Reflection and Application on the Facets of Pastoral Ministry

Introduction

The pastor’s job is a difficult one. Not only are they expected to carry out their duties on Sunday at church and other weekly meetings, but their responsibilities transcend what is commonly assumed. Sunday services are expected to “be gospel-centered through regular preaching that lifts up Christ through the exposition of the Word, and [provide an] order of service that serve[s] to exalt Christ,”¹ yet this gospel-centeredness is not meant for Sundays alone. Primarily, the pastor’s job includes being Gospel-centered in various facets: evangelism, discipleship, preaching, teaching, corporate worship, and leadership, so that the Gospel is reflected throughout their entire life. Therefore, in this essay, I will reflect on the crucial aspects of pastoral ministry, seek to understand them in light of the Word of God and apply them to my life. While I am not yet a pastor, I do recognize aspects of my life that are pastoral in nature, and I know this wisdom derived from God’s Word will not only prepare me to be a Christ-exalting pastor in the near future but also equip me to minister to those around me today.

Evangelism

Before this semester, and before I had taken a class titled Evangelism and Discipleship, I needed to be more diligent about evangelism. I often found myself being led to share the Gospel with those around me, yet I frequently feared doing so, only finding myself sharing with my family and close friends rather than going out into the world to tell of the work of my Savior, Jesus. However, during the course, I was required to share the Gospel multiple times, and I greatly benefitted from it, no longer fearing to do so to the same extent as previously. With that said, no longer fearing evangelism means I could learn more about it without being hindered during this course, and I indeed did learn.

The most apparent command for evangelism within the Scriptures is known as the Great Commission, and it is found in five locations (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:44-49; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:8). The Gospel of Matthew, however, provides the basic idea of the Great Commission well: “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).² Jesus’ disciples were meant to go into the world to share the Great News about Him with everyone they came across, to make them disciples, and to teach them. Yet this question is crucial: how are the disciples supposed to make disciples and teach them if they do not share the Message first, and what is this Message? The Message, of course, is the Gospel. It is summarized in this way: Jesus Christ, Who is God Incarnate, lived the perfect life, died the death that we deserve, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and reigns with the Father, and through believing in His sacrifice and victory and turning from our sins, He gives us eternal life and fellowship with God. Indeed, this glorious Message is not the evangelist’s Message alone; It is the Message of the pastor who shares the Good News with his congregation and everyone he comes across. Indeed, a pastor is an evangelist, just as all Christians are called to be evangelists by God.

A word from Jared Wilson reflects this Christocentric sentiment:

True pastoral ministry does not begin with leadership skills or strategies, but with [G]ospel exultation. It begins with worship. You [a pastor have] been taken apart by the glory of Christ and put back together by the glory of Christ, and you want to have nothing to do with ministry that has nothing to do with the glory of Christ. The [G]ospel is our central [M]essage.³ This makes absolute sense to those who’ve become so overwhelmed with the glory of Christ and so fixated on the wondrous story of [H]is sinless life, sacrificial death, and powerful resurrection that they wouldn’t spend time on anything else. They couldn’t keep this glory to themselves. For others, it seems remedial, assumptive. But, pastor, everything your people need is bound up in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

Wilson hits the nail on the head with these profound and moving words. Not only do they demonstrate that the pastor must be so overwhelmed with joy in the Gospel that his Gospel joy overflows in evangelistic exultation, but that it overflows in all areas of his life, for “[he] wouldn’t spend time on anything else.” Therefore, it is proper to reappropriate Wilson, “But, pastor, everything [the world] need[s] is bound up in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.”⁴ I am resolved and compelled by this Gospel joy to tell of the wondrous work of Jesus to all people I come across.

Discipleship and Disciple-Making

While the first imperative of the Great Commission is to “go,” the second is to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19). What does it mean to make disciples? It means to guide them in following Jesus, His Gospel, and His law, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer explains the practice according to this definition: “Discipleship means adherence to the person of Jesus, and therefore submission to the law of Christ which is the law of the cross… When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”⁵ This definition is derived from Christ’s words in Mark 8:34-35: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Therefore, since pastors are also disciples of Jesus themselves, they must deny themselves daily, even so far as dying to themselves. Only then can they guide others to do the same. However, as Bonhoeffer does, it is essential to clarify that “every man is called separately, and must follow alone,” just as Christ went to the cross alone.⁶ This does not mean that community, fellowship, or discipleship are to be avoided but that the Christian life is an individual journey meant to be shared with others, both encouraging them and being encouraged by them.

So, how does a pastor achieve this practically? To understand this, pastoral counseling is helpful as an example of a form of discipleship. As demonstrated, the purpose of discipleship is to grow into Christ-likeness, and this is done through the work of the Spirit, but sometimes, help from others is necessary. R. Kent Hughes makes this point: “We are to cooperate with God’s Spirit in our sanctification. But we often need help identifying weights, putting off sin, and remaining encouraged and supported… the faithful pastoral counselor works in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to help God’s people live and grow into maturity in Christ.”⁷ Of course, discipleship is so much more than pastoral counseling, but the example adequately explains the purpose and process of discipleship for a pastor. Therefore, I am, again, resolved to be a lifelong disciple and disciple-maker, as a pastor or as something else.

Preaching

Preaching is yet another facet of pastoral ministry, and while I have prepared many lessons for small groups of Christians, I have only preached to a congregation once. While my practice of preaching needs a lot of work, my theory and understanding of preaching are on their way to being Christ-exalting.

Preaching is comparable to evangelism. Its primary message varies based on the context and passage preached, yet the Gospel should always be a significant part or point of the sermon. That is to say, evangelism is for the salvation of others or preparing them for it, and preaching is for the edification of a congregation or the building up of the body. Both disciplines and facets of ministry seek to see the improvement and salvation of others, for Paul explains salvation in three different tenses: past, present, and future (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 5:1; 1 Cor. 1:18; Phil. 2:12-13; Rom. 5:9-10; 1 Pet. 1:5). These tenses equate to justification, sanctification, and glorification, and this is revealed in God’s plan for the fullness of time: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30). But why is sanctification not included in this Golden Chain of Redemption? In this passage, Paul focuses on the monergistic work of God in securing salvation for His elect, while sanctification requires cooperation and is then, by definition, synergistic. This is evidenced by Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” With all of this said, why is this theology so important for preaching? It is because the pastor preaches to remind those justified of their salvation through the Word of God, to command obedience based on imperatives from the Word, which relates to sanctification, and to elucidate the complexities and promise that Christ will come again to save His people at the end of the age. Furthermore, this monogenistic declaration of preaching aligns with pervasive emphases of preaching: the glory of God, Christ crucified, and obedience of faith.⁸ Pastors preach to magnify God for who He is and what He has done, and they encourage obedience as a response to those two realities.

Because I wish to magnify the Lord in a magnificent yet simple and faithful way and see the salvation, past, present, and future, of others, I am resolved to preach accordingly. I acknowledge that I need much practice, and I am committed to asking for help from my current pastors regarding Christ-exalting and Trinitarian preaching.

Teaching

The fourth facet of pastoral ministry is teaching, and I am partial to this facet because the Lord has led me to desire to teach professionally. As mentioned, I have led several studies and prepared many lessons, so I am well accustomed to this facet of ministry, yet I know there is still room for improvement.

The great Baptist, Prince of Preachers, and faithful minister of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London during the Victorian Era fulfilled the position of teacher to his students of the Pastors College.⁹ He wrote Lectures to My Students, containing a significant wealth of pastoral wisdom and knowledge, and this eagerness and commitment to his students demonstrates the facet of teaching. Because these lectures are addressed to future pastors, much of the following information will be relevant to many aspects of ministry, yet Spurgeon’s practical words demonstrate his commitment to teaching. Firstly, Spurgeon recognizes that an “aptness to teach” is a qualification for the pastor, and this agrees with the qualification set by Paul: “[A]n overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, [and] able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2, emphasis added).

Furthermore, Spurgeon recognizes that “an aptness to teach” alone is not enough to qualify one for pastoral ministry:

Sound judgment and solid experience must instruct you; gentle manners and loving affections must sway you; firmness and courage must be manifest; and tenderness and sympathy must not be lacking. Gifts administrative in ruling well will be as requisite as gifts instructive in teaching well. You must be fitted to lead, prepared to endure, and able to persevere. In grace, you should be head and shoulders above the rest of the people, able to be their father and counselor.¹⁰

These qualifications and practices are as relevant for teaching as they are for preaching, for both preaching and teaching are pastoral roles. While teaching is more concerned with knowledge and instruction than declaring God’s character and deeds through the Word, it is still crucial that the teacher radiates and practices what he teaches. Spurgeon says, “[W]hen God calls us to ministerial labor [include teaching] we should endeavor to get grace that we may be strengthened into fitness for our position and not be mere novices carried away by the temptations of Satan, to the injury of the church and our own ruin.”¹¹ In other words, teachers must be educated in doctrines, history, or whatever they may teach, as well as in practice and discipline.

I have seen this logic in my experience and calling as a teacher. I wish not to teach Christians how to be pastors without first being a pastor, which includes all the same qualifications. That is why I am resolved to finish my education, be further qualified for pastoral ministry, to shepherd a congregation, and teach to the glory of God.

Corporate Worship

Corporate worship, another facet of pastoral ministry, has one goal—worship of the Triune God—and we practice the previous aspects of ministry because of this goal. We evangelize those in our congregations who may not believe, disciple those around us, preach the Word, and teach doctrine in accordance with the Word, because we worship the One who is more significant than us. Our worship overflows into these practices. This extension of worship in practice also extends to every aspect of a corporate gathering: We worship in song, prayer, tithing, preaching, teaching, recitation of creeds and confessions, and even in the benediction, for God, whom we worship, blesses us to be equipped for ministry. Moreover, we remain corporate when we enter the world, for we are one body under one head, Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:1-16). Thanks to the work and headship of Christ, “the entire thrust [of worship] is taken off of ceremonies and seasons and places and forms and shifted to what is happening in the heart—not just on Sunday but every day and all the time in all of life.”¹² Our lives as pastors ought to be Christocentric and Godward. Indeed, all Christians ought to be so, and as pastors, we facilitate and encourage such a disposition when the body gathers.

For this reason, I am resolved to remember that I am a piece of the whole—one part of the body of Christ. I will, therefore, seek to worship when the body gathers and when I go out for ministry.

Leadership

The final facet of ministry this paper will consider is leadership, and this facet permeates the others. The evangelist, disciple-maker, preacher, and teacher, and worship leader are all leaders in a certain capacity. It is no wonder that the pastor, as the head or lead commissioned elder, is a leader, for he operates in the other facets. What does it mean to lead faithfully and biblically as a Christian and a pastor? As the previous sections demonstrates, God and His work are at the center of all of the facets of ministry and this one facet is no different.

“The Master Principle” of leadership is not to lead but to serve.¹³ In Mark 10:43-45, Jesus tells His disciples, primarily James and John who ask to sit next to Him in His kingdom (Mark 10:36), that “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In other words, pastors and indeed all Christian leaders must lead by following Jesus and imitating Him in His acts of benevolent service. Theirs will be the reward in heaven. I wish to be counted by God as one who did this with the life and time given to me. I long to be before Christ, rewarded for the service I provided to those who need it. My answer to Him, of course will be this: “Lord, I did only as you enabled me to do. I would not have led and served if it was not for your work that equipped and powered me to do so.”

Summary and Conclusion

Overall, it has become abundantly clear to me that the pastor’s work is strenuous, but that if the pastor seeks to do ministry while fixing their gaze on God and His work, it will be accomplished. Therefore, I am resolved to improve myself in all of these facets of pastoral ministry—evangelism, discipleship, preaching, teaching, corporate worship, and leadership—by focusing on Christ and preaching, teaching, and worshipping Him crucified. If I fix my gaze on Jesus, I am confident that he will use me in my ministry setting now and in pastoral and teaching ministries in the future.

Bibliography

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. 1937. Reprint, New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1963.

Hughes, R. Kent. The Pastor’s Book: A Comprehensive and Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry. Edited by Douglas Sean O’Donnell. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015.

Piper, John. Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018.

Spurgeon, C.H. Lectures to My Students. Brentwood, TN: B&H Publishing, 2023.

Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2007.

Wilson, Jared C. Gospel-Driven Ministry: An Introduction to the Calling and Work of a Pastor. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021.

———. The Gospel-Driven Church: Uniting Church-Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019.

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Footnotes

1. R. Kent Hughes, The Pastor’s Book: A Comprehensive and Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry, ed. Douglas Sean O’Donnell (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 18. ↩

2. Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture references are to the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016). ↩

3. Jared Wilson, Gospel-Driven Ministry: An Introduction to the Calling and Work of a Pastor (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021), 31. ↩

4. Ibid. ↩

5. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (1937; repr. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1963), 96-99. ↩

6. Bonhoeffer, 105. ↩

7. Hughes, 471. ↩

8. John Piper, Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 189-268. ↩

9. C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (Brentwood, TN: B&H Publishing, 2023), 9. ↩

10. Spurgeon, 31-33. ↩

11. Ibid., 19. ↩

12. Piper, 27. ↩

13. J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2007), 21. ↩