Philosophy of Ministry Project (December 2004)
Preparing to describe my personal
pastoral call brings me to think of one verse in Hebrews 10:31, “It is a
terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” In one simple
sentence we can sum up just about anyone’s idea of ministry calling. The
Pastoral Call places me out of my hands, out of the world’s hands, and into the
hands of God Himself. Realizing the awesome influence of this verse helps me
begin to define my own calling.
Ministry for me is something all
people are meant to do in various areas of their life. It is said that preaching
itself is something one should only do if he could do nothing else. No matter how
hard I try to run from the feeling, there is always a strong desire in me to
fulfill what God has called me to do. My life is meant to be one built around
helping to build others and increase in them the knowledge and hunger for God
that first began in me.
Intake and study of God’s word is
and has always been one of my greatest passions. There is never a time I do not
enjoy spending free time looking through theological books and studying up on
various scriptures. From what I have studied, I also learned that we are to
give away what we get. By this I believe those who desire to know more about
God must be ready to teach and preach that message to others. This combined
with my compassion for people slowly integrated to the desire of teaching
people about what God has taught me. I found it interesting that the Bible
gives a major Pastoral role to that of a shepherd. Since my namesake is that of
King David and he was too a shepherd, I was excited to learn more about what it
is to be a watcher of God’s sheep. “The
Title of shepherd elevates the pastorate to the highest honor possible, the
honor of being the Good Shepherd’s under shepherds” (Lawerance 75). One must
take that title along with the honor and use it in humility. Pastors may be
leaders but they need to remember they are also servants.
When I read that the Bible tells me
to serve out of a willing and eager spirit, (1 Peter 5:1-4) I get excited. One
thing I know the Lord has given me, is the heart of a servant. It doesn’t
matter what the circumstance or how far I had to go to get it done, if someone
wants or needs something, I am always happy to help. Pastors must never serve
out of an obligation or duty before they serve with a willing and giving heart.
Good shepherds of God’s sheep also
need to be holding themselves accountable. Keeping watch over oneself (Acts 20:28 ) is a Biblical command.
Pastors must guard their own hearts and lives so they do not become corrupt or
complacent when handling the people of God. I often wonder what would have
happened if David started thinking to much of himself and let the sheep wander
away without care.
Shepherds must have compassion on
the helpless and harassed (Matthew 9:35 ).
A Pastor’s heart must be for those who are in need and those who require aid
and direction from God. I have noticed, how it is always when my week has been
bad or tiresome, that I gain so much more from hearing my Pastor/Shepherd on
Sunday morning. Just as I need the Pastor to help me, I too must direct myself
toward those who need God.
As Shepherds, the Pastor must be
willing to give his life for the sheep (John 10:11 ). He must dedicate himself fully to the work of
taking care of those sheep. It can be difficult for any Pastor to give up their
own life, reputation, career goals, and self in order to give their life for
the sheep. It is when the Pastor has that mindset, they are truly ready to gather
a scattered flock (Ezekiel 34:11-13). Pastors must be willing to go to great
lengths in order to bring back those lost and astray from the Church. Pastors
are not called to simply forget about the sheep when the hour is late, for even
through prayer the Pastor can be helping the sheep in his care. A Pastor must
never forget who the true owner of the flock is. “The pastor’s role is that of
manager or steward of what belongs to God. Pastors are not owners of the flock.
The flock is God’s. God is the owner; pastors are the managers” (Blackaby 11).
While shepherds are watchmen they must not forget God is the ultimate Shepherd
and Leader.
II.
My Leadership Style
Leadership style is grown and
produced through experience rather than learned skill. Truly there is a good
deal of learning that must be done to find our ‘style’ but when we do it is
often the thing that has already been active in our lives. There are many kinds
of leader character tests and types which all mix together. Of the four
particular styles studied there is only one which seems to define me the most.
In the “let me help you” style I can
see my gift of service used strongly. This is the major style for me, as it
characterizes my lifetime desire to be optimistic and supportive while trying
to help people along with their goals. In contrast to this I have never been
much of an action initiating “let’s go” style. I do like to keep careful
planning and think through everything with care as the “let’s be careful” style
suggests. The final style of “lets stay together” would be the second most that
fits my character as a leader. I find myself easy to get along with and one who
tries to be at peace with all people when it is possible. Friendliness and
service are the marks of my leadership style.
After developing a leadership style
of my own it is good to see what the Bible says in regard to being a servant
leader. Jesus came to earth and made nothing of himself but became a servant
(Phil 2:7). In this same way every believer and every leader should take on the
same nature and not put themselves on a high scale of importance. What Jesus
says after washing the feet of the disciples gives an important lesson for all
masters or leaders. There is no servant greater than the one who sent him (John
13:16 ). For all Pastors
who have been called as leaders of God’s people, there must be a humble
acknowledgment of service to the greater master and leader.
With my leadership style defined the
next thing to do is examine the function of myself as a pastor and leader. Most
people follow leaders today because they have a position and the people have no
other choice but to follow. It is a slow process to go from this level of
leadership through the relationship and into the results levels. Once a leader
develops a relationship with people, they begin to work and do things beyond
the call of duty. After a while the leader is followed simply because of the
things he does for the organization. It is after these beginning levels that
one would get into reproducing the work environment and gaining respect. For my
position currently, in the very least a beginner Pastor, there is a long way to
go before I get to the higher levels of leadership.
Followers and leaders ask similar
questions that must be answered to gain an understanding of leadership. It all
begins with us knowing what we are supposed to do and how much authority we
choose to delegate. Leaders cannot stand alone and I know I will need a good
team to work with me. I have observed my role in the ministry and come to
understand the importance of relationship between leaders and followers. The
leader must be able and willing to help and encourage the follower. The
follower must also be ready and willing to give all they are able to complete
goals. Both the leader and follower must serve each other in order for there to
be a balanced and healthy working environment. Finally, the ultimate goal of
the leader is to follow the model Jesus gave as a servant. Jesus spent more
time touching people and talking to them than in any other action. Jesus knew,
touched, healed, affected, and mentored the people with a Shepherd’s touch
(John 10:14 -15; Luke 4:40 ; Matthew 15:30 ; Luke 6:40; John 13:15-17). As a leader I
aim to follow the model set before me by Jesus as one who reaches out to the
people with the hands of a Shepherd.
III.
Biblical Purpose Statement of the Local Church
During the formation of any church
there must be a development of a ministry model. This model gives the Church or
organization a foundation of its core purpose and mission. In the creation of
my own model for my Church I have laid down three basic elements, which in
order, cover the whole. The three areas that form my Church are the worship of
God, study of His Word, and reaching to the world. The area of worshiping God
comprises the element of Upreach as we move our hands up toward heaven and seek
to glorify God in everything. During our study in His word we will focus on the
inreach done within the core of the Church body in that we study and fellowship
together. The last element which many Churches have neglected is the outreach
to the world.
Worship takes on many forms in my
Church as we do emphasize it in various ways. One thing I have always been is a
man of prayer. It is a vital part of the life of any church to have constant
prayer. Prayer should be a devotion in the Church life (Acts 2:42 ). Along with prayer there needs to be
communion, and dedication to worship. We hold services for just prayer and
worship at times in order for people to simply come before the Lord.
For the practice of studying the
Word together, my Church has developed small group meetings where various homes
are set up for times of fellowship. I have created the opportunity for lives to
be touched on a more intimate level in this form so people can get to know one
another. The body of Christ should be working inward to help keep itself
healthy and going strong. We are told in Scripture to pursue building up one
another. Another thing we have also created is a place in our budget to help
families who are having difficulty with paying bills, or cannot afford to send
their children to youth retreats. One must exercise the body as well as the
spirit in order to be ready for the battles we face in this world.
As much as I have always tried to
avoid the whole missions concept, there is no way as a Pastor I can ignore the nations
of the world. There are far too many needs out in the world and in our country
that must be met. My Church is dedicated to rise to the call of world
evangelism. The cry for preaching to the world comes from Jesus after the
resurrection, He commanded us to go into the world (Matthew 28:18-20). The
Church is to go and to promote the work of the message, pouring it out into all
the earth. We aim to see everyone having help when they need it. All believers
have the call to ministry in their own individual way. The Church will work on
developing the people with the right gifts and information they need to take
the Gospel to the world.
A couple of Biblical images of the
church stand out when I look at my church
ministry. The body
of Christ has been described as a household of God’s people. Everyone is a
member of the Lord’s house (Ephesians 2:19 -22). Every member is involved together in
a family relationship as we are in the same house. All believers are therefore
to relate to each other as children and brothers and sisters.
The second image of
the Church goes along with the household of God with another step forward. The
Church is one body made up of different parts with different functions; giving
each person their own gift and talent to use in the body as whole. Every
individual in the church is to use what they have for the benefit of everyone
else (Romans 12:3-6; 1 Corinthians 12:27 -28).
This description of the church helps us to see every person as unique and as
important as everyone else. No one person is more important than the other.
Every Christian in the church acts with a direct reaction on the other people
in the church. We have to all work together or the body as a whole would not
work. The Church is to use those things it is given as the body of Christ in
order to help one another in the body to grow and work. The gifts given are
given to aid.
My Church is unique among many for
its emphasis upon the knowledge and understanding of God and His Word. Within
the culture and society of the modern day church there are many various
divisions and styles that take place. Of all the different types of churches around,
my own can be narrowed down to a mixture of three.
First and foremost my ministry has
been based in the classroom environment. My pleasure is to seek out knowledge
and information and develop a way to translate that to the students in the
church. Through email devotions, midweek Bible Studies, and other avenues we
have quickly gotten a hold of an expository form of preaching.
A second type my Church ministry
fits into is being experiential. In this form we seek to have the people
experience God in a whole new level. The desire is to see Christians be
empowered and feel what it is to have a real relationship with God outside the
guise of religion.
The third type of Church we relate
to most is the family reunion type Church. It is important for us to develop a
system that brings the believer out of the world and reminds them they belong
to the family of God. The term family and concept of traditional values have
been lost in this world and the only place they can truly be restored is within
the Kingdom of God
IV.
A Unique Mission Statement
for Your Ministry Context
The current ministry environment for
my Church organization is found in the basic small town environment of nearly 16,000
people. Many of churches already located within the city limits are Baptist,
Catholic, or Methodist with a handful of others. We are living in the middle of
the “bible belt of America
For the time being my congregation
is filled with either busy college students or hard working parents. Both find
it difficult to always meet demands of the Church life. It is these though that
I am able to talk to about where they want to go and what the vision should be
for the Church. We have set standards and are always trying to develop good
ways to work hard in the community. I receive feedback and am always encouraged
to hear reports positive and negative on how the ministry is going. I realize
there is a great deal of competition for the free time of the people. There are
so many things going on in our lives to keep us from wanting to spend even a
couple hours attending the Church. I want to move past the feeling of duty into
desire. My longing is and will always be for people to take pleasure in working
as the body of Christ both to bring aid to the community as well as bring
encouragement to one another. Above all it is important for the Church to work
toward the fulfillment of its own core values.
All ministries and Churches should
have a developed set of core values that they seek to follow and hold firmly as
standards. My first core value is to see the healing of broken and wounded
people. My heart breaks for those who have been going through trouble and
struggle and I long to reach out to them. Jesus proclaimed “the favorable” year
as: a time of release from bondage and healing to the sick and broken. The
healing of the sick, wounded and broken is a high priority in a compassionate
and loving God. It is a service and act of obedience for us to lead people
to healing (Luke 4:18 -21).
With my experience working in a
mission organization I have developed the value of providing opportunities for
missions. I aim to provide the Church with materials for education and
evangelism as well as support world missions as a main goal (Acts 12:1-3). My
desire is to send teams out, and at the same time train and expose my
church to as many cross-cultural types of ministry as possible.
Though Jesus said we will always
have the poor among us, there is still the Biblical mandate to reach out and
care for them (Matthew 26:11). This takes pleace both physically and
spiritually. Salvation is for the “whole” man (James 2:14 -18) and I believe one of our
main priorities is to those in need. We give and love because we are being
taken care of by God in all ways.
Another value is to empower
disciples with the teaching and education they need to understand the Word of
God and present it to others in the world (Matthew 28:19). So many people think
they know the Bible and never take the time to dive into it deeply.
I desire to create a team driven
leadership of elders and people to serve in the Church (Ephesians 4:11 -16). We need to have people
willing to give everything they have to do all things in order to glorify
Christ. A Church working as a hard moving and growing organization will only be
effective with a good solid leadership team.
My church will focus greatly on
keeping a solid Biblical prayer life (Colossians 4:2). Many Christians have
lost the significance of having a daily prayer walk with God. Our goal will be
to bring people back to having a firm hold on what it means to have a
relationship with God that goes beyond attending services.
My Church seeks to have integrity to
God and the community as it witnesses of Christ (James 2:18 ). The people are watching the believers
to see if their faith is real and if they can be truly trusted. It is important
for us to have a accountable and faithful body of believers.
A final value for my church is
worship that draws people to glorify God (Psalm 68:35). So much of what we do
in this world is done to get through the day and not worry about what our
relationship with God is like. Our prayers are more requests than praise. This
value is to bring people into a worship service which allows them to step into
the presence of the Lord and remember who He truly is.
Our core values undergird the
mission of the Church. That mission is to be: prepared to equip, energize, and
engage people into relationships with each other and with God. We desire to see
growth and life fill every person in the Church, the community, and the world.
In equipping, we are teaching and training our people how to witness and
evangelize in the world. We want to make them ready to face all kinds of
situations and problems they will face when they carry the Name of Jesus. By
energizing, we want to fill the people with excitement in their relationship
with God as well as desire to make that known to the world. In engaging people
there is a bond of fellowship that must take place as the people begin helping
one another to grow and make it through life. It is easy to get lost in the
world and even the church today, so I have developed my mission and values in
such a way to focus on the preparation and growth of the individual to be more
like Christ and ready them to go out into the world carrying the Gospel
message.
V.
A Statement of Vision that Describes Your Preferred Future
My vision for my personal ministry
is to be in a place where people feel they are growing in their relationship
with the Lord. I do not like how many Churches just go stable throughout the
years and never appear to change or grow. Often I find myself talking of myself
as one who will be a Senior Pastor of an average size Church but one that
abounds with grace from the Lord. My Pastoral role will be in an area where I
can teach others and watch them get closer to God. I also hope to be doing a
great deal more for the Kingdom in areas of prayer, witness, and mission work.
God has placed a desire on my heart to preach His Word in a way that is not
typical or normal. I intend to find the right place where God wants to use me
and stick with complete commitment to the growth of the Church.
VI.
A Declaration of Vision Strategy
My specific ministry model will
employ a three strikes rule which will bring the people into the vision. At the
very beginning we have to work on what will draw people into Church and give
them a taste for what the Lord is doing. Questions of why they would even want
to come, need to be answered. My church will seek out ways to invite people in
and show them an environment of kind, loving, and fun Christians.
After we have drawn people in the
second strike will be developing various ministry opportunities. This is first
going to require careful planning and qualified leadership to head up the
various positions in the church. As a major role, each ministry will be
tailored to specific needs. Divorce, singles, anger, healing, youth, and other
various classes must be formed to encompass all of the people who call the Church
their own.
After the ministry is laid down the
people will begin to develop and mature as Christians. We will offer classes
which teach discipleship and early Christians. I want to make sure there is
help needed for every situation that arises. Once this step and the others are
complete we will see to having our mission complete. There can be nothing else
better than to extend God’s love to the people through a passion and
compassion.
After all is put into place and my
Church is working on the vision and mission we have laid down, we will have a
hard working established plan. Just like a shepherd the Pastor needs to have a
reason for what he does with the sheep and a plan for helping them grow. He
must know what to do when they fall down and are sick, or when they are in any
other kind of need. Pastors are called to watch over the flock and take care of
them in the essential role of leading and feeding the people. Without a clear
vision we run the risk of perishing. This is why we must have a developed plan
of how to take care of the sheep and stick to it as our mission and purpose for
being a Pastor.
Bibliography
Blackaby, Henry T.
& Henry Brandt, The Power of the Call (Broadman & Holman,
1997).
Bruce, F.F., Word
Biblical Commentary: 1&2 Thessalonians. Waco
Hawthorne, Gerald, F. and Martin, Ralph, P., Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Downers Grove :
InterVarsity, 1993.
Lawrence, Bill, Effective Pastoring (Word Publishing, 1999).
Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Church (Zondervan,
1995).
