Slipping out of the sanctuary alone after the worship service, Jane's* steps showed discouragement, rejection, and a lack of spiritual ardor. Only a few days before she had told me that her husband had left her for a younger woman. As her pastor, I made an appointment to visit her.
In her living room, she poured out her anguish and bitterness. After an hour had dragged by, she began to repeat her stories of frustration and grief. My patience was gone. I longed for a way out. Forgetting her needs I thought, "She's wasting my precious time."
A feeling of helplessness overwhelmed me. In desperation I prayed, "God, help me." Suddenly her expression changed. With light in her eyes, her complaints stopped and she whispered, "Pastor, I know what's wrong with me. I have placed my husband between myself and God."
Amazed, I affirmed her for her conviction. The spiritual insight Jane had was remarkable. I know that such experiences are not always as dramatic as this one, but as I drove off to my next visit, I marveled at how the Spirit worked in Jane when I prayed for help. I almost missed the experience, as did Jane, by terminating my visit prematurely in frustration. Indeed, God's gift of spiritual discernment is vital in every phase of a pastor's ministry. The words of Paul took on a new meaning to me: "I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and with out offense till the day of Christ" (Phil. 1:9-10, NKJV). Without the Spirit of Christ, all our doings are in essence, vain. When it comes to real ministry, we are only the channels through which His power flows.
God opens our spiritual eyesight in every pastoral encounter. These emerging insights, developed through visitation, can be classified into four areas of consciousness: the sense of pastoral calling, the sense of com mission, the sense of commitment, and the sense of competence.
The sense of calling
Most important, a deep sense of calling has to do with the inner conviction that the pas tor is a representative of Christ. Besides their priestly, prophetic, and evangelistic functions, pastors, like shepherds, are primarily responsible for the care of their flock. Not only are personal visits the best way of doing so, but they promote harmony within the congregation and support educational and evangelistic programs as well. * God sends pas tors as the message incarnated. 2 Divine messages are always sent by messengers. When pastors make visits, they help their members to a better understanding of a pas tor's role and function and thus enhance the spiritual health of the congregation. Christ's call to His disciples to feed the flock recorded in John 21:15-17, is definitely relevant today.
Diligent visitation in homes, combined with spirit-filled preaching in the pulpit, results in members filled with power and enthusiasm for their Lord. A positive response to Christ's commission to nurture motivates them to love. People need love, care, and renewal. Both sensitivity and communication identify a caring pastor who represents a comforting and redeeming God.3
Pastoral service is incomplete without visitation because pastoral presence reminds both the visitor and the visited that God is love. God's divine presence when communicated through a pastor inspires the members to be active in fellowship and worship. Such dynamic pastoral ministry is evidence that the pastoral call plays a part in the fulfillment of Christ's promise of sending another Comforter (John 14:16).
The sense of commission
The sense of commission mandated by Christ in John 21:15-19 challenges pastors to provide nurture to their congregations through pastoral presence. God uses the presence of His willing agents to enrich relationships and to remind the world about the plan of salvation. Christ came to this world 2,000 years ago clothed in human flesh in order to save human beings. He came to live, to minister, and to die on the cross for our sin. Salvation cannot be assured apart from Christ.4 An active response to Christ's commission, both in nurture and outreach, helps parishioners to understand the way God works for every person.
Christ Himself visited those He ministered to. He went to them in their homes, by the wayside, or one-on-one in the temple (Luke 4:6). Some of the most touching narratives in the Gospels describe Christ's visits. For example, Christ visited with Nicodemus, the woman at the well,Lazarus, and later, His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias and on the Emmaus Road (Luke 13-32; John 3:1-8; 4:7-24; 11:1-7; 21:1-6). Christ demonstrated compassion, insight, and understanding in His visits. Similarly, pastors who provide pastoral care for their congregations become role-models who inspire others to action.
Pastoral visitation reflects a deep awareness of a pastor's own faith. Particularly at this point in history, every pastor should portray comfort and care since the day of redemption is near. A pastor should live so that the Holy Spirit can be manifested in the confusion of these last days.Following the example of Jesus, who comforted His followers personally, is just as important as preaching or witnessing. Christ's teaching about the Good Shepherd attempts to inspire His disciples to be leaders of the flock and to seek the lost sheep (John 10:14-17).
The sense of commitment
The sense of commitment to pastoral visitation requires preparation of the whole being. The world renowned Seventh-day Adventist preacher, H. M. S. Richards raised three questions about ministry calculated to help pas tors commit themselves to a caring ministry. The questions could well be asked before each pastoral visit to provide the pastor with focus and spiritual direction: (1) What am I? (2) What have I done? Why am I here? (3) From what principles do I under take this work?5
Pondering these questions has guided me in my visitation. Answering them honestly can be helpful. For example, these questions prompted me to examine my personal and professional identity when I visited Jane. I was a young pastor then. I had just been assigned to my church. Still in my thirties, my energy was strong and ambitious. But lurking beneath the surface of my progressive pastoral aspirations were the quicksands of self-centeredness and self-consciousness, waiting to jeopardize the effectiveness of my true vocational journey. But thank God for His effective guidance and that of a few spiritual mentors whose humility and wisdom taught me the steps to take in my practice of ministry, and who helped me in effect to apply the Richards questions to my situation. My visit with Jane could have been disastrous if my pastoral value systems had been in a state of erosion. However, with my wife's encouragement, we helped Jane per severe in her faith and cope with her crisis. A few years have elapsed since that experience, and I find that what I learned then is perhaps even more important now.
The sense of competence
Besides being called, commissioned, and committed, pastors should enhance their ministry with a sense of competence that should accompany them as they visit. In order to be competent, a pastor should acquire certain basic skills. Here are six suggestions:
1. Administer wisely and plan intelligently. Keeping good records and setting realistic goals to meet the spiritual needs and faith development of a congregation ensures an effective visitation program. Our God is a God of order. Systematic and organized efforts are required in doing God's work.
2. Team up with others. All churches usually have at least a few church members with whom it is difficult to relate. Additional support is needed in such cases. Making pastoral visits two by two is advisable because the gifts of one complement those of the other. Christ sent His disciples out in twos (Mark 6:7). A spouse, colleague, or elder who can fulfill such a role can be invaluable.
3. Create a supportive staff. A well-organized administrative secretary makes some of the telephone calls to ensure that parishioners are home and helps to organize visitation and other pastoral functions. In this busy world, it often takes an average of ten telephone calls in order to set up one appointment for the pastor. Often, having such a person (perhaps on a voluntary basis) is not as impossible as it seems in some situations.
4. Equip laypersons. Pastoral responsibilities are not complete without an ongoing training of others in the skills of visitation.6 Training lay people to work may be difficult in the beginning, but its effectiveness multiplies in the long term. Teaming up with trained elders or lay persons to visit some of the difficult members can be a wise approach.
5. Develop prudence and tact. Pastors should respect church members= time and privacy. I love to use holidays or Sabbath afternoons to visit members in addition to evening visits during the week. Many of my appointments have been made by asking certain church members after worship service whether they could be available in the afternoon. Pastors should not drop into members' homes unexpectedly.
6. Make referrals. Pastors should admit their limitations and make referrals when specialists are required. The contemporary world has ushered in extremely complicated spiritual, social, economic, and political issues. Pastors are being prudent when they refer some of their perplexed parishioners to those who specialize in relevant areas of expertise.
Conclusion
In this age of email, telecommunication, and the Internet, pastoral visits are by no means obsolete. Though pastors should employ these devices, they should not be allowed to take the place of fulfilling Christ's basic commission to tend to the flock. There is no substitute for personal visitation. Christ could have sent His angels to appear on the wide screen of the universe but He came to visit us. He visited once and promised to come again.
Shouldn't pastors make pastoral visiting a top priority?
* Jane is a pseudonym.
1. E. N. Jackson, "Calling and Visitation, Pastoral," Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1990), 115.
2. H. M. S. Richards, Feed My Sheep (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958), 85.
3. C. Raymond Holmes, The Last Word (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1987), 110.
4. Hans K. LaRondelle, Christ Our Salvation (Sarasota, Fla.: First Impressions, 1998), 12.
5. Richards, 83.
6. Ellen G. White, Pastoral Ministry (Silver Spring, Md.: General Conference Ministerial Association, 1995), 226.
