The Ministry of the Word

I want you to think for a moment about all the things that a pastor does or is expected to do each week. I’ll help you get started: Preaching, visitation, funerals and weddings, evangelism, prayer, teaching, personal study, denominational engagement, deacons/staff meetings, financial administration, and whatever else comes to your mind. I’ve given you a handout here that lists out some of the basic things a pastor does, but feel free to add to that list if you think of something.

Now, as you’re glancing over that list--what you think are the top three MOST IMPORTANT things that a pastor does? Go ahead and circle those top three things. Don’t bother with trying to fill in all the blanks right now, this is homework for you! For now, just circle what you think are the top three Pastoral duties.

Thom Rainer once did an informal study of his congregations’ expectations of him as a pastor, which I find quite interesting. Here’s what he had to say about it:

When I was a pastor in St. Petersburg, Florida, I gave a survey to the twelve deacons in the church. I listed several congregational responsibilities and asked them to share the minimum amount of time I should average in each area each week. I listed about twenty areas; but they were free to add other responsibilities to the blank lines.

I'm not sure exactly what I was anticipating. I just know that I was shocked when I tallied the results. In order to meet those twelve deacons minimum expectations I had to fulfill the following responsibilities each week:

Prayer at the church: 14 hours

Sermon preparation: 18 hours

Outreach and evangelism: 10 hours

Counseling: 10 hours

Hospital and home visits: 15 hours

Administrative functions: 18 hours

Community involvement: 5 hours

Denominational involvement: 5 hours

Church meetings: 5 hours

Worship services/preaching: 4 hours

Other: 10 hours

Total: 114 hours/week

If I met just the minimum expectations of twelve deacons, I would have to work more than 16 hours a day for seven days a week. Or I could take one day off of work each week, and work 19 hours a day for six days a week. And remember, I still would only meet the minimum expectations of twelve people in the church, not the entire membership.

Clearly a pastor will sense the tension of so many factors competing for the limited hours in a week. And clearly no one can ever humanly meet all those expectations.

FCF:

If we give 8 hours a day to sleep—and we should—then there are only 112 hours of time that we spend awake in a week. As you can see, there’s just no way to meet those kinds of expectations and retain any form of sanity, let alone model an exemplary marriage and home life for your congregation.

Yet, those things all have to get done, right? Looking over this list, none of the items here listed are trivial—they’re all important in the life and ministry of a church. So how is a church supposed to get all of it done?

Well, you might already suspect where I’m going with this, but I’ll save that for a little later.

As we continue our study this morning in Preparing for a Pastor, we’re going to look at one of the central qualifications and job descriptions given to a pastor.

Main Idea:

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess what are the most important jobs of a pastor—Scripture tells us! I’m going to argue this morning that the two most important jobs a pastor has, according to Scripture, are prayer and the ministry of the Word through preaching/teaching. The most important duty of a pastor is to pray for and preach the Word to his people. This ministry of the Word must remain central in our churches and be given the primacy that it is due.

Scripture Introduction:

1 Timothy 3:2 ESV

2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Prayer for Illumination

Transition:

The Pastor must be able to teach (have the gift of teaching).

This is the key difference between elders/pastors and deacons

The one thing conspicuously missing from the qualifications for deacon is ‘able to teach’

1 Timothy 3:2 ESV

2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Primary way that the pastor interacts with the people is through exposition of the Word each week.

Many of the pastor’s other duties and the church’s responsibilities are furthered, influenced, or accomplished through the preaching of the Word.

Outreach and Evangelism—One of the primary ways a pastor effects this in the church is through his preaching! Not only does he preach evangelistically, but he also teaches the members how to effectively evangelize.

Counseling—Many issues that arise in counseling probably could have been addressed through sound preaching before they became issues. How many times have you heard something in the preaching of the Word that positively impacted your marriage or parenting? Helped you through grieving or difficult times? Helped you with a difficult decision in your life?

Now, that doesn’t mean that a pastor can do everything from the pulpit—far from it! Some of the most impactful moments of discipleship don’t happen in the pulpit but at the hospital bed or in the home. But, those moments won’t be possible or effective long term if a pastor cannot handle the Word well.

The pastor should be a reasonably good teacher, not necessarily a phenomenal preacher. Be wary of expectations that are too high or unbiblical.

Common unbiblical notions of what makes a ‘Good preacher’

Funny/Entertaining—he makes me laugh

Loud and forceful, fire and brimstone!

Dresses well (either dresses nicely or in everyday attire to make people feel comfortable)

Uses lots of Greek in his sermons, sounds smart, went to seminary, etc.

1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Tells good stories

Biblical model of preaching:

2 Timothy 4:1–5 (ESV)

1 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: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Luke 24:25–27 (ESV)

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Takes complex things and makes them understood.

Explaining God’s Word

Exhorting people to obey God’s Word

Rebuking people for disobeying God’s Word

Pointing people to Christ

Applying God’s Word to the everyday situations of the congregation

The Pastor must be able to teach (have sufficient time for preaching and teaching).

Ministry of the Word is the most important task of a Pastor

Acts 6:1–7 (ESV)

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Notice the primacy the Apostles gave to preaching!

James 1:27 ESV

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Peter says that preaching the word and prayer are even more important than visiting widows!

That doesn’t mean that this important ministry gets neglected, but it does mean that it may or may not be the pastor who does it. (more on that in a minute)

Preaching is more important than visitation, administration, counseling, etc.

Prayer is an equally essential aspect of pastoring.

It expresses dependence upon God

It draws the heart of the pastor to his congregation

It brings the pastors heart into alignment with God’s will

The Church as pastoral support

In both the NT and the OT, leaders of God’s people delegated responsibilities to key people in their congregations who could share the burden of ministry.

Acts 6:3 (ESV)

3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

Acts 6:5–7 ESV

5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Most scholars recognize this as the origins of the office of deacon.

Where did Peter get this idea from?

Exodus 18:13–27 (ESV)

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” 24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.

Moses had three tasks:

Intercessory prayer

Preaching the Law

Delegating other ministries

The model of the one-man-show, do-it-all pastor is unbiblical.

Pastors are human and subject to the same limitations that you are.

They can’t do it all alone.

As your church grows, so will the needs.

Imagine for a moment that you get a new pastor next week. Now, imagine that he has the primary responsibility for teaching and preaching twice a week, prayer, evangelism, administration, hospital visitations, weddings, funerals, and staff meetings. Chances are good that in a church of 20, he could handle all of that if he was full-time. But, how many hours a week would he have to work if he were bivocational? 60? 70?

How long do you think he could maintain that? What do you think his family life would look like? What kinds of things do you think would be the first things to get cut from his schedule? I’ll tell you what it would be—it would be the things that no one sees him do. Prayer. Daily Bible reading. Family time. Shortcuts on sermon preparation.

Now, imagine that God blesses your church and you show up one morning and your church has suddenly grown to 50 overnight. How many hours a week would he have to work now?

Brothers and sisters, there’s a simple solution in Scripture that’s staring us in the face if we’ll just accept it. Those of you who are mature Christians are going to have to do some more maturing and share the burden of ministry. You’re going to have to take on some responsibility for outreach and evangelism, for counseling, for welcoming in new members and visitors, for visiting the sick in the hospital. Any good pastor will be involved in those things as well, but it’s unrealistic, unhealthy, and unbiblical to expect your pastor to do all that on his own.

Conclusion

As you’re searching for a pastor, remember that the most important thing he will do for you as a church is to pray for you and minister the Word to you through preaching and teaching. Of course, he has to have a servant’s heart! Any man who loves his church is going to want to do any ministry that he can! But watch out for pastors who are unwilling to give away the ministry—that’s a recipe for stagnation and disaster! And beware of placing unbiblical and unrealistic expectations on him.