Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

-Previous Sunday: “God Gives grace for us to serve”

-We learned that God as a result of his finished work on the cross has given us “Grace” to serve in his kingdom, and to be a vessel through which he will unite his church as one.

-We learned that he went to Heaven as well as Hell.

He went to Hell to announce his victory and he went through the heavens slowly during his inauguration as a sign of his victory over all the principalities and powers.

-We also learned that Jesus is far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things!!!

-This week will move to our second point: “God Gives Grace to Grow”

Research on Pastors’ Well-Being

According to Shiloh Place Ministries (shilohplace.org),

which drew its information from Focus on the Family, Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries, and other respected groups: (HT: Historicity)

Statistics on Pastors’ Ministry Stress

1,500 pastors leave the ministry permanently each month in America.

Why aren’t these pastors overflowing with the love, joy and peace of the Lord in their lives, families and ministries?

What is the cause of their emotional problems and moral failures?

A major factor is overwhelming ministry stress:

4,000 new churches start each year in America.7,000

churches close each year in America.

75% of pastors report being “extremely stressed” or “highly stressed” (1)90% work between 55 to 75 hours per week (2)90% feel fatigued and worn out every week (1)70% say they’re grossly underpaid (2)40% report a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month (1)78% were forced to resign from their church (63% at least twice), most commonly because of church conflict (1)80% will not be in ministry ten years later and only a fraction make it a lifelong career (1).

On average, seminary trained pastors last only five years in church ministry (2)100% of 1,050 Reformed and Evangelical pastors had a colleague who had left the ministry because of burnout, church conflict, or moral failure (2)91% have experienced some form of burnout in ministry and 18% say they are “fried to a crisp right now” (7)

50% of pastors’ marriages end in divorce.

Statistics on Pastors’ Emotional Health, Family, and Morality

70% of pastors continually battle depression.

It’s particularly disturbing to see how much pastors are struggling with emotional pain, family problems, loving well, and moral failures:

80% of pastors and 85% of their spouses feel discouraged in their roles.

95% of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.

70% of pastors say they have a lower self-esteem now than when they entered ministry (1)70% constantly fight depression (2)50% feel so discouraged that they would leave their ministry if they could, but can’t find another job (2)80% believe their pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families and 33% said it was an outright hazard (1)80% of ministry spouses feel left out and unappreciated in their church (2)77% feel they do not have a good marriage (2)41% display anger problems in marriage (reported by the spouse) (3)38% are divorced or divorcing (1)50% admit to using pornography and 37% report inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church (1)65% feel their family is in a glass house (2)

70% of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant, or mentor.

50% of pastors are so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way to make a living.

80% of pastors spend under 15 minutes a day in prayer.

70% of pastors only study God’s Word when preparing a message.

Nearly 40% of pastors have had an extra-marital sexual affair since entering ministry.

80% of seminary graduates who enter ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.

80% of pastors’ wives feel their husbands are overworked.80% of the adult children of pastors sought professional help for depression.

90% of pastors said their training was inadequate for ministry.85% of pastors report that their biggest problem is dealing with abstinent elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors.

90% of pastors said the hardest thing about ministry is uncooperative people.

70% of pastors are grossly underpaid.

80% of pastors’ wives feel unappreciated by the congregation.

90% of pastors said ministry was completely different from what they thought it would be.

Only 70% of pastors felt called of God into ministry when they began.

Only 50% of pastors felt called of God into ministry three years later.

80% of pastors’ wives feel pressured to be someone they are not and do things they are not called to do in the church.

Over 50% of pastors’ wives feel that their husbands entering ministry was the most destructive thing to ever happen to their families.

Always-God has given Pastor as gifts to the church to lead us in the process of building up the body of Christ.

I. God Gives Grace to Grow

(v.11) “And he gave” This is gift is in addition to the previous gifts from last week that pertain to his personal gift that he gave us that carries supernatural implications.

The mission is the great commission.

All blood bought believers have a gift that contributes to the completion of that mission.

Last week we talk about “Gifts given to serve” now Paul talks about another gift given to the body of Christ.

(v.11) Paul then list five gifts.

Now it interesting these gifts are tangible gifts they are not chracteritics but

.

We can reach out and touch these gifts.

Paul then list the five:

A. apostles: Sent one or ambassador, One called to give witness.

Formal Use: This word is used to describe the 12 disciples called out by God.

They all had a personal revelation of the risen savior, and they were authoritative as it pertains to doctrine.

Some of them were writer’s of the scriptures found in the NT.

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2. Informal Use: this term was used to describe those who had close relationships with the disciples and its definition is very narrow when it pertains to these individuals.

They did not write scriptures and they did not have to have a personal encounter with the risen savior.

Essentially all of us could be describe as apostle based in its simplistic definition and that is: One’s who have been sent to give witness.

Informal Use:

B. Prophets-This office is closely related to the Apostles office.

This a person who foretells future events or forth-tells which is say that they expound on a previous teaching found in the word.

They are usually announcing future judgement and future blessing.

The Prophet’s word is most normally warning in nature.

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-With the completion of Revelation the last book written with a detailed road map and timeline written for the future there is not a need for foretelling but there is still a need for forth-telling.

This office does not seem to be bound by gender as it says in

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-This office is usually not bound to a location but goes around under the unction of the HS and gives a word of warning when the conviction of the HS comes.

C. Evangelists-- An evangelist, a preacher of the gospel.

He was often not located in any particular place but traveled as a missionary to preach the gospel and establish churches.

An evangelist, a preacher of the gospel.

He was often not located in any particular place but traveled as a missionary to preach the gospel and establish churches

Zodhiates, Spiros.

The complete word study dictionary: New Testament 2000 : n. pag.

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-They are different than Preachers, or Teachers because all of there sermon’s are Gospel sermons’.

Their primary audience is unbelievers.

They are always moving from area to area delivering the good news.

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(v.8)

You will notice that in this text he is formally called an evangelist.

(v.8)

You will notice that in this text he is formally called an evangelist.

-These are people that eat, sleep and live to witness and share the gospel.

-I want to be careful here not to let anyone off the hook.

There is this tendency that we leave evangelism to certain people we feel are gifted, but let Paul help us here.

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This is Paul talking to Timothy who is not an Evangelist but a Elder/Pastor.

He tells him to do the work of an evangelist.

It is generally wise to thinks of these people that have made it their life trade to travel domestically and internationally to preach the good news to unbelievers.

We call them missionaries.

D. Pastor/Teacher—You will notice that grammatically that each position starts with “some as” but this last gift list two gift but uses “some as” to describe both.

That is because this last gift is the NT Pastor/Teacher.

A Pastor must be both a Pastor and a Teacher.

Pastor-poiman-shepherd—This tells you his heart.

This person desires to protect and lead God’s church

Teacher-didoskolos—instruct---The Preacher must be able to explain, squeeze, and exegete the scriptures in a way that the hearer is able to understand.

He will not always be perfect but he will always be looking for ways to be better teacher, so that the hearer can benefit.