life (John 15:1-5), for “without Me you can do nothing.”

 

·      A passion to preach the Gospel (Acts 20:24) as the reformer John Knox prayed, “Give me Scotland, lest I die.”

 

This is why the pastor cannot be the jack-of-all-trades in a church.  Yet he must be a team player; appreciating, directing, and allowing other equipped believers in the body to do their work of ministry.  And while a pastor must not neglect the people side of pastoring, he cannot spend all day counseling or visiting people in the hospital.  An appropriate balance must be struck, as he is not merely a Bible teacher, but a pastor-teacher.

 

Furthermore, preaching must not be viewed as professional pulpiteerism, but as an outflow of a pastor’s personal study and abiding fellowship with Christ, for Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”  (Matthew 12:34b)

 

Warren Wiersbe insightfully writes,

 

Effective preaching is personal; it’s people talking to people about something that is really important to them.  Preachers must be more than heralds who declare the King’s message or teachers who explain it.  They must also be witnesses who boldly testify to what the message means to them personally and loving shepherds who skillfully apply God’s truth to the lives of the people they serve and know.

 

If all we want to accomplish in a message is the heralding and explaining of the Word, why not play sermon tapes from gifted preachers and spend our sermon preparation time playing golf?  Because God’s people need to hear a personal witness to the power of God’s Word, a witness who helps them apply God’s truth to their own lives so they can be better disciples.  We need in our pulpits witnesses who have learned and lived the Word and shepherds who know their people and how to help them from the Scriptures.[2]

 

But permit me now to shift to the other side of the pulpit in raising the question, “What does the proper intake of the preaching of the Word of God require on the congregation’s part?”  Several factors need to be addressed such as…

 

·      that they want to be fed sound doctrine.

 

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.  (2 Timothy 4:3)

 

·      that they see the value of expository preaching.

 

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  (1 Timothy 4:13)

 

·      that they are willing to regularly attend to be fed.

 

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  (Hebrews 10:24-25)

 

·      that they come with a humble and teachable attitude.

 

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.  (James 1:18-21)

 

·      that they do not come to audit the class, but to apply the Word of God.

 

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.  (James 1:22-25)

 

·      That they financially remunerate their pastor(s) to allow him to devote his time to the ministry of the Word.

 

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, (respect and remuneration) especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.  For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.  (1 Timothy 5:17-18)

 

What is the objective of all this?  If the written Word does not bring us into a vital and dependent relationship with the Living Word (the Lord Jesus Christ) with resultant Christ-likeness, the pastor’s teaching has missed its mark.

 

Whom (Jesus Christ) we preach (we keep on preaching), warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect (mature) in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28)

 

In whom (Jesus Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  And this I say (keep on saying), lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.  (Col. 2:3)

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:6-8)

 

A wise sage has written with discernment that…

 

“The written Word is meant to reveal the Living Word, not to hide Him.  Many know prophecy better than the Prophet.  Our Father gave us His written Word that we might know His Son, not only as Saviour but as our very Life.  “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth” (Jn. 17:17).”

 

“The knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is the basis of the believer’s life.  That is, it underlies our very relationship with God; it underlies all our growth in grace; it underlies every fragment of our service.  There is nothing which comes within the compass of the life of the Christian which does not depend upon the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.”

 

“Heart acquaintance with Christ is the secret of spiritual growth.  One may know all the truths of the Bible, and yet be practically ignorant of the person of the Lord Jesus.  It is possible to go back into the world with acquaintance with the scriptures, but it is virtually impossible to return thither with the scriptural acquaintance of Christ in the heart.”

 

“The believer should have but one object: knowing Christ has laid hold of him for glory, his heart is running after Him.  He is to have no other object, though he may have many things to do.  The Lord Jesus is ‘in all’ believers as the power of life, and He is ‘all’ as the object of that life.  He is ‘all and in all’ (Colossians 3:11).  And, ‘all to Him I owe.’”[3]

 

Dear believer, do you “desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby,”  (1 Peter 2:2)?  Or are you satisfied with sermonettes for Christianettes that produce spiritual pygmies for Christ?  Pray that your pastor would be a faithful student and expositor of God’s Word and repeatedly point you to Jesus Christ and the grace of God.

 

Dear pastor, are you devoted to feeding the flock of God with nourishing spiritual meals that encourage them to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,” (2 Peter 3:18)?  And if you are teaching God’s Word, is the person and work of Jesus Christ and a walk of faith in Him by grace the focus, emphasis, and drumbeat of your teaching?  Or do you have a fragmented approach that teaches the text of Scripture or Bible doctrine but is somehow detached from the preaching of Jesus Christ as the object of faith for both justification and sanctification?  Take heed to the emphasis and focus of the apostle Paul’s preaching:

 

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.  (Galatians 2:16)

 

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)

 

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?  (Galatians 3:1)

 

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. (Galatians 6:14)

 

In emphasizing the centrality of Jesus Christ in our preaching, Warren Wiersbe again writes,

I suggest that preaching Christ means proclaiming the Word of God in such a way that Jesus Christ is clearly presented in all the fullness of His person and the greatness of His work.  He is glorified as the eternal Son of God, Creator, Savior of the world, Lord of history, and Head of the church.  He is magnified as the heart of every Christian doctrine and the motivation for every Christian duty.  When Christ is preached, the Holy Spirit can use the message to enable God’s people to respond to Christ with greater love, faith, and obedience and to draw unbelievers to Christ in saving faith.[4]

 

In his often quotable way, Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers of the 19th century emphatically declared,

 

If a man can preach one sermon without mentioning Christ’s name in it, it ought to be his last, and certainly the last that any Christian ought to go to hear him preach.[5]

 

Spurgeon goes on to state without apology,

 

The best sermons are the sermons which are fullest of Christ.  A sermon without Christ is an awful, a horrible thing.  It is an empty well; it is a cloud without rain; it is a tree twice dead, plucked up by the roots.[6]

 

Dear fellow-pastors, we must not fail to feed God’s sheep the Word of God so as to point them to Jesus Christ; our Saviour whom we are to trust, our Lord to whom we are to yield, our Life upon whom we are to daily depend, and our Hope who is coming again for us.  This is the need of the hour. g