 The Rest of the Story Last week we began to consider the idea of vocation and calling. Now, calling is a much bigger subject than just ministry vocations. Whatever the Lord has given you to do for the blessing of others and the support of your family is a calling (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12). But today I want to resume our consideration of calling in relationship to ministry. The objective nature of the New Testament instructions about the competency, character, and accountability of those leading God’s people in the church should clearly take precedence over a personal, subjective experience of calling. In this post I want to consider these three categories of competency, character, and accountability as it relates to the role of pastor in our Lord’s churches (1 Timothy 3:1-7). Gifting A shepherd has a couple of primary roles. One is that he must be able to lead the flock to feed on the best grass and the refreshing waters (Psalm 23:1-2). The equivalent for pastoral ministry is that he must be able to teach the Scriptures accurately and effectively (Titus 1:9). In addition, he must be able to retain the confidence of the congregation to obey those things taught in the Scripture. This means that simply being a good communicator or powerful orator does not make someone a qualified pastor. The man must also be someone that the sheep can trust so that when they cannot see the path or the pasture that it leads to, they can trust him as he faithfully follows the direction of the Lord in the Bible (2 Timothy 1:13). One of the tragedies in our modern culture, especially in the so called “Bible Belt,” is that pastors are held stereotypically in such low esteem because so many who have taken the title have dishonored the Lord through their lazy, lavish, or licentious lifestyles. This leads us to our second area of consideration. Character Most of the qualifications given in the Scripture for the kind of man who can serve well as a pastor are about the man’s character not his gifting or competency. I think that this is because so much of applied discipleship is learned through imitation of a God’s life more than the implementation of rhetorical instructions. These character qualifications listed in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, are behaviors that reveal a person who is producing the fruit of the Spirit in their daily life (Galatians 5). It is also important to point out that these character qualifications are not something that only elite Christians can attain. To the contrary, the point is that these are the normal qualities of a mature believer whether elder or not (2 Peter 1:3-8). Pastors are not supposed to be superchristians but all believers are supposed to be growing in Christ, in maturity, holiness, and godliness. Without this example among the leadership the flock won’t know how to live in this godly manner (Hebrews 13:7-8). Responsibility The under shepherd is a leader but not a lord or a king or an owner. The sheep belong to the master who owns both the flock and the servant. This is important because the world considers status and position in leadership terms as places that get privilege and authority. However, Jesus clearly teaches His disciples that leadership in His kingdom is far different (Matthew 20:25-28). In this text, Jesus teaches His disciples that in His kingdom economy the great ones are the servants and the leaders are the slaves. Jesus Himself set this example by coming to serve and not to be served. So, when we consider the accountability of the pastors of the Lord’s churches we must recognize that their authority rests on their responsibility before the Lord. In the Scriptures believers are commanded to obey and submit to their leaders because the leaders will have to give account for the souls under their ministry. This is a grave and sobering reality for anyone who takes this responsibility and it is why men should watch their doctrine and their lifestyles carefully. Honestly, for anyone who takes seriously the commands and instructions of Scripture the weight is too great for any man to truly bear but in humility the Spirit strengthens His servants for the good of His people. Praise the Lord for only He can truly shepherd His people.
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