THE MODEL PASTOR

THE MODEL PASTOR Philippians 2:19-24 October  17, 1999 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory Midway in the letter to the Philippians Paul reminds the believers there that he is really doing alright, even though he is imprisoned. You'll remember, in the last part of chapter one he reassured them that they need not worry about him, he is just fine. The reasons he could say that were two-fold: 1) he says he's ready to die if he has to (in fact, in many ways it would be preferable to living, because he could be with the Lord), and 2) his being in prison had not hampered the goal of his life--the gospel was still being preached. He said the elite guard of Rome were hearing the gospel because of his being there; many were preaching Christ (some with good motives, others with less than honorable motives, but the gospel was being preached!), and because of his boldness and imprisonment, he said, most of the brothers in the Lord around him had been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. In chapter two, he returns to this theme of encouraging them. Read with me at 2:14 and following: Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. These comments are based on the imagery of a sacrifice called the "drink offering" in the Old Covenant. This was a mixture of olive oil, flour and wine, and the way it was offered to the Lord was by being poured out over the burning altar. Paul was saying, even if my life is poured out, I rejoice that God has given me opportunity to serve Him. And you are the living fruit of my ministry! I can boast, not in what I have done, but what the Lord has done through me. Brother Philippians, don't worry about me, rather rejoice with me! What a touching moment it was Thursday night at the Billy Graham Crusade when Michael W. Smith sang his new song which is a tribute to the martyr of Columbine High School, Cassie Bernall. As he sang the song and showed the video, it was a very emotional event. Do you know why? Because in that moment, the church of Jesus Christ, through the voice of the minstrel, was not only honoring Cassie Bernall's courage and witness, they were drawing encouragement. As a result of this young lady's bold witness and her sacrificial death, every one of us will stand a little taller in Christ, speak a little bolder for Christ. This is what Paul was trying to do for the church at Philippi--to encourage them in their ministry for the Lord by his example. But to add encouragement, Paul was planning to do even more--he wanted to send them an emissary--someone who could come in person bringing encouragement (and correction, I believe), in Paul's place, since he himself was still in prison. Read at Philippians 2:19-24: I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. When Paul later felt the need to help the Ephesian church by appointing a pastor, guess who he sent there as the pastor of that city church? That's right, Timothy. Timothy was Paul's hand-selected choice for pastor of what was probably the largest church he had founded, the church at Ephesus. I've entitled this message "The Model Pastor" because I believe that the description that we find in the Philippians 2 passage concerning Timothy, outlines the primary qualities of what it takes to be a model pastor. They are certainly the kind of qualities Paul thought were important for a pastor. Before we look at these qualities, though, let's nail down our understanding of what the Bible says a "pastor" is. The Biblical understanding of 'Pastor' 1. Shepherd The word for "Pastor" is POIMEN, or "shepherd". A pastor is a shepherd of the "flock" of the church. This is the primary meaning. One Lutheran church was assigned a new pastor, and the friendly folks of the church there, who were practical jokers, decided that his first Sunday they would all wear name tags to get to know one another better. Everyone had a name tag prepared, and the name tag prepared for the new pastor read in bold letters, "HOG CALLER". The new pastor smiled and donned his tag. When he stood to preach, he showed them they weren't the only ones with a sense of humor, when he opened with these words: "Back where I come from they call the pastor the shepherd of the sheep...but I guess you know your people better than I do..." The pastor is a shepherd. Very simply, a shepherd is responsible to feed, lead and protect his flock. God made no mistake in choosing this term to describe the role of the pastor of a church. He is the one who is responsible to nourish the flock on the Word of God, rightly handled, and delivered as clearly and as practically as he can. He also is the one called to carry the vision of the church he serves. I guess in my 26 years of Christian ministry, if there is one thing I've learned, it's that no one is going to steward the vision of a church like the pastor. It is his responsibility to refine what the specific calling of the congregation is, and to continue to champion that direction throughout the life of the church. And finally, the shepherd of the Lord's church, like the shepherd of sheep, PROTECTS the flock. It is uniquely the role of the pastor, along with the other elders of the church, to guard the flock against false teachers and false teachings. In Acts 20, when Paul is making his last visit among the Ephesian elders, he says, Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from you own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! 2. Equipper There is really only one place in all the New Testament where the title "pastor" is used in its technical sense. That is in Ephesians 4:11 where, along with apostles, prophets, evangelists and teachers (the rest of the "equipping gifts" the Lord gave to the church). That is amazing in itself, but what Ephesians 4:11 makes clear is that the pastor of a church is not only a shepherd, but also an equipper. Ephesians 4 says that these gifts have been given to the church in order to "equip the saints for the work of ministry." What does that mean? Well, at the very least it means that the pastor is not THE MINISTER of the church. Let me ask you a very significant question, Who are the ministers in this place? [WE ARE!] Rather, the pastor's job is to equip the other saints in the body to do the work of the ministry. How does he do that? There is a very simple answer to that question--he does it by preaching and teaching the Word of God. By the way, did you notice that ALL the equipping gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 have one thing in common? They are all WORD HANDLERS. When the Word of God is taught and obedience to it modeled in a congregation, that is what "equips" saints for the work of ministry. 3. Elder Lest we miss it, I'd like us to take note that the pastor of a church is also an elder. Every time you find an apostolic authority figure counseling elders, he is telling them to "shepherd the flock of God.' We saw that in Acts 20:28 just a minute ago. Remember, that context is Paul stopping by Ephesus, with Timothy at his side, and he is talking to the elders of that city church when he says, "Shepherd the flock of God." Two deductions here: 1) it is the role of all elders to shepherd the flock, and 2) it is particularly the role of the pastor among them to certify that the flock is fed, led and protected. That is precisely why Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to be their pastor. They already had good elders who knew their job, but he sent them Timothy to be their pastor. The role appears to be a "Lead elder". In 1 Peter 5:1-2, that apostle tells elders the same thing: To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be, not greedy for money, but eager to serve, not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Now there are three words, all of which refer to the leadership of the church: ELDER [PRESBUTEROS, from which we derive the word "Presbyter" and "Presbyterian" which church is so named because of their strict adherence to elder-rule]. The second word is BISHOP [EPISKOPOS, from which we get our word, "episcopal" and, when twisted just right, our English word "bishop"]. And the third word is SHEPHERD [POIMEN, which, once it made it's way through the history of the English language, came to be "pastor"]. What I want you to see is that all three words are used in either a verb or noun form in the two passages I just read to you. It is the elders' role to lead, feed and protect the church. And there is always one among them who leads them, usually titled "pastor". This is the role of Timothy at Ephesus (and Titus at Crete). Let me pause here and say a word about our eldership here at MECF. Our current elders are Joe Kniepman (a true PRESBUTEROS), Billy Mathews (an EPISCOPAL leader if ever I saw one) and myself (and I fall into the "Pastor" role). I want to commend to you these men. They give of themselves in numerous ways, forfeiting time and energy to make sure this church is fed led and protected. These are men of prayer, commitment and maturity. And, I am delighted to say, men united with one another for the sake of the church here. All three of your church leaders are men I feel absolutely confident will do whatever it takes to care for this church. And I will tell you, folks, that any one of you can bring any need or concern to any one of these leaders, and they will listen carefully, pray diligently and truly work together to come to a consensus in the Holy Spirit about the matter. I love these men, because I have never witnessed an occasion when one of them was confronted with an opportunity to grow through a situation that they did not choose obedience. The pastor is a shepherd, an equipper and an elder. There are other biblical descriptions of a pastor, such as servant-leader, but these three help illustrate the OFFICE of pastor as understood in the scripture. The Pastor's Character As we look back at Philippians 2, we want to take a closer look at verses 20-22. Here I want us to see the three things Paul mentions that make a model pastor. 1. He takes a GENUINE INTEREST in the welfare of the people  Folks, there are a lot of motivations that have led men into wanting to be pastors. While getting rich isn't one of them, there are some whose desire is for material gain at the expense of the church. This is what Jude calls "shepherds who feed only themselves". Peter warned elders against serving out of greed for money (1 Peter 5:2). I don't need to tell you there are charlatans in our world today who masquerade an interest in the welfare of God's people, but whose primary interest, in fact, is lining their own pockets. Others want to be pastors for the power. Out of a desire to control others they watch carefully how pastors teach and lead and they hunger for that kind of authority and they develop a less-than-honorable ambition to become a pastor. They are easily recognized, though, because it doesn't take long for the lie to show through. Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20: 30 that they work hard at drawing away disciples after them, and they stoop to distorting the scriptures in order to do that. You'll find this dishonorable practice among cult leaders and among cell leaders. On large and smaller scales, doing anything they can to get people to follow them. But this is so NOT like the New Testament picture of leadership. Peter said the leader should shepherd NOT in order to lord it over others, but serving as examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:3). Any time you see a leader beginning to stray from the vision and direction of the church or drifting even a little from solid doctrine, you know you've got a problem, and it is an excellent time to step in and bring correction, before it gets out of hand. But it is unfortunately true that many are so insecure in themselves and their relationship with God that they feel they MUST have a group of followers after THEM in order to feel important or of any value. And these kind of people are very hard to correct. So, do as the scripture says, and steer clear of them. But, Paul shows us that the only GOOD motive for ministry as a pastor (and as an elder) is to take a genuine interest in the welfare of the people you serve. What does that mean? It means that, like Paul, you are willing to pour your life out for your people if it means they would benefit in terms of maturity and ministry. It means you love them--but this is not a silly, mushy kind of soft-sided love, it is REAL LOVE. Love that cares enough to confront, to get involved in the nitty-gritty of people's lives for the sake of their becoming more like Christ. Silly, mushy, soft-sided love is only a cheap imitation of real love. It never says NO, even when it is unwise to say YES; it always gives in, even when it is not right or best for the people; it is afraid to stand for anything so it falls for everything; and when it comes to the preaching and teaching elder, the pastor, soft-sided, mushy love avoids teaching the difficult parts of scripture that might challenge long-standing problems in the lives of his sheep, for fear of having to take a stand and thereby offending some of them. A leader who gives you whatever you want all the time is not taking a genuine interest in your welfare. It may seem he is taking a genuine interest in you, but it is not an interest in your welfare. Before we go on to the second character trait of a model pastor, let me introduce an important idea to you. This "genuine interest in the welfare of the flock" kind of trait rises partly out of a pastoral gifting in the leader, and partly out of maturity. I'll say this now, and end with more clarification in a minute, but there is truly a pastoral gifting given to some (a calling), and there is truly a maturing into pastoral ministry available to many. At the risk of complicating the issue, let me stress a truth: There are some who are called to be pastors, but they do not have this "genuine interest" because they have not matured as believers, and they make lousy pastors. On the other hand, there are many who do not have an peculiar "gifting" as a pastor, but who have matured in their walk in Christ and have grown into being effective pastoral people--they have a genuine interest in the welfare of the flock. 2. Proven Timothy was Paul's "right-hand man" for much of his missionary travels. Paul often used him as a trouble-shooter. He sent him as his personal ambassador in ministry to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5), to Corinth ( 1 Corinthians 4:14-17), to Macedonia (Acts 19:22), he left him in Berea to minister (Acts 17:14), and of course, he ultimately sent him to Ephesus as their pastor. And all this was only after an extended time of Timothy working side by side with him in the ministry, proving himself as a reliable, spiritual servant-leader. In the lists of qualifications for elders which Paul sent both to Timothy (1 Timothy 3:1-6 and to Titus (Titus 1:1-9), there is a point by point checklist of qualifying factors to test any man who would desire to be an elder. It is in many ways an imposing list. The elder must be blameless, a one-woman man, have children who believe and are obedient, not overbearing, quick-tempered, quarrelsome or violent, not a recent convert, materialistic or a drunkard. He must be hospitable, self-controlled, upright and holy. He must hold firmly to the Word of God, and be able to teach it so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Timothy, and any elder I know anywhere, have not "arrived" in the sense of having every one of these qualifications down perfectly, but the sense of the teaching is that the elders should be "characteristically" of this kind of character. But you will also notice, these traits are "QUALIFI-cations"; or, necessary to the job of elder. Beyond this, Paul added in 1 Timothy 5:17-18, The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." 3. Submissive The third thing about Timothy that Paul alludes to in Philippians 2 is that he had learned the all-important lesson of being submissive to leadership himself, before he could be entrusted to lead others. You know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. Put simply, Timothy had learned to "follow" Paul, before Paul released him to lead other followers. He who will not be led will never lead. Here the analogy of the shepherd is stretched, because, to become a good shepherd, you must first be a good sheep. Three Exhortations for the "flock" here at MECF 1. Get under the care of a pastor you can trust who will lead, feed and protect you, putting your best interests ahead of his own, and who will be genuinely interested in your growth in Christ. Let me say something very strong here: if I and your elders cannot sustain that kind of trusting relationship in your heart, you need to find a church where you CAN trust the leadership. On the other side of the coin, let me say that, more often than not, it isn't the leadership, it is the Christian's pride and inability to submit, so those who are always leaving, looking for "a better pastor, a better church" find themselves perpetually disappointed. Why? Not because there are no good leaders and churches, but because they have this innate resistance to being led. That kind of person will never settle down into a church and , consequently, will never really grow. 2. Honor your pastor by: encouragement, correction (!), and following his lead, vision. I say this to you with great hesitation, because I am not interested in soliciting your gratitude and encouragement. These things are very helpful and important to me, but are a distant second to your maturity in Christ. So, while it is good for me, and your other elders to receive such encouragement, it is far MORE important for you to give it. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:5, et al) 3. Grow into pastoring. This is a reference to the maturity aspect of growing into a pastoring role. I've watched Christians for years, and I've seen it over and over again. Among those precious few who strive after God with all their heart, who humbly serve for years, who are quite serious about developing themselves into the image of Christ, there comes a "pastoral seasoning". That is, as they themselves grow in the Lord, they naturally begin to desire to see others grow in their faith, and, because of their own maturity, they are able to lead others. They begin to develop within them a genuine interest in the welfare of others, they are in the process of proving themselves through consistent service and they have developed the submissive spirit that Paul says is the mark of the truly mature. AS you grow in your own walk in Christ, ask God to give you one person you can disciple, someone to walk through the Design for Discipleship course with, someone you can sponsor in your cell group. Then, when you've done that, ask Him for two or three more that you can directly influence toward maturity by sharing your life and witness with them. Ask Him for release to move into an internship in your cell group, where you can partner with your cell leader for a time, preparing for the time soon when you will take on the responsibility of 6-10 , grow them to 15, multiply, then do it again. As you continue to grow yourself and win & influence others to maturity, God will extend the boundaries of your ministry tent-pegs and will give you ever- broadening pastoral ministry.                   [Back to Top]