Now may the God of peace
who brought up our Lord Jesus
from the dead, that great Shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant,
make you complete in every
good work to do His will,
working in you what is well
pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ, whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
One of the gifts of the Spirit is that of pastor a particular gift that is in existence today as all the other administrative and operational gifts are so that the Church will be benefited. These gifts have never ceased and we can find men in the Church who are gifted by the Spirit in such a way so that the Church benefits and the Gospel is proclaimed. Often though, the Church assign the name pastor to men and even women who are not gifted by the Spirit only that they are or have been placed in positions of authority. Therefore, it is important to have the right understanding from Scripture as to this gift of pastor.
The Bible does not use the word pastor often and in the Old Testament the Hebrew word for pastor is: "ra'ah" meaning one who tends a flock or a shepherd. The New Testament only uses the word for pastor once (Ephesians 4:11) and the Greek word: ποιμέος derived from; ποιμήν, is the word for shepherd signifying that a pastor is a shepherd,one who tends to the flock. Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd (John 10:11), and men who are gifted by the Holy Spirit as pastors are undershepherds watching over the flock the congregations, the parishioners. Both Timothy and Titus were shepherds who nurtured and taught the Church they oversaw. Pastors are not to be the sole guardian of the Church for it is for all Christians to be on guard against false teaching, or heresy attempting to thwart the Church, to undermine believers. More than just being able to watch over the Church pastors need help, Sunday School teacher, Bible study leaders, and even those who will clean the Church, take care of the yard making the grounds and the Church presentable to the community. We must allow our pastors to read and study, to prepare sermons, to visit the sick or those within the congregation; we are to help not just sit back and absorb. We allow the pastor to use his gift from the Spirit as fully as possible by our helping in every way we can in their work. Christianity is not a spectator sport, or religion, it is one in which every Christian is a player and participates in the work to spread the gospel. Some may be good speakers, others may have one of the other gifts without the gift of pastor, only those gifted with this special gift of the Spirit know what it means for they are constantly moved to preach, teach, help those in need, even at a cost to themselves, and at times the family who also need our help as they minister to their husbands who are pastors. The question we must ask ourselves: "Am I a participant or a laid back Christian?" We will be called before the Lord on the Last Day, the Day of Judgment, to give an account of all that we have or have not done. Furthermore, as John so aptly puts it: "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him" (1John 3:18-19). John makes it very plain and clear that Christians must show love to one another: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1John 4:7-8). We are to remember that we do not work for salvation, we work for God and that God, as any good employer would do, will call us to account whether we showed love or was it simply hate for there is no in between for love and hate: "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world" (1John 4:17). This call to love one another is not a suggestion, it is a commandment: "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also" (1John 4:21).
Those men who have been called and gifted to be pastors are there to benefit each and every one of us and we through our efforts to assist give him the time needed to do just that: pastor us, to shepherd us, and to lead us in the truth.
And we have known
and believed the love
that God has for us.
God is love, and he
who abides in love abides
in God, and God in him.
Let no one deceive you: pray, read His word
Richard L. Crumb
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