March 02, 2008
What does it mean to be a pastor? The term pastor
is mentioned in the Bible in Ephesians 4:11. The
pastor is the one given oversight of a congregation
by God and is to direct the spiritual,
administrative and fiscal life of the people. In
Baptist tradition, the pastor is called by the
congregation and is directly accountable to them and
to God. A church, unlike a corporation, is not
under the auspices of a board of directors, but is a
body of believers organized by God as the body of
Christ.
What do pastors do? In our attempt to understand
the nature and importance of discipleship as the
governing principle for a congregation, in these
next several weeks we will examine discipleship as
it pertains to the office of a Baptist pastor.
Jesus called twelve people to be his disciples.
Disciple is the root word for discipline. It is a
description of what followers of Christ were to do
to assist the Lord in bringing men and women to the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28: 19 -20 is commonly referred to as the
Great Commission, the text that outlines the
basic responsibility of the Christian Church. It
states: “Go you therefore and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the father, the son,
and the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all
things, whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo I
am with you always unto the ends of the world.”
The first discipleship responsibility for God's
pastors is to be an evangelist. "Go ye therefore
into all the world". There is a temptation both
for pastors and for congregations to understand the
role of the pastor as focusing only on the life of
the congregation. To be a pastor is to be an
evangelist, one willing to take the gospel into all
the world. A willingness to go into every corner
and crevice of society to share the good news of
Jesus Christ is a disciple’s first calling. When
one does this, one not only shares the good news but
also receives insights and information about what
Christ is doing in communities of faith around the
world.
For me, much of going into all the world has been my
work with the Baptist World Alliance. A few years
ago I preached in the nation of Cuba. I will never
forget the hunger for the word and the passion for
the gospel in that island nation. We in the West
might choose to stay home on Sunday because the
weather is too hot, too cold, too rainy, too snowy,
etc. In Cuba, I witnessed hundreds of people
crowding the steps of house churches and sprawling
out to the sidewalks in front of those houses as men
and women were willing to stand for hours just to
hear a message of hope and encouragement from the
Word of God. Every year, in the month of July, I
attend Baptist World Alliance meetings in nations
around the world. I do this because a pastor, as a
disciple of Christ, is mandated by the Great
Commission to go into all the world.
This year our church is working on greater
transparency through better communications. One of
the goals I have set for the year is to ensure that
the entire congregation receives the information of
what has transpired during these global trips where
we have shared the Good News with our brothers and
sisters from many different lands. Then, as a
church family, we can pray together for the
situations and circumstances of those from around
the world who are lifting up the name of Jesus
Reading Through The Bible
March 9: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11;
John 11:1-45
March 16: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians
2:4-11; Matthew 26: 14-27:66
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