“Until I come, devote
yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do
not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council
of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in
them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on
the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and
your hearers.” (1st Timothy 4:13-16)
It is
hard to write about pastoral ministry, at least, it is hard to do so when you
are a pastor. It is easy for teaching on the subject to seem (or be)
self-serving. When that happens, a pastor’s credibility in speaking on other issues
can suffer. It is understandable why pastors sometimes decide speaking about
their own role in ministry is just not worth it.
A pastor
is expected to be and do many things. Not all of the things asked of him are
bad or even inappropriate. But quite often all of the “extra things” a pastor
is asked to be and to do become so time-consuming and overwhelming that what he
is called to be and to do by God begins to suffer. The pastor’s primary calling
is not to be a friend (though he should be), a counselor (though he will have
to be), a helper (though he is usually glad to be), or a CEO (he ought not to
want to and ought never to have to be). The pastor’s calling is to be a minister
of Christ, serving the Word and sacraments to the Body of Christ so as to build
them up in faith, equip them for living faithfully and obediently, and proclaim
the way of salvation in preparation for Judgment on the last day (cf. Acts
6:1-7; Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 1:24-29; 1-2 Timothy; Titus).
Take
another look at the passage quoted above. What does Paul say ought to consume
Timothy as a minister of the gospel? The public reading, exhortation, and
teaching of Scripture. Attentiveness to the gift and calling of God confirmed
by the elders. Immersive dedication to the work of studying and teaching God’s
Word. Personal holiness. Introspection in life and pedagogy. And perseverance
in the same with a view toward salvation, both personally and pastorally. These
are the things pastors must devote themselves to daily, week after week, for
the sake of their own soul and of the souls entrusted to them.
We live
in an age of celebrity pastors. Pastors are often CEOs, motivational speakers,
and social and political leaders as much or more than they are true ministers
of Christ. Many exercise their ministry and influence independent of the church.
Too often they lack meaningful accountability to the ecclesiastical structures the
Lord gave us for the Church’s good. Churches expect their pastors to be hip,
relevant, popular, and, to some extent, worldly in their focus and engagement.
But this is not the plan God revealed in the Bible. The Lord gave His Church
ordinary pastors to use ordinary means in faithful and largely unexceptional ways
to proclaim an extraordinary message of grace. May the Lord raise up such men
to lead and teach in churches today, and may churches demand such ministers who
will so keep Christ before them.–JME
