In one verse, the Apostle Paul shows us four great truths of pastoral ministry:
1) The importance of the pastor’s character :?Do you take your own mind?
2) The importance of our call: “Did the Holy Ghost make you bishops?
3) The importance of recognizing that we care for sheep belonging to another:?Worship God’s Church?
4) The importance of those you love :?What did you buy with your own blood?
So here we see the character of the shepherd, the call of the shepherd, the Lord of the flock, the value of the flock; without these things, a pastor will not be able to be a shepherd in a healthy way.
We must remember that the pastorate is a vocation and not a profession, as Pastor John Piper points out, we are not professionals, we do not obtain pastoral care by career or contract, but only by the call of God.
What makes someone a shepherd is not their reputation, but their character. What constitutes a shepherd is not his knowledge, but his wisdom. What makes a shepherd a person is not his ability to give orders, but his ability to serve.
In the Old Testament, we see three figures
? Prophet: proclaimed the Word of God
? Priest: personal care of sheep
? King: leading God’s people
In the New Testament we see that these three functions come together in the figure of the shepherd, called to proclaim the Word of God, to care for the sheep and to lead the flock.
If we want to be pastors of healthy churches, we must awaken to the need to teach the Word. There are many reasons for a sick church, but there is also a sick pulpit.
At the beginning of the mountain sermon, we see that Jesus, seeing the multitude, teaches him first Show us this that if we want to be pastors of healthy churches, we have to serve the Lord’s diet?God.
At the end of the sermon, the multitude marveled at the authority of the Lord; the pastor must remember that in the exercise of his prophetic function, he must preach with authority, but without being authoritarian, this authority does not come from that of a good oratory. , but from a lifestyle of holiness outside the pulpit. A shepherd is not only a preacher, but someone who has fulfilled the image of Christ to show the sheep what a life is dedicated to the cause of Christ. The bishop is called to be innocent.
In Matthew 9:35-38, another time Jesus saw a multitude, we read that he had compassion from the multitude, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (not a multitude without a preacher). It’s a good shepherd’s feature. Do you feel sympathy for sheep?And that’s not something you learn in the department.
When Jesus asks Peter if he loves him, He shows him that if the Apostle loves him, he must love, heal, graze, feed the flock of Christ. Good preaching does not replace the pastoral and tender heart, which hurts and weeps for sheep.
Jesus led his disciples, now turning them away from the multitude, now taking them to the service of the multitude; Likewise, the pastor is called to lead God’s people, and for this he must be firm in his call, in his role and in the will of God. God, because everyone has an idea of what he believes the pastor should do, just as Christ rebuked Peter when he tried to deceive him, the pastor must have a clear idea of his role and God’s will not to deviate from his purpose. .
The pastor also needs a respectful fear of holiness towards God, because when he loses it, the people he leads turn away from God, even continuing their religious activities.
And, after exercising all this, the pastor should remember that he is not sufficiently server (1Co 4. 1). As much as he is known to men, before God he is not a celebrity, but a servant, just as Christ washed his feet. of the disciples, the pastor is called to serve those god has placed in his care, even if he is a traitor like Judas.
The pastor must recognize that the best adornment for his ministry is a life of service and humility, the branch that bears the most fruit is the one that descends.