The Pastors Job

What do you expect from the pastor of the church? If you could write a job description for the pastor what would it contain? Thankfully for the church and her pastors the role of the pastor is not left to the imagination or whims of the church or the pastor himself. Through the sufficient Word of God the church and her pastors can know what the role of the pastor is.

In conservative orthodox churches we often summarize the role of the pastor as that of Word and prayer. He is responsible to the apostolic church to carry on the teaching of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone (Eph.2:20). He also responsible to pray for the church as the apostles and those who followed the apostles did for the church. We see examples of this in the book of Colossians. Paul tells us that he struggles for the church with all the energy that God powerfully works in him through proclamation, admonition and teaching of the Word of God (Col.1:28-29). And in the life of Epaphras, a pastor from the Lycus valley who visited Paul while imprisoned in Rome, and Paul we see that they struggled in prayer for the church at Colossae and I assume Laodicea (Col.1:9; 2:1,5; 4:12). Therefore we may summarize the pastor’s ministry responsibilities as one of Word and prayer.

So in our minds we have a picture of the pastor who sits in his study all day studying and praying, and then once a week standing up in the pulpit to preach. Just as a church sign that tries to tell the truth usually only tells a half truth and a half truth is always a no truth, so the pictures in our minds of summary positions are inaccurate. After all if the pastor is only sitting in his office studying and praying he can certainly afford to take the time to _______________, right? Let’s take a look.

The apostle Paul has given us several Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament. These letters were written to young pastors who were carrying out the apostolic teaching to the churches planted through the gospel of Jesus Christ. These letters are instructive for the church in many respects but especially in regards to the pastoral ministry. In the space that remains I want to give you a portion of the pastoral job description as Paul teaches it to Timothy. I will do this under the two main headings of Prayer and Word.

The pastor is responsible to pray. In 1Timothy 2:1 Paul tells Timothy to pray for all people. It is pleasing to God that his pastors of his churches pray because he desires that all people, Jews and Gentiles, would be saved coming to a knowledge of the truth revealed in Christ (2:4). God’s pleasure is to be praised for his glorious grace (Eph.1:6) revealed in Jesus Christ, and since he is the one who reveals his truth through his grace it stands to reason that God’s pastors should pray that he would do what only he can do. Prayer is a humble act of faith in submission to the sovereign God of all grace who alone can save and build up those he saves. Therefore the pastor who has been saved and is growing in the knowledge of God in Christ by grace must pray that this same grace will come to others. However he not only called to pray himself but he is called to teach and help others to pray (1Tim.2:8). He is the general of an army that advances on their knees. He must lead the charge and be in the front lines of the battle as the first into the field and the last to leave making sure his army is all accounted for. The pastor is responsible to pray and to lead others to pray for a ministry without the grace of God given through his ordained means of prayer is house built without a foundation ready to crumble.

The pastor is responsible to be a minister of the Word. In first and second Timothy we see the pastor’s role in regards to the Word come into clear focus. First, he is to be trained in the Word and the doctrines of the Word so that he can put them before others (1Tim.4:6, 11; 2Tim.2:15). He must study. Second, he is to disciple others with the Word so that they are ready for the work of the gospel and specific offices in the church (2Tim.2:2-7; 1Tim.3:1-13). He must share with the church the Word and his life in love to see them grow to maturity and usefulness in the church. Third, through teaching the word he is to protect the church from participating in foolish controversies, teaching, quarrelings and silly myths (2Tim.14, 22-26; 1Tim.4:7). He is to protect the church from false teaching through the use of the Word of God, exposing error with truth. Fourth, he is to hold to the apostolic teachings of the Scriptures being prepared to suffer for doing so (2Tim.1:8-14; 3:10-12). He is not to budge from the unchanging Word of God in an ever changing culture not being afraid of being alone or hated for righteousness sake. Fifth, he is to continue to live in and learn from the Scriptures that he has been taught (2Tim.3:14-16). He is to continue to return to the old paths and be wary of the “new” paths discovered by great insights. Sixth, he is called to preach and teach the Scriptures in a fallen and wicked world (2Tim.3:1-9; 4:1-2). He is to stand at the gates of hell with the words of heaven and in the mouth of the lion with the sweetest of meats. Seventh, he is called to take the Word into the ministry of evangelism toward those who are not believing (2Tim.4:5). He is called to the church but also to go outside the gate into wild pastures to call other sheep in through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last, he is called through the Word to fulfill the ministry he has been called to (2Tim.4:5). He is called to make the ministry of the Word in the church a complete and effective service of worship to the glory of God.

The pastors primary calling is that of the Word and prayer that the saints of God may become mature and complete in all the riches and treasures of the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ.