What is a Pastor at RHC?

Introduction

Good morning, welcome to Redemption Hill Church. Today we will be going through many different passages of the Bible as we discuss our particular style of church government at Redemption Hill. You can start my turning to Matthew 16:13-20 and just know that as we move all of the text will be up on the screen. Please feel free to write those down and then go take a look at them later.

Well I am a fan of many different kinds of things. I am a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes, I am fan of the various fictional novels like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or the Chronicles of Narnia, I am fan of sitcoms like The Office and the list can go on and on. And in the realm of fandom there are different kinds of fans. There are Buckeye fans that know a TD is worth 6pts and Buckeye fans that can explain what a Nickel defense is, there are fans who have read a book series once or twice and there are fans that read blogs online about their favorite stories, there fans who have watched The Office all the way through and there are fans who listen to podcast about the making of every episode. Fans vary in their fanaticism, particularly when it comes to the knowledge they acquire about their particular interests.

But knowledge isn’t the only way that fans vary. Fans also vary in their way they express their fandom and how they use their knowledge about their particular love. You see there are knowledgeable Buckeyes that yell at the TV and long for the head coach to be fired, there are fans who watch the movies based on their favorite books and complain about every inaccuracy, there are fans of TV shows who boycott if their favorite character leaves… Their “love” is expressed in such a way that it actually repels others from wanting to join in the fandom. And then there are fans who use their knowledge to help others learn to love what they love. There Buckeye fans who simply, wow watch this catch… He does it with one hand. And even someone who doesn’t like sports can appreciate the athletic feet, or they say you the team captain is from Columbus. Isn’t that cool. I know Lord of Rings isn’t your thing, but read it and think about how Tolkien uses friendship, love, and sacrifice as the worlds only hope against evil. You might not love fantasy novels like I do, but if you like friendship and love you can appreciate the story. Office fans can tell you, just skip the first season… its really cringy.

Today, we are going to dive into the particular style of church government our church utilizes. That style is called Elder Led Congregationalism. That means our church is led by Elders, served by Deacons, and ruled by the Congregation. Our aim for today is to learn what it means to be ruled by the congregation and how elders lead, and how this particular style of church government as expressed at Redemption Hill Church. Because that is the tricky part about Elder Led Congregationalism. Those who ascribe to this style of church government believe that each local church should be self-governing, and so there will be slight differences from church to church even if they share this style of government. As you increase in your knowledge about how our church is structured I pray you do it is a fan of Redemption Hill Church. A fan that is willing to learn a little bit more about what it means to be a church member, and a fan who will use this knowledge not to repel others from enjoying the church. But instead that you would use this knowledge as a means to invite others into your fandom. That you would leave here and say to friends and family, I really love my church because the people of my church really love Jesus. You should come check it out. While Elders are important I would argue that being a church member is the most important role in a church.

You see church members as a whole rule the church because it is the church membership who decides who is in the church, who leads the church, and what the church believes. The church as a whole has the final say in matters of membership, leadership, and doctrine. Each of these processes are lead by Elders, but the church is the final say.

Ruled by the Congregation

It is in these three categories that the congregation exercises its rule: Membership, Leadership, and Doctrine. The church decides who is in and who it out of the church. We see this in Matthew 16:13–20 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” Peter confesses Christ as the Messiah and upon that confession Jesus says he is going to build his church. And to those who join Peter in that confession is going to give the keys of the kingdom. They can bind and loose. That is to say they say who is in and who is out of the church that Jesus is building. We see this Matthew 18:15–20 ““If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”” Who does Jesus give the keys of the kingdom. The answer is to the church. So the church as a whole binds and looses who is in and who is out.

And yet, Elders do help lead in this process. 1 Corinthians 5:3–5 Paul says, “For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” A man has committed a gross and public sin and he is unrepentant for this sin. So Paul functioning as an Elder tells the church that he has already pronounced his judgement, but he is encouraging the church to exercise the keys of the kingdom. When they are assembled that are to, as a group, declare this man as no longer being a part or a member of their church. All in the hopes of seeing this man repentant. For today, the main point we need to see is Elders lead the discipline process, but only the church as the authority to excommunicate, or declare, a member’s membership as void.

This is also true about the declaration of members induction into the church. At our church Elders lead a new members class, conduct a new members interview, and then they present the new inductees to the church as a whole. You then give a verbal affirmation of their membership, by typically saying “Amen”. And I say something like that “Amen” means that you are theirs and they are yours. Church members under the leadership of pastors declare who is in, and who is out.

Because this processes are lead by pastors and they need be in order to be functional. It is vital that the church also be the final say in regards to who are their pastors. Church members affirm pastors in and if necessary have the power to remove pastors. Just one explain for each for the sake of time, but there are several examples in the Bible.In Acts 1 the apostles see the need to replace Judas as an apostle. Jesus selected the 12, but this is after his ascension and since the keys belong to the church we read this: Acts 1:15 “In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said,” he explains that Judas needs to be replaced and then he leads by giving stipulations for the appointment and asked the church to bring forward the appropriate men and in verse 21 we read. Acts 1:23 “And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias.” Now, they do things we don’t. They cast lots for example. But we see in places like Acts 6 and Pauls letters to Timothy and Titus that leaders are selected in various different ways, but what remains consistent is the guidance of church leaders, pastors, and the affirmation of the church.

In 1 Timothy 5:19-22 that the church has the authority to remove elders, but with the guidance and help of other pastors. We read 1 Timothy 5:19–22 “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.” So, and elder is removed not by one church member but the evidence of two or three witnesses and Timothy who is pastoring the church is not to admit this charge otherwise. But if the legitimate charge comes and the elder persist in sin the elder is rebuked in the presence of all, that is all of the church. This is really serious and therefore cannot be done through prejudging. And reminds us to not be hasty in laying on hands in the first place.

Finally, the congregation rules by deciding what they believe. In Acts 15 a disagreement about circumcision breaks out in the churches planted by Paul and Barnabas. In the midst of theological controversy we read in Acts 15:1–2 “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.” These leaders are appointed by the churches to inquire about this issue of doctrine, who can be saved. When they get to Jerusalem we see that the church there is gathered Acts 15:4–5 “When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”” First the meet with the church but then the apostles and elders gather to discuss the issue. Acts 1:6 and during this debate Peter stands up and testifies to what God has done, and Paul and Barnabas testify as well. James then stands up and proposes a solution in which they declare that circumcision is not necessary for salvation and decide to sent a letter about this to all of the churches. Yet, that is not the final say on the matter. It is how they get to the solution, qualified godly men come together but what happens next.

Acts 15:22–23 “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.” The elders lead, but the church’s agreement gives the letter authority.

Nate Akin in his very helpful book “Convictional, Confessional, Cheerful Baptists (which I used a lot for this sermon) writes this, “It would help us to see the most important role in a church is not who can be a pastor or elder, but who gets to be called “member!” This is why our member nominees affirm the Statement of Faith and Constitution and Bylaws when they take the Membership Covenant when presented. It is why as members we reaffirm that covenant and read with them. It is why we guard our membership with a class, an interview, and a presentation. Church membership matters.

And these processes must be led by someone, but we all know that these are not typically day to day issues. People do not join the church, Elders are not affirmed, and doctrinal changes don’t happen every Sunday. So, what do Elders do in the day to day life and ministry of the church?

What do Elders Do?

I would personally define a pastor as a biblically qualified man who exercises oversight over the ministries of the church, trains church members to do ministry, teaches doctrine publicly and privately, and provide shepherding care to the members of their church.

A pastor/elder has four tasks: Leads, Equip, Teach, and Shepherd. Today we will look at Lead and Equip and the next two weeks we will look at Teach and Shepherd.

Elders Lead the church, and they lead the church with a derived or limited authority. The leadership of a pastor is a derived authority because it comes not from the pastor, but from the word of God and it is a limited authority because a pastor can only rightly bind the conscience of his members so far as the word of God explicitly allows. 2 Timothy 4:1–2 “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” Pastors can reprove, rebuke, and exhort their church members, but they do it with patience and teaching, and can only do it so far as the Word of God allows. Pastors can tell you stop gossiping, getting drunk, looking at inappropriate material on the internet. They can’t tell you to buy a specific house, take a specific job, or babysit their kids. Sasha does that out of her own good pleasure. Their authority is limited to what the Bible prescribes. And even in issues of rebuke, a pastor still only has an authority to counsel. He cannot administer disciple on any church member. The church as a whole holds the keys, not a pastor nor the pastors. This derived and limited authority ought to lead pastors to lead in humility. They are to be servant leaders.

We have already seen some good examples of this in today’s sermon like leading the membership process at RHC or like Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James in Acts 15. They provided leadership for the church and then the church affirmed their leadership. Yet, the reality is, pastors should be trusted to lead the day to day ministry of the church. Churches should not feel the need to vote on day to day matters like “color of the carpet” or even if we are to do Sports Camp or VBS. These decisions can and should be entrusted to faithful pastors who lead like Jesus told them to lead in Mark 10:42–45 “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But 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.”” Pastors are servant leaders who truly do strive to serve their people and God. And most pastors most of the time make leadership decisions with the good of their people and the glory of God in mind. I do not, nor do I know any pastors who make leadership decisions without the input of other wise pastors and a handful of church members. However, that does mean that in your church there will be times in which you are not specifically consulted about particular decisions. This can be hard, but it is ok for pastors to make leadership decisions without consulting every church member. When to start another community group, when to launch Equip, when and how do we adjust children’s ministry, how big or small should the band be, etc. are all decisions that have been made at RHC without consulting every church member, but never have these decisions been made without consulting several church members. I desire wisdom in every decision I make, I believe Kendall will as well. And any future pastor we put before you would need to display the same kind of humility. Yet, I think it is just fair to say upfront, our church does not vote on everything. We always seek membership affirmation in issues of membership, leadership, and doctrine. And we choose in our church to seek your membership affirmation on issues that have significant impact on the life of the church like annual budget, large capital expenses, potential new meeting space and more that will come in the life of RHC.

These big decisions have been made so far with the help of our provisional board and leaders here in our church like Jimmy, Sarah, Kendall, Steve, Andrea, Kristen, Walt, and on and on and on. And this will continue to be our mode of operation even as we add more pastors to the elder team. The provisional board will fade out, but church members’ input will always be welcomed and celebrated. Pastors lead like servants, because they love God and they love their people.

And in many situations what pastors do can be confusing in this regard because don’t hoard authority: they give it away as they equip their church members for ministry. Ephesians 4:11–13 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (we baptist believe this is the work of pastors) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” Most of what a pastor does is done by other church members as well. Pastors teach and give away their teaching authority to Equip teachers, women’s bible study leaders, kids teachers, and so on. Pastor’s shepherd and give away shepherding authority to community group leaders and assistant community group leaders. They train church members to counsel the Word to one another by teaching books like How People Change, by inviting certain members into the counseling process when appropriate, and telling the guys they disciple one on one that one day they are expected to go and do likewise. Pastors make leadership decisions and then give that authority away as they form Finance teams, outreach teams, kids ministry teams, and Set up and Tear down teams. While the church is led by pastors and served by deacons the actual experience should feel like a flat organization (that is an organization with little hierarchal structure) because the church members are taking part in the ministerial work of the church. The pastor’s job is to help you do your job.

This is why the pastor’s job description is ultimately a list of character qualifications. In the end, pastors are to be an example of what it means to live a faithful Christian life. They don’t wield authority to get their way, they exercise authority to help all of the church, every member, attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The pastor lives their life in front of their people as an example of how the people ought to live.

Johnathan Leeman states, “To ordain a man as an elder is not so much to make an elder but to formally recognize what a man is already doing.” Is the man already leading, equipping, teaching, and shepherding? Does he lead his home well? Is he respected by outsiders? Men who pastor well are the men who would pastor whether you ordain them or not. It just burns within their bones. They see what needs to be done in the life of the church and they do it with joy. They are happy to be the first ones in the last ones out. They seek out the hurting, the lost, and lonely and open their lives and homes to them. They are involved in counseling cases because counselees trust them, they meet with younger men to instruct them in the word, they teach new Christians how to pray and evangelize. Their lunches and breakfast spots are filled with meetings to edify church members, and their couches are stained with the tears of those need to weep. They are more aware of their own sin that the sins of others and so when sinners come to them with their troubles they are met with grace and kindness and the encouragement to change. They are going to do these things whether have the title or not.

Conclusion

You see a pastor is ultimately a man who helps others be better church members. And we can only be better church members if our eyes are set on the chief shepherd of the flock, our Lord Jesus Christ. Pastors know that they are not the answer, they know that their decisions are not always right, but they also know that God has chosen to work through flawed men to help other flawed people grow up into Christian maturity.

Listen to how Paul describes his ministry in Colossians 1:24–29 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, (suffering for the sake of the church) of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

It is hard to be a pastor. It is toil, it is a struggle it is a lot of late nights and early mornings. It is to live is a constant state of weeping and rejoicing, which is emotionally exhausting, and it is the commitment to die over and over again for the sake of those who call you pastor. But it is also a privilege and an honor because God’s word does not return void. Pastor’s who keep going get to watch people change and grow up into Christ. They have a front row seat to the sanctifying work of God in the lives of their flock. They labor with God’s energy knowing that He will powerfully work within Him, because is faithful to conform each and every church member into the image of Christ. This is why the congregation can rule, not because majority decisions are always best, or because it provides systematic accountability. Rather, it is because the Holy Spirit is present in every believer! And He is working to mature every believer, and so we press on together.

This is how our church functions. What will you do with the knowledge? What kind of fan will you be? One who uses their knowledge to complain about the current coaching staff repelling future recruits or one who uses their knowledge to invite others to learn to love that which you love, the bride of Christ, His church. Let’s pray.