Understanding The Role Of The Pastor: Called To Proclaim The Word (Ezekiel 2:1-5)
Today our verses cover the calling of
Ezekiel to be a prophet to Israel. God
is giving Ezekiel a task, setting him apart, to go to Israel and proclaim His
(i.e. God’s) message to Israel.
Now, first and foremost, we need to
understand what a prophet is. I think a
common misunderstanding is that a prophet is one who solely “tells the
future.” While we certainly see that
happening in the Old Testament, a much better description of a prophet is
simply one who is sent to proclaim a message, a message on behalf of God. God is consistently in the business of
calling people to proclaim His Word, His message. Moses was called to bring a message to
Egypt. Jonah was called to proclaim a
message to Nineveh. Isaiah was called too
and so forth, etc… you get the picture.
As we think about this in today’s
context, what about here and now? Does
God still speak through prophets in today’s context? Yes he does, however, not in the way that you
probably think.
As we look to the New Testament we see
that the scriptures speak of churches, groups of Christians, calling/appointing
and ordain pastors for the local church.
Furthermore, we see in the scriptures the duties of the Pastor laid
forth. As a result the church has called
and ordained pastors to serve in the local church for the past two thousand
years. Thus we can say that the office
or role of the pastor is a divinely instituted office prescribed by
scripture. The office is laid forth for
the church to have and for men to fulfill.
But what makes a pastor a pastor? Very simply, I am a pastor not because of
some intrinsic worth in myself. In other
words, Pastor Matt Richard doesn’t have a special DNA or special divine powers
that make me a pastor. I am no closer to
God than you are and I am just as much as a sinner as you are, if not more. So what then makes a pastor? The answer is really twofold. First of all, what makes a pastor a pastor is
a calling on behalf of the local
church. You as an entity have called me
to be a pastor to you. You my friends as
believers make up the church. The church
is not a building but the gathering of believers around the Word and Sacraments
of God. You therefore, as the Church of
God, located here in Sidney, have the power to call a person to the office of
pastor. Thus, a pastor is only a pastor
when they have been called by a local
church to be a shepherd. Therefore my
friends, there is no such thing as a self-appointed pastor.
When I was starting seminary, someone
asked me why I was going to seminary and I responded to them saying, “I was called.” Responding they said, “You are not called for you haven’t been called by a church.” This offended me greatly, but do you know what? They were right! Just as God called the people directly in the
Old Testament to be a messenger of the Word, God works through His church, to
call pastors to proclaim the Word to the flock & beyond.
So, now that we understand that
prophets of the Old and Pastors today need to be ‘called,’ what are they called
to?
In my humble opinion, the expectations
of a pastor are some of the most misunderstood things in the church today. Just what does a pastor do and what is he
called to? I came across a very funny
job description for the ideal pastor.
Here is what it says,
"The ideal pastor preaches exactly twenty
minutes with an hour's content. He condemns sin, but never offends
anyone. He works from 8 am to midnight, and also serves as the church
janitor. He makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, and donates $30 a week to the
church. He is 29 years old and has 40 years of experience. He is a
strong leader, yet also follows everyone's advice. He can effectively
relate to all teenagers and spends all of his time with the elderly. He
is tall and short, thin and heavyset, and has one brown eye and one blue eye.
He makes 15 house calls a day, regularly visits the hospital, and is
always in his office."
Now, we can all get
a good chuckle out of the previous job description. I am sure many of you can relate to similar
expectations in your own field of work.
However, in all seriousness though, what is the pastor called to? If we could summarize the office of pastor
into a simple idea, theme and job description, what would it look like? What was the primary thrust of the prophet of
the Old Testament? Simply put, the
pastor is to be the shepherd of the sheep.
He shepherds, protects and feeds them not by his own strength or wisdom
but feeds the sheep and directs the sheep by the Word. A pastor’s main job is to be a servant of the
Words of God, God’s Word as printed in the Bible.
An older pastor once sent out an email to a bunch of young seminarians.
(Note: seminarians are those that are in training for ministry) David
Petersen said to them,
You are a servant of the Word. Follow Jesus. The Way of the
Cross is a lonely, narrow path but it leads to heaven. Be more afraid of
God than you are of the people. It is not the one who signs the check who
provides daily bread. Do the right thing. Tell the Truth.
Suffer the consequences. That is what a servant of Christ does.
It is the Preaching Office. Don't forget that. Your
relationship to the congregation is the same as the prophets to Israel.
Work on teaching and converting your own people-- which includes scores
of folks not on the books. Preach the Gospel to them -- from the pulpit,
the podium, the bedside, and behind the desk. They come looking for
marital advice? Tell them about Jesus dying for them. They come
looking for sympathy and a listening ear? Tell them about Jesus dying for
them. They have a new baby, lost their jobs, are afraid of retirement?
Tell them about Jesus dying for them. No matter what the
circumstances, what the situation, you preach Christ crucified. Never
compromise the simple Truth that has saved you.
Believe your own preaching. Jesus died also for you. He
called you to this Ministry. He knows what he is doing. As good or
as bad as it gets, it will not last forever. He is coming back to claim His
own.
The main job of a pastor is to
proclaim the Word of God to his flock.
He is to proclaim the Word, not his opinion. The pulpit is tied to the Word of God and the
pastor is called to preach the Word. The
pastor only has authority when he is preaching the Word of God and not the
opinion of man. Furthermore the pastor
has no jurisdiction apart from the Word.
So, pastors are called to proclaim the
Word to their flocks, however, what is so special about this Word? Why the
importance of proclaiming, teaching, sharing, applying God’s Word?
There is a temptation in the church
these days to excuse the spoken Word in exchange for deeds. The cry is, “We don’t want creeds/words, but
deeds.” My friends, while it is
important for us to serve our neighbor, we can never forsake the Word of
God. As human beings we are prone to
wander and prone to leave the God that we love.
Therefore, we need to hear daily and especially in the midst of the
church, God’s Word. We need the Word to
stand from the outside—in, speaking to us about our human condition of sin and
also God’s solution, the forgiveness of sins found and purchased in Christ for
us. We need someone to give us a report
from the Word, we need the authoritative Word to stand outside of us and above
us to tell us how things actually are.
We don’t need good advice, good
techniques and good ideas to make us better parents, better spouses and better
friends. No, we need God’s Word of Law
announced to us to reveal sin, show us where we have been deceived and indicate
to us where we have injured our neighbors.
We also need God’s Word of Forgiveness declared to us so that we might
hear that we are forgiven, that we are declared righteous for Christ’s sake,
that the guilt has been removed, that there is no condemnation for us in
Christ, etc…
The reason why the church calls
pastors to proclaim the Word is that the message of the Cross is the power of
God. In Genesis chapter 1 we read and
see that God is speaking the World into existence out of nothing. God speaks,
“Let there be….” And there was. Out
of nothing God makes something and He does so by simply
speaking, His Word. Through God’s Word He
makes all things out of nothing. There
is power in the Word of God! The same
word that created the world is the same Word that creates and grants faith to
you and me. (Rom. 10:17) The same Word
that created the world is the same Word that creates and sustains the church. Through the Word of God miracles happen! You were/are saved. You are granted assurance. You are brought from death to life.
Pastors are called to proclaim the
Word because in the Word of God everything hinges. My friends hear this today, “Christ died for your and my sins and He was
buried and He was raised on the third day.
In Christ there is forgiveness and righteousness, in Christ, you are
accepted, you are accepted, you are accepted.”
Comments
You raised the question, "So what then makes a Pastor?" and responded that the answer is "two-fold" but only talked about one-fold. My understanding is that the call is two-fold: a call from God and then a call from a congregation.
1) If a person aspires to the office of overseer/pastor he desires a noble thing (1 Timothy 3:1).
2) If a person receives a divine calling from a local church. I would suggest that the calling from the church 'is' a calling from God. It is a divine calling where God calls through the church body.