For some people, the word “pastor” evokes the blue water paintings of church nurseries. The shepherd cradles a sheep as the sun sets behind him in colorful sheaves. Or he’s leaning on his cane, looking at a green field like colored. Pencils. He has blue eyes and long wavy hair, his gaze is solemn and his robe is impeccable.
But when the Apostle Peter used the word “pastor,” his readers imagined a breeder. This guy works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, monitors pastures, surrounds fleeing animals, provides first aid, repairs broken horns and makes sure sheep are safe and well fed. This guy works hard, gets dirty and always knows how to manage his staff like no one else.
- When did Peter say.
- Worship the flock of God?(1Pedro 5.
- 2).
- He has everything in mind.
- A shepherd of God’s people takes care of him.
- Is responsible for nourishing you with the Word of God in his preaching.
- Counsel.
- And even daily conversations.
- He is responsible for protecting the sheep from false teachers.
- From poison from false doctrine.
- And from the influence of the world.
- Is there a reason for that? This is the most important metaphor in the scriptures for the role of the pastor.
- “The fundamental responsibility of church leaders.
- ” says Tim Witmer.
- “is to shepherd God’s flock.
- “His success in the ministry is always linked to his well -being.
But what exactly is the shepherd of God’s flock like?It means several different things.
It means wanting and being willing to look
The term “grazing” (1Pedro 5. 2) comes from the Greek episkopeo. Does that literally mean?And it includes the idea of watching carefully or diligently. In his book Shepherds After My Own Heart, Timothy Laniak defines him as “vigilant attention to threaten anything that could disperse or destroy the herd. “The shepherd is a caretator, with boots on the ground, ready to be worn by the supreme shepherd to guide and protect his flock.
It means loving
In practice, the pastor means loving people. You can’t love to serve and be hated by people. The call is a call to love sheep. “Loving preaching,” Lloyd-Jones says, “is one thing; Is loving those we preach totally different?A man called of God to guide his flock loves both, and both are essential to the task. The necessary study and reflection of the pastor will not make him an academic hermit; instead, his study should lead him to cultivate the church more efficiently. You must have a basic ability to communicate God’s heart and love to God’s people.
It means connecting the care of the supreme pastor
The local church immerses pastors in the things of life. Consider the mysteries of the human experience: the childless couple who have just had their third miscarriage, the new convert still caught up in a lifetime addiction, the claimant who has just lost his job, the dying sinner in the face of the certainty of tragedy. In these desperate times, who is appointed to lead God’s people through the unexplained valleys to drink from the currents of Providence and the Goodness of God?Who will remind us that the supreme shepherd is the good shepherd (John 10:11)?No one but the pastors of the church. What a glorious demonstration of God’s grace: to create a special office for our care during periods of tribulation and suffering. Away from the reflectors and media of Christianity, take care of the work of a shepherd in the dark, to keep people’s souls. sheep to the supreme shepherd.
By: Dave Harvey, © 2014 Call Me? Original: How do I know if I can be a pastor?
Translation: Joel Pedro Cavani Review: Yago Martins © 2016 Faithful Ministério All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: I feel called to the ministry: what should I do?
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