“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”The pastor’s job is not a mystery.
Although not much is said about the position of Pastor directly in the Bible, what is said is clear. It does not require a supernatural experience to find the “vision” God has for the church, and it is not about advancing your own burdens, or gaining influence. It does not change from year to year. It is simply to build up the body of Christ to full maturity by equipping God’s people for service!
The goal is maturity for every believer. The process is plain: equip them to serve God. The experience gained from serving God will accomplish the rest.
Watch the simple process laid out here:
1. Equip and prepare God’s people for works of service.
The Greek word is katartismos, which means “complete furnishing, equipping.” The pastor’s job is to provide the equipment (teaching, training, resources, and authority) needed for the individuals in the church to serve God.
2. The service that comes from the individual people will build up the whole body of Christ.
I’m not talking church growth in numbers here, but the healing and unity of the people currently in the church. As the pastor equips the individuals to service, and gives them room to serve, make mistakes, and learn, the people within the church begin to have a stronger walk with God.
3. As the whole church is grows stronger, people begin to find unity and maturity in their service.
The idea is common-sense. It’s easy to criticize someone when you are just watching. When you actually try to do things yourself you gain a while new respect for the people who are accomplishing things. As the individuals gain respect for the work others are doing, it brings us to unity, even when we disagree, and it brings us to maturity in Christ, as we put into practice what Jesus taught.
4. The maturity of the believer leads us to the full measure of Christ.
In Gal. 4, Paul says that the immature believer is still treated as a slave, under the guardianship of the law. Yet a mature believer is set free from the law, like a young adult is set free from the guardians of their childhood. With that “spiritual adulthood” comes the inheritance planned for us. We cannot receive the fullness of what Christ has for us until we mature.
Notice that without the proper equipping of the individuals to ministry, nothing happens. Yet once the individual is equipped to minister, and they take advantage of that opportunity, amazing things happen naturally! Each individual in the church should be actively equipped for some sort of ministry – that makes every Christian a minister!
No comments:
Post a Comment