Shepherd the flock

I have to admit as I start this blog that I have some reservations. It does seem that posting a blog on the Web is a bit self-indulgent. After all, who am I to plaster my thoughts to a number of people whom I may never meet. Will anyone care what I have to say? Should anyone care what I have to say?

Someone is probably asking, “Well then, bubba, why are you writing a blog?” The answer is that I feel a compelling call by the Lord to present an avenue for discussion and dialogue about the things of God, His Son, and His word. And I do acknowledge that there are any number of people out there today who have the same call and can create a far more productive dialogue and discussion than can I, but I do feel led to present this forum. So here goes …

First up, what is my role as the pastor of a church body? Pastors often wear many hats. We are administrators, preachers, teachers, counselors, defenders, hospital visitors, marriage license signers, vision-casters, etc. We may preach sermons on Sundays, create worship plans on Mondays, clean the toilets when they overflow on Tuesday, pray with a family who has lost a member on Wednesday, deliver food to a needy family on Thursday, moderate a business meeting on Friday, and occasionally take a day off once every month or two. And the pastor’s job is never sure and consistent. There are times when calls require us to shift our priorities to meet serious, urgent needs among our congregation members or others in our community.

Having said all of that, I do think there are some biblical mandates for what a pastor is to be and to do. Ephesians 4:11-12 says that God, “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” This passage tells us two things. First, the role of the pastor is to train the congregation (the saints) to be equiped as God’s servants and workers. Second, the pastor’s role is to train the congregation so that the body of Christ is built up (not so that the pastor’s individual church to grow numerically).

In 1 Timothy 4:2, Paul instructs his protégé, Timothy to, “preach the word, be ready in season and out of season: reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” Here Paul instructs Pastor Timothy to be ever-ready to preach the gospel message and to urge his flock toward spiritual maturity.
Finally, Jesus’ closest disciple, Peter, instructs all pastors and elders in 1 Peter 5:2-3 to, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” So the pastor is to lead and direct, but he also is to be an example of righteousness to the flock. That’s a tall order, and one that must be considered with all seriousness. My prayer is that I am worthy of the call God has placed in my life and that I do Him great honor by my faithful obedience to His word.