My entrance into the ministry was not as a Pastor. My introduction to ministry was when I was asked to be an Assistant Pastor and minister to the college students. I saw firsthand how a church can impact young people when it pours its energies into building lives and reaching people. A couple years later I became a Pastor. In total, I have pastored for 31 years. I can honestly say it has been a joy and delight to be a Pastor. Pastors have to be a lot of things; a preacher, a counselor, and at times a referee, but most of all, a leader. That is the most difficult thing about it. Whatever else a Pastor must be, he must be a leader. He has no choice. Two of the terms used for a Pastor in the New Testament are "shepherd" and "overseer". A shepherd leads a flock and an overseer sees over the affairs of the church. A Pastor has no choice in terms of whether or not he is a leader and in reality, no one does.
All of us are leaders in some capacity. We all have influence over someone. We are all leaders to some degree.
Only twice in the Bible do we read that Jesus was amazed at anything. Mark tells us that Jesus was amazed that the people in his home town rejected his ministry. Then Luke tells us the story of the Centurion that amazed Jesus. The Centurion had a servant who was sick and he sent word to Jesus to heal the man. Jesus started to go to the man's house when the Centurion stopped him. The Centurion said "No Lord. I am a man under authority." In other words, I understand leadership. He then asked Jesus just to speak the word and heal the servant. This amazed Jesus because the scripture says that Jesus marveled. Whatever else you learn, learn this: to be over, you must be under. It's so true in every life. Constantly I must place my life under the authority of God. To be a good leader I must yield to my authority, the Lord Jesus. This must be done daily. Paul said "I die daily." The secret to leadership is yielding. As I yield to Christ I will become the leader God wants me to be. Today, pray and yield. And as you do, you will see leadership is a privilege.
It's my privilege to be your Pastor. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity.
See you on Sunday.
Pastor
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"Pastors have to be a lot of things; a preacher, a counselor, and at times a referee, but most of all, a leader." Your role as a Pastor sounds just like most people's role as a parent! :) The role is sometimes difficult, but always rewarding.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the longest you have gone w/out writing a new post since you've started your blog!... Waiting for more words of encouragement. :) J/K Thank you so much for being my family's preacher, taking time out to write this blog and for all of your beautiful words of encouragement!
God Bless you and your family!