We’re not all pastors of churches, but we all have a pastoral mission.

Pastors are leaders of this pastoral mission, with the call to oversee, train and guide the members in the ministry. The word ’pastor’ refers to someone who is appointed and anointed to be a shepherd of people, who are likened to sheep, Biblically, not in a derogatory way, but as an example of God’s tenderness towards them. Being pastoral is looking after God’s flocks.

Gifts

The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus, when He ascended, gave gifts to the Church. He appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to oversee and equip the members of the Church for service.

(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…

Ephesians 4:9-12

We could, then, group the ministry of the Church under these five sub-headings. We have been gifted with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, therefore, the Church is to be apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and educational in our mission; educational meaning the training, development and teaching required to help equip the members of the Church in this mission.

We’ll, hopefully, have time to discuss the other sub-headings in subsequent posts, but in this edition we can look at the pastoral attributes of the Church as a whole, and in the local churches as we reach out to our communities and develop the flocks with which we are directly associated.

Called to pastor

Jesus appointed the under-shepherds, or pastors, and, through Peter, gave instructions in their conduct as overseers.

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

1 Peter 5:2-4

The koine Greek word poimēn means ’shepherd,’ ’herdsman,’ or, metaphorically, a ’pastor,’ an overseer of a local or area church, being a gathering of believers organised as a ’flock.’ Jesus is called the Chief Shepherd, and the Shepherd of our souls.

He gathered His sheep to Himself to guide and protect, and gave pastors the role of looking after the sheep as He instructs, and as He would. They are representing His pastoral responsibility.

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:25

What, then, would a shepherd or herdsman do in regard to the sheep? Gather, guard, lead, protect, shelter. In the case of members of the churches, according to the scripture we have just read from Ephesians four, they would also be part of Christ’s process of teaching and training the flocks for the work of the ministry.

The ministry

Let’s have a good look at the whole passage to see what it is that the leadership gifts are called to do amongst the flocks of God.

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Ephesians 4:11-16

Pastors, then, are part of the equipping and training agency of God for the members of the churches. What are the members being trained into? The work of the ministry, the edifying, or building, or development, of the Body of Christ, including towards the advancement into the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, towards completion and perfection, and int the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

That is a huge assignment. Have we come close to this yet? Perhaps not, but we are always striving to attain to God’s call on the shepherds of the sheep to help bring them into this level of faith, understanding and unity of purpose.

Role of the members

But what is the call on the people of God as they are led by pastors in regard to assisting with the growth of the churches towards God’s vision for the Church according to this passage of scripture?

The writer to the Hebrews was adamant that the members of the churches should, at some point have the necessary understanding, experience and knowledge to become teachers in their own right (Heb.5:12). Their task would be to continue with the process of making disciples, that is, meeting with unsaved people with a view to seeing them converted to Christ, and, from then on, taking responsibility for assisting with the discipleship process under the oversight of the lead pastor.

In this environment the members of the congregations have a calling to help provide the pastoral support that assists with building the local church. It is not the responsibility of the lead pastor to do all of the pastoral work in edifying the Body. Rather, it is their vocation to train and equip the members to help build the churches.

Members help evangelise and make disciples. They help settle new converts and develop them as new members of the Body of Christ. The pastoral staff have the role of overseeing the process, but the members have the task of assisting them with the development of the churches.

Working together as one

Notice that Paul writes, ‘the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.’

The whole body is involved in the process. Part of this building process is working together with the other members of the body, the other parts, to cause growth. To edify is to build. We are all to be engaged in this.

Pastors are set apart by God to lead this progress. They are called to train and equip the members, but we have a part to play too. We are to be willing disciples ready to assist those who are gifted as overseers in the ministry, by working together to build the churches in the name of Jesus.