It is a good thing for a pastor to give study from time to time to his role in the work of the church and to the relationships that exist between pastor and people. Why in our church do we have pastors? What is the work of a pastor? What do the laymen have a right to expect from their pastor?
The word pastor originally meant "a shepherd." Its meaning now is "a spiritual overseer," "one who is in charge of a church or parish." The work of a pastor is that of overseeing the flock of God. He is the one who has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the church members along the pathway toward the kingdom and feeding them the words of life that will nourish their souls.
Preach the Word
Of His own ministry, Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:10, 11). The pastor is interested in leading his people into the more abundant life. He is interested in his people to such an extent that he will give his life in service for them. In his charge to the young pastor, Timothy, Paul said, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:2). This is the first work of the pastor. He is to "preach the word." Jesus, when He commissioned His disciples, said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).
The word preach comes from a Greek word meaning "to herald." A herald was an official messenger who proclaimed publicly the decrees of a king or government official. Paul compares the preacher of the gospel with such a messenger. The pastor is to proclaim the good news of salvation from the King of the universe.
Many things are expected of a pastor today. He must be a good administrator, a good financier, a good social mixer, a good visitor; but above all his other duties he must be a preacher. This is his chief work. His primary responsibility is not to gather funds, to raise goals, to lead financial drives, to promote special projects, or to be an entertainer. His work is to preach. Other things have their place in the overall program of the church, but they must be secondary to the work of preaching the gospel. Jesus did not commission His disciples to go into all the world and raise money, build buildings, conduct campaigns, or promote some new program. He commissioned them to preach in all the world.
Ministry More Than a Profession
We say correctly that the ministry is not just a profession but a calling. By that we mean that the man does not choose the work, God chooses the man. It is the only work for which men are ordained. When a man is ordained he is ordained to preach the Word. This is God's way of communicating truth to mankind. To the church at Corinth, Paul wrote: "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. . . . For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:17-21). In the eyes of the world preaching is foolishness, but to those who are saved it is the power of God.
The preaching that saves is the preaching that is Christ centered. Paul did not win people in his day by preaching a fanciful message based on sensational disclosures or ear-tickling doctrines. He preached the cross of Christ, repugnant though the thought of it was to many of his hearers. "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:23, 24).
Meet Needs of Flock
To preach the Word means to preach a message that is adequate to meet the needs of men and women who are wrestling with sin day by day. People come to church from all walks of life, with all kinds of problems pressing in upon them. They face problems that run the gamut of human experience. Some are wrestling with temptations that are overpowering; some are burdened with guilt that keeps them from feeling accepted with God; still others have home and family problems. The preaching of the Word is to help them meet the problems of life in God's way. It is to help them gain spiritual strength, new insight into themselves and their problems, and to receive the assurance that God cares and understands and is willing to forgive all manner of sin. In preaching such a message there is no place for levity, for storytelling just for the story's sake, or for words that please but do not reach the heart. The pastor is a living link between the all-sufficiency of God and the needs of men. His sermons will not only be pleasing but they will lead the hearers to the Word of God that contains the answer to all men's needs.
Timothy was admonished to be "instant in season, out of season." He was to be ready to minister the grace of Christ at all times. The pastor is not only to preach at the designated hours of worship but he is always to be ready to minister to the needs of his people. He is on call at any time his services are needed.
The pastor is a counselor on many subjects, but he is not just an information service. Routine calls for information about church members should be directed to the church clerk, or someone designated to provide such information, and the pastor should spend his time in a spiritual ministry of helping people who need his unique contribution to their spiritual growth and well-being.
Visit in Sickness and Trouble
The pastor stands by the side of his members in any crisis experience in which his presence as a representative of God can be of help. He likes to share their experiences of joy that call for giving thanks to God. He is happy to talk with people about their personal problems and provide a sympathetic, listening ear when they feel they must share their innermost feelings with someone who will understand them.
The pastor calls on those of his flock who are ill. Illness is a traumatic experience that can cause great anxiety. A person who is confined to his bed has a lot of time to think about the meaning of life and its ultimate values. Sometimes his thoughts are not healthy thoughts. His past sins and mistakes rise up to haunt him, and he is filled with guilt and remorse. He wonders whether this illness is in punishment for his sins. He needs to hear the assurance from someone he trusts that God is willing to forgive all his sins and remember them no more. He needs the opportunity of talking out his anxiety and remorse, and this in itself is often a healing process. Every pastor has had the experience of being thanked for the help he was to a person, when in reality the only thing he did was listen. There is an art to listening at the proper time and with the proper feeling.
The pastor should visit people who are going to have surgery. It is helpful for him to visit before the operation as well as after.
One patient said, "It is an awfully good feeling to know that a minister is thinking about you when you're going to surgery.- Surgery at best involves a certain amount of tension and risk, and it is good for the patient to know that he is at peace with God before the surgeon begins his work.
A pastor often visits those with terminal illnesses. He is not there to reveal to the patient any more about the nature of the illness than he knows from his family or physician, although many times he knows more about his condition than he reveals to others. Those who realize that their remaining days on earth are few often welcome the opportunity of talking with a spiritual advisor concerning their faith and the Christian's hope. Great peace can come into the life of one whose last days are spent with the assurance of forgiveness of sins and acceptance with Christ.
Pastors can help people work through their grief over the loss of a loved one. When the funeral service is over much remains to be done to help the family adjust to their loss. Grief can be a very normal process, but sometimes it can become abnormal. Bottled-up emotion will find a way out, and if it is not expressed in a normal way it will find expression in an abnormal way. A pastor understands grief situations and stands ready to help people meet grief in such a way that it will bring restoration to their emotional lives and help them make the proper adjustment.
Family Counselor
The birth of a new baby in a family gives the pastor an opportunity to visit the home. This occasion is a time for giving thanks to the Lord for the new life and to ask His guidance in bringing up the child according to God's plan. Perhaps now, more than at any other time, these parents will be more responsive to the Spirit's leading, and the pastor can counsel concerning the responsibilities of parents to make their home a foretaste of heaven right here on earth.
The pastor realizes how important spiritual well-being is in the establishing of lasting family ties. The goal of making the home a Christian home should be held before those whose lives are to be united in marriage. The responsibility of the pastor toward the couple begins when the engagement is announced and plans for marriage are first considered. The pastor should counsel with them on subjects relating to home and family life, discussing with them God's plan for the home, the place of religion in their lives, children in the family, family finances, relationship toward parents, et cetera. There is no experience of life into which we send our young people with as little preparation as into marriage, and we are paying a heavy price for our neglect in the broken homes and wounded lives that follow. The pastor who unites two lives so that they are as one has a responsibility to lay the groundwork for a lasting marriage through counseling with the couple about the duties, responsibilities, and obligations they are contracting to fulfill and how best to achieve the goal of a happy marriage. A little time spent in preparing young people for marriage will reap rich rewards in a harvest of happiness to follow.
Even the best of Christians have personal problems and need on occasion to talk with someone who will not be judgmental or condemnatory. People with problems need understanding, and they need to feel that they can turn to the church for help. The church is a helping institution, and one of its responsibilities is to accept people as they are and help them achieve that which God made them capable of attaining.
The pastor does not have simple answers to meet every situation, but he is a person with whom others can share their problems. He acts like a catalyst in a chemical reaction. A catalyst accelerates a chemical change without entering into the reaction. The pastor, by his presence, accelerates the reaction to a problem, but he does not force himself into the solution. He gives encouragement and support and helps the individual work through his problem and determine the course of action he should follow.
To the pastor has been entrusted the work of making Christ real and personal to those who need Him so much. His time should not be spent just in social visiting when his people need spiritual help. When he visits his parishioners it is to help them find fulfillment of their needs through a living, abiding faith in Christ. The words that were read to him at his ordination keep ringing in his ears and keep him everlastingly at his work: "Preach the word: he instant in season, out of season. . . . Make full proof of thy ministry" (2 Tim. 4:2-5).
