Essay on Pastoral Ministry

Secondly, if his heart is not fully going to be in the sermons then what he says is in vain. Sermons do require practice, but also sermons require the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is going to work at the heart of the hearers of the sermon and the preacher. If the pastor’s heart is not tender to God’s Word before he preaches, the congregation will not receive the sermon. Preachers must have boldness, pure hearts, and clearness when he is preaching (2 Timothy 2:15)! Along with the preaching, pastors are to have a heart for service outside the pulpit. The list includes meetings, church events, small groups, visitations, funerals, and community events. Pastors are to be salt and light unto the world and for his flock (Matthew 5:13-16). It is not good enough to be a body at the events, he must be invested in the people in everything. Many times, the heart wants to isolate a believer to do their own thing (Proverbs 18:1). As a pastor, he cannot afford to give up his opportunities to serve! God uses pastors as a “figure head” of what Christ is. No, it does not mean he is above everyone else, but the pastor is a shepherd of his flock (1 Peter 5:1-4). Pastoral ministry cannot be viewed as a job because it ruins the heart of the ministry.

When people sign up for the ministry; or better stated, when people are called into the ministry, they often assume that most of their time will be spent studying the bible, conversing with lost souls about the good news of Jesus and seeking God in prayer. However, successful ministers and ministries are the result of effectively executed administrative duties. According to Robert Welch and his book Church Administration, a study of pastors revealed, “about 57 percent of their ministry was tied up in strictly nonpastoral administrative duties.”1 What is more, many ministers admitted, “counseling, visitation, family time, prayer and personal devotions suffer in too many cases.”2 Is this simply a case of misguided expectations, poor leadership

Nor should they ever be considered the official church superior. No laity member should ever strive for power and control. Laity that exhibit this type of behavior only makes matters worse, and spread discord throughout the church. They typically influence to generate opposition against the pastor to force us out. What is tragic is other layperson in the church allow this to go on. Unfortunately, they are aware that pastors come and go, but this church superior stays forever. Therefore, I must enlist the cooperation of other church board/council members when it is necessary to call a church laity to accountability to establish harmony. Without harmony, I cannot faithfully serve God or mission to the world. When this happens, the body of Christ works against itself. Every pastor and laity of the church must be determined to protect and preserve the harmony of the church of the living God. Nothing is more important than this to the great ministry of God's church. Jesus’ offered leadership with integrity. He confronted error and proclaimed truth in love with the authority of the divine. Through His power, brokenness was transformed to wholeness. God has given pastors today the privilege of using His power to improve the world. We see brokenness, and disharmony all around us. We as pastors should be aware of the power in our hands which is useful to restore and renew those things that have become ruined. In this way, power

From a personal perspective, leadership from a Christian worldview is about transforming your skills, abilities, and knowledge of the vision of life, beliefs, values, and principles. Due to the differing worldviews as a leader from a secular or biblical perspective, the ways of life as a leader divert the values that guide us, beliefs that direct us, and principles that motivate us to act or behave a certain way. Jesus lives in disciples, and we should all be living as his light and world. In Paul’s plea he stated, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, New International Version). Not everyone is in the public eye, but everyone is in the eye of someone, and there he or she is a leader. I will discuss my growth and development into the leader from a Christian worldview and from course material as support.

My faith tradition informs my theology of pastoral care as that a pastor has an authority in the pastoral care relationship. The pastor’s image in my faith tradition is an advisor, director, and guide. In my faith tradition, the lay people like to have the pastoral care, when they make important decisions. Since my culture is the hierarchal and patriarch system, the lay people believes that pastors are better to know about God’s will. Therefore, the lay people are too much depending on the pastor’s advices, and taking pastor’s perspective, rather than choosing what they want. There is no space to listen their inner voice in the pastoral care in my faith tradition. My theology of pastoral care in my faith tradition was that what Jesus did is what we should do. Because of my traditional ideal of pastoral care, I thought pastors have to know everything and be better than others until becoming like Jesus. However, I realized that the theology can be dangerous to look down the lay people and non-Christians, and is not helpful for the pastors and the lay people as well. I think it is important to remember in my tradition that the head of the church is the only one, Jesus, and we are all the body of Christ. There is the better part in the body of Christ. We are all the same and we need each other.

Nouwen shared that one of the struggles a leader faces in ministry is low self-esteem and even self-depreciation. Many people in the church struggle with seeing the results and feeling like they are making a difference in the world or making an impact. Nouwen said a sad truth that, “Christian leaders feel less and less relevant and more and more marginal” (Page 33). Nouwen encourages however, that when we stop trying to be relevant and we accept that may not be “in the loop”; it is there that God can use us. And it is there that Jesus can be seen. Nouwen advises Christian leaders to be in constant contemplative prayer. That is to say that our prayers should be thoughtful, mindful, and

People used to think leadership and charisma in a pastoral setting as a senior pastor gets all light and attention and people totally depend on one senior pastor. There is no team ministry or team work with laities and other staff. There is no good discipleship to raise next leadership, which is like “one man show” on the stage. After 30 more years of pastoring one church from planting a new church, the church is collapsed when the senior pastor is retired. There is no next leadership, and people do not like another high-qualified leader ship because they have not been exposed to any other leadership. So our church does not keep mega church and one leadership. There are plenty of associate pastors who rotate their turns for leading worship and preaching on Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and early Morning Prayer services. In the way, people do not look upon a senior pastor all the time. In anytime and any chance, a senior pastor steps out for the next leadership, and church still keeps going well as usual. It is kind of team work or team ministry without outstanding of one

The Pastor is the overseer of all ministry, operating, and finance activities and works in cooperation with the Executive Team concerning these areas. The Pastor is also the main ambassador of the church to the community and is responsible for preaching, teaching, training, and upholding the church's doctrine. He or she is also responsible for counseling, comforting, and ensuring that the spiritual needs of the people are met. Moreover, the Pastor administers (or oversees the administration of) ordinances of communion and baptism as well as weddings and funerals (along with his/her associate ministers). Although the Senior Pastor is primarily responsible for these things, he/she may designate others to serve in these areas as necessary. There are two roles that cannot be delegated. First, the Pastor must nurture his or her relationship with God through consistent prayer (Luke 6:12 and Mark 1:35); failure to do so will negatively affect the church. Second, the

The key is to be elder-led, not elder-ruled. When the church selects a pastor, that pastor should be able to appoint an eldership team based on the strengths of each individual. Obviously those individuals should meet the requirements for elders listed in 1 Timothy 3. In order to keep from giving to much authority to the “senior pastor,” the congregation with a vote should confirm the eldership team. That does not mean that the congregation nominates the elders, but they confirm them. I think it is too easy for a congregation to nominate someone who perhaps gives a lot of money, but does not meet the moral requirements for

Pastors and elders, and deacons are God’s people set in from of the congregation to show forth God’s will through His Word and their lives. In other words, they are to practice what they preach. What I have gleaned from this passage of scripture has convicted me and I have to repent by being more mindful of the responsibility that God has given me to minister in His church. God is the author and finisher of our faith and He is the one who giveth and taketh away. That special anointing that God gives His leaders can easily be taken away if obedience reigns in their

A sentiment common to almost any organization is that the one fact that remains constant is change. As society changes, and human understanding grows, any organization that maintains a static posture, assures its demise. Churches and Christian organizations are no exception. The gospel may remain the same, but the method for communicating it must speak to the audience to assure understanding. The Christian leader must be prepared to meet this challenge by incorporating an effective model for change into his theology of leadership in order to keep the ministry relevant and effective. Searching for such a change agent can prove to be challenging as well. To aid in this search, four

It may seem as if a pastor is wasting their time helping others with their problems. It may also seem as if they are involved in too much busy work. However, everyone who attends the church has a function to help make it either run smoothly otherwise everyone will feel the effects of its decline. Pastors must be attuned to the nature and atmosphere of the church. They are the ones who keep the faithful seeking more and the new Christians thirsting for more knowledge. All of this is done through God. The times may change but one thing remains the same,

Effective leadership approaches from a biblical perspective consist of God’s nature in his manifested character. Christian leaders are willing to pay the price to lead in Christ’s affliction. Paul said there is a price to pay in order to lead and Jesus reminded us, “Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master. ' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20, New International Version). Christian leaders need core attributes of God’s styles and approaches, support and linkage from scriptures, and knowledge of his leadership models of truth for effective leadership. However, these perspectives will gave me a better appreciation and insight of who God is and who I can be with his guidance.

I never thought to be a Christian leader. As a matter of fact, I am a person who did not know about God for 26 years. I was the center of my life, and there was no room for God to enter. Even when I was attending church service, I was trying not to be exposed to other church people. In other words, I was the kind of person who was afraid to walk into a life of faith. However, in the past three years, God has changed me in many ways, and showed me so many miraculous things. And, finally here I am. Being a Christian leader seems the most challenging job in the world. I am working as the chairman of a youth ministry, and walking on the path to be a church leader. When God called me to work for the

In brief order, the role of a pastor or leader is to be a servant leader. The Bible provides pastors and leaders in a Christian church with the best model of a servant leader in Jesus Christ. According to Thorsten Grahn (2011), “Jesus submitted his own life to sacrificial service under the will of (Luke 22:42), and he sacrificed his life freely out of service for others (John 10:30). He came to serve (Matthew 20:28) although he was God’s son and was thus more powerful than any other leader in the world. He healed the sick (Mark 7:31-37), drove out demons (Mark 5:1-20), was recognized as Teacher and Lord (John 13:13), and had power over the wind and the sea and even over death (Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 9:18-26. In John 13:1-17 Jesus gives … responsibility of the house-servant” (Grahn, 2011, p. 2).