The Desire for a Pastor

Introduction

Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 1.

Today we are continuing our study on Preparing for a Pastor. My hope and my goal in the weeks to come is to do the work of tilling the soil—preparing your hearts and minds for whomever God has called to become your next pastor and helping you to set some godly expectations.

In this study, we’ll focus on two things: What a pastor should look for in a church, and what a church should look for in a pastor. This morning we’re going to continue focusing on what kind of church Hilltop Baptist—or any church!—ought to be, though there’s going to be some overlap in this passage. Last week, I said that a godly church is like a beautiful, godly woman—when the right man comes along, he can’t help but be attracted to her. Last week, we saw that a godly church is a missional church. A godly church is always seeking to reach the lost wherever they are, here and abroad.

Main Idea: Today, in Acts 1, we will see that a godly church is one that has a desire for a pastor.

FCF: Now, that might seem rather obvious. But the fact is that as the weeks and months go by, many churches despair of finding a pastor. Some get desperate and seem to leap upon the first man who comes their way. Others settle into a routine and seem not to mind the lack of leadership. Both are dangerous routes to travel as a church.

Scripture Introduction: So today, in Acts 1, we’re going to look at how God crafted his church to have leadership, and that a godly church desires such leadership and follows the Spirit’s leading in selecting that leadership.

Acts 1:12–26 ESV

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. 15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “ ‘Let another take his office.’ 21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Prayer for Illumination

Transition: Now, the office of Apostle that we see here in Acts 1 is NOT the same thing as the office of Pastor. But, there is a good bit of overlap between the two, and there are several things about how the early church went about selecting a new Apostle that apply just as well to how a church goes about selecting a new Pastor.

A godly church seeking for a pastor is a praying church. (v. 14)

The Apostles and early church were actively praying

It wasn’t just the leaders in the church, it was EVERYONE. (vv. 13-14 ‘[the apostles…together with the women and Mary…and his brothers [and sisters]’)

They weren’t sitting idly by with the attitude, ‘Well, if God wants us to have another apostle, he’ll bring us one.’

Nor did they rush in and rely purely upon their own skills of discernment.

Praying for a pastor is not just something that you do on Sunday

If you really desire something and are concerned about it, do you only think about it on Sunday?

If you are truly concerned about finding a pastor, I have a challenge for you.

Before you watch the news, eat your breakfast, or whatever your routine is in the morning, I challenge you to go through this prayer guide. There is a short passage to read each day, usually just a couple verses, followed by a couple sentences of suggestions to help guide your prayers over the next 40 days. If you haven’t found a pastor within 40 days, you simply start back over at the beginning. It won’t take long—maybe five minutes—to read the passage and pray over it.

Consider adding fasting to your prayers

Fasting is not something Baptists—or modern Christians at all, for that matter—are terribly fond of.

It goes against our deeply ingrained American love of comfort.

But it is extremely biblical. Jesus assumes that his disciples will fast:

Matthew 6:16 ESV

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Matthew 9:15 ESV

15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine 12. Fasting

In the New Testament, Anna was “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:37) in the temple, and the church at Antioch was “worshiping the Lord and fasting” when the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). The church responded with further fasting and prayer before sending Barnabas and Saul on their first missionary journey: “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:3). In fact, fasting was a routine part of seeking the Lord’s guidance with regard to church officers, for on Paul’s first missionary journey, we read that he and Barnabas, as they traveled back through the churches they had founded, “appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting” (Acts 14:23).

So fasting appropriately accompanied prayer in many situations: in times of intensive intercession, repentance, worship, and seeking of guidance. In each of these situations, several benefits come from fasting, all of which affect our relationship to God: (1) Fasting increases our sense of humility and dependence on the Lord (for our hunger and physical weakness continually remind us how we are not really strong in ourselves but need the Lord). (2) Fasting allows us to give more attention to prayer (for we are not spending time on eating), and (3) it is a continual reminder that, just as we sacrifice some personal comfort to the Lord by not eating, so we must continually sacrifice all of ourselves to him. Moreover, (4) fasting is a good exercise in self-discipline, for as we refrain from eating food, which we would ordinarily desire, it also strengthens our ability to refrain from sin, to which we might otherwise be tempted to yield. If we train ourselves to accept the small “suffering” of fasting willingly, we will be better able to accept other suffering for the sake of righteousness (cf. Heb. 5:8; 1 Peter 4:1–2). (5) Fasting also heightens spiritual and mental alertness and a sense of God’s presence as we focus less on the material things of this world (such as food) and as the energies of our body are freed from digesting and processing food. This enables us to focus on eternal spiritual realities that are much more important. Finally, (6) fasting expresses earnestness and urgency in our prayers: if we continued to fast, eventually we would die. Therefore, in a symbolic way, fasting says to God that we are prepared to lay down our lives that the situation be changed rather than that it continue. In this sense fasting is especially appropriate when the spiritual state of the church is low.

“Yet even now,” says the LORD,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

(Joel 2:12–13a)

What about a church-wide fast? What if the church set aside a Saturday to fast and get together to pray? You could even follow it up with a good-ol Baptist fellowship on Sunday. ;)

When you pray, pray with faith.

James 1:5–8 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God has promised to give wisdom to those who ask. So, if you pray for wisdom, you can have confidence that you are praying for something within God’s will—you can have confidence that he will give you wisdom! When you pray for something that is clearly within the will of God, you can pray with absolute confidence!

If you’re serious about finding a pastor, you need to be praying.

A godly church is not content without godly leadership. (vv. 20-22)

Peter and the early church were not content to leave Judas’ position vacant.

They realized the importance of leadership within the church

They already had 11 apostles; If they were not content with that many leaders, how much less content ought a church to be without any pastoral leadership!

How Much Do Coaches Actually Matter? (mit.edu)

How much do coaches actually matter? Well, two researchers from the University of Chicago just might have the answer. Christopher Berry and Anthony Fowler presented their paper “Do Coaches Matter?” at this year’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Here’s Ben’s conversation with Anthony Fowler.

Paul Michelman: In 1989, Kansas State University did, in fact, have a football team, though no one would’ve blamed you if you didn’t notice. The Wildcats had failed to win a game in 1987 or ’88, they had never won a bowl game, and they were the only team in Division 1-A history with 500 losses. The athletic director at the time called the program a career stopper. A former head coach waxed poetically, “Every day there is a catastrophe.” And the man hired to turn around the fortunes of what Sports Illustrated dubbed “Futility U” could only promise this much for his inaugural season: “We will not be 0-11.” And, indeed, he was correct. In 1989, Kansas State improved to 1-10.

Ben Shields: For coach Bill Snyder, that one 1-10 season was just the beginning. At a school with no history, budget, or blue-chip recruits, Snyder did what he was brought to Manhattan to do — he coached. With no five-star recruits lining up to spend four years in the Little Apple, Snyder hit the junior college circuit. Defying the conventions of a run-happy conference, he built his offense around throwing the ball. Slowly but surely, the results trickled in — a bowl win in ’93, a Top 10 season in ’95, 11 wins and the Fiesta Bowl in ’97. Snyder had taken K-State from punchline to powerhouse in less than a decade. And his legend wasn’t done. After retiring in 2005 and witnessing three uninspired seasons from afar, he came back in ’09 — his team now playing in a stadium named after him — and turned the program around again, reaching as high as No. 2 in the country in his second term in charge. Sometimes, all it takes is one coach to turn futility into fortune...

… [These authors developed the thesis that “the right NBA head coach is worth 14 wins per season.”]

Using statistical analysis, Fowler concluded:

"Coaches matter a lot. We found that coaches across basketball, football, baseball, and hockey account for something like 20-30% of the variation in their team’s success.”

What does the pastor contribute?

Spiritual nourishment through preaching

Counseling, comfort, and spiritual guidance

A vision and clear direction for the church

Accountability, Exhortation, and Rebuke (getting church members to do things that they wouldn’t do if no one challenged them)

Intercession between church members and God

Leadership in Evangelism, Discipleship, and Missions

Guidance in selecting leaders and delegating

A church without all of that is a ship without a sail.

But, the early church was not content to fill the position with just anyone, either.

They were careful in their selection

They clearly listed out the qualifications for the candidates

They removed unqualified candidates from the list

When they had their final list of qualified candidates, they relied upon the Spirit’s leading rather than their own intuition.

Conclusion

A godly church is one that desires a godly pastor and is willing to put in the work to get one and keep him. They don’t act out of desperation, snatching up the first person that wanders their way, but they are not content to remain without a leader. The tension and heartache that you feel as a church without a pastor is a good thing—it should drive you to your knees in prayer and to your Bible for guidance.