“If Jesus came back today, he wouldn’t cleanse the temple, he’d cleanse the pulpit.” – Leonard Ravenhill
To continue my mini-series on admonishing leaders in the church, I now turn my attention towards pastors and for those seeking to become a pastor. Before we begin, if you happen to be a children’s pastor, youth pastor or worship pastor, I encourage you to check out my previous blog posts in this series. Links are provided below:
A Word for Next-Gen Church Leaders
A Word for Worship Pastors and Song Leaders
For those who don’t know by now, I have been undergoing a process to get credentialed with the Assemblies of God. I am on track to get licensed by the end of the year but I plan to continue the process to get ordained. With that said, this blog is just as much for me as it is the pastor who has been doing ministry for five or 50 years.
As a man with a call in ministry, I have learned a great deal about the scriptures and what it takes to do ministry effectively. Even though I personally have little experience doing ministry and still have a lot to learn, my eyes have been opened to how poorly ministry is conducted in the church today. Sunday morning church services have become a repetitious mundane ritual where people show up to hear some music and to listen to a message. As the clock ticks closer to twelve, most people have already mentally checked out thinking about the lunch menu or the football game. In essence, pastors have become slaves to their flock and the flock slaves to their smartphones and watches. Surely there is more to ministry than preaching a thirty minute message and putting people to sleep!
So what is ministry suppose to look like? Jesus provided us a formula for ministry yet so many church leaders are failing the standard that Jesus set before us. Jesus choose twelve ordinary men and discipled them for three years. When it was time for Jesus to leave, He said to them the following:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
Jesus taught His disciples for a moment and then we find Him essentially saying to them, “Now it’s your turn.” Jesus empowered and entrusted His students to become ministers. Too many pastors today focus on being well-liked, preaching good sermons, and having a large congregation. Although these things are generally considered products of a successful ministry, the mission of a pastor is something far greater than those things. The goal of a pastor should not be having the largest church in town; the goal of a pastor is to equip and empower the flock to DO ministry!
Back in June, I got to attend the annual West Texas Assemblies of God District Celebration in Amarillo. During the opening night, our District Superintendent, Glenn Beaver, made a statement that has been on my mind for many weeks. Before his sermon, he said there was a shortage of pastors in our district and the average age of a senior pastor today is 54 years old. This should not be so but what is happening in many churches is our pastors are failing to equip and empower their congregations to do ministry. Many laypeople can sit comfortably in the same pew for ten to thirty years and not do a single thing for the kingdom. Many of them believe they are being faithful by just going to church; however, no-one is called to be a pew warmer. We are ALL called to do ministry to some capacity. The author of Hebrews addressed this very issue in their letter to the Jewish believers.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV
To equip people for ministry means a pastor must trust people. Too many pastors have been burned in the past and have issues trusting people. That is why some pastors feel the need to do everything themselves or to micromanage other ministries within the church body whether it be the song service or the Sunday school lesson; but on the contrary, the church is described as a body with unique functioning parts that all work together to achieve a common goal. What good would it do if the hand acted on its own without the arm or shoulder? No good at all! A pastor needs people to operate effectively as the body of Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). Moses once tried to lead an entire nation on his own but his father-in-law, Jethro, gave him one of the greatest words of advice that any pastor today can take to the bank – don’t do ministry alone! (See Exodus 18:13-27).
To trust people means to allow room for growth. People will not be perfect and mistakes will certainly occur. Jesus’ disciples were far from perfect. They doubted (Matthew 14:22-33), they fought with each other (Luke 22:24-30), and even abandoned Jesus at the darkest hour (Luke 22:54-62). Despite their flaws, Jesus still loved them and discipled them into mighty men who would later be empowered with the Holy Spirit to shake the kingdom of darkness and to lay down their lives for the gospel.
Now this goes with saying, trust must always accompany vigilance and prayer. Jesus knew that private prayer must precede public ministry (see Mark 1:35-39). Many pastors today have neglected the duty of prayer and rely on their own wisdom when empowering people in the church. Instead of seeking the Holy Spirit for guidance, pastors look at factors such as church attendance, talent, and the amount of money dropped in the offering plate but these things never reveal the true condition of the heart. Prayerlessness is the reason why controversy strikes in the church and the reason we ask ourselves ‘how could the worship pastor get his girlfriend pregnant’ or ‘how could a demon possessed person who practices witchcraft be selected to join the prayer team?’ Former General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Thomas Trask, once said, “At the core of every moral failure of a ministry is a prayerless life.” Nobody in their right mind would knowingly make a pedophile a children’s teacher but these mistakes happen because pastors fail to take it to the Lord in prayer. Pastors must live a lifestyle of prayer in order to lead people effectively!
“If we are not praying about our decision or interceding for God’s will, then we might plunge dangerously ahead into what looks like a good choice.” – UNKNOWN
Lastly, a person in the ministry must be humble and submitted to the authority and the lordship of Jesus Christ. A credential does not make a minister credible by default. A title does not grant a person authority. Years of experience does not qualify someone as a good leader. And just because a person is a second or third generation minister does not mean they carry the anointing. For a pastor to be effective in the ministry, they must be humble and understand that the position he or she holds does not entitle them to be prideful or incorrigible. God will NOT share the glory with another person or thing. God and God alone must receive all the credit and glory for every success in the ministry. As leaders in the church, we must always remember that ALL authority belongs to Jesus. None of the authority is ours; Jesus simply gives us permission to act on His behalf as His ambassadors! So let us all become the leaders that God has called us to be!
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV
Joshua Hawk 