Why does the church need pastors

It seems to work! Our Church roll is nearly 1, One significant component to effective pastoral care is effective inner healing ministries. They put a dangerous focus, that Small is better, small churches are more in the community, and these small churches actually do not want grow big.

Obviously i have questions about that movement. Any insight from anybody? My business partners needed to fill out DEQ A last year and used a web service with a searchable database. I once heard a mega church assistant pastor explain the senior pastor was taking several years to solve various problems because the church had grown to 5, from The pastoral staff stayed about the same size, however, although the senior pastor acquired a plane to get things done faster.

Another pastor of a mega church, in contrast, had about 30 pastors on staff. They knew the sheep and met with them. The Jesus Model would be 12 disciples for one God. Jesus had One God. Twelve disciples. One American pastor.

As few as possible. An interesting note: within the ancient Jewish communities, there was 1 rabbi for every 30 families. Shall a man rob God? You should be able to have a discipling pastor in your life or a qualified church leader.

You should be trained in the scriptures and sound doctrine of the scriptures. I took time to read many of these discussion posts before writing. That being said, disscussion is only as beneficial as it aids the greater good.

I am sharing this article with everyone I can,not because I want to pastor a couple people, but because it offers a not the only, but a solution to a major epidemic facing the rural churches all over Appalachia. We would be foolish to just follow some 10 step process without modifying it to fit our feet. Paraphrase Soli Deo Gloria. To entrust the care ministry to others and equip them to do so is much more effective and in line with the Scriptures.

If a pastor thinks that this is only his responsibility, then his pride will either lead to frustration or disobedience to the Great Commission. Excellent comment. I like this view. Lay people do well working and being trained in small groups. Delegation has to be specific, detailed and duties known. Excellent blog Carey! Your skill is to lead and communicate the message; ours is to care for those in our circle and to bring the unchurched to church.

A place where great decisions can be made! I would rather see 20 churches with attendance numbers in the area with great Pastoral care than 1 church with an attendance of with little to no Pastoral care. Pastoral care remains just through the members called to minister to one another making it a church of Now you have 20 churches with great Pastoral care and 20, members of the The Church of Christ.

How well does this apply to a chapel setting, particularly a hospital chapel? Check out Ezek. Ezekiel 34 has nothing to do with pastoral care and everything to do with pastors who had lost their heart for people and for God.

Oh, I am very familiar with both of those passages, and you too quickly dismiss the Ezekiel passage. The context is prophets of God who stop caring for the flock in order to pursue their own interests. Instead of personally caring for the flock, they just use the flock to build themselves up. If that is what God called you to, blessings upon you, but stop insulting the rest of us who take our calling to shepherd the sheep seriously.

In regard to Ex. In Eph. Or that we are less in His eyes for not expanding to over ? Or that you are more blessed because you have? If bigger is better, then Joel Olsteen is really great. I would also argue that you can always plan to grow your team as you grow your congregation. Well, I just hired an assistant pastor 2 weeks ago, so I must agree in part. However, my example is the Good Shepherd in Jn. In verses 3 and 14 Jesus states that he knows His sheep by name.

Do you know them by name and occupation? The word pastor is only mentioned once in the bible, Ephesians They are teachers, which is what it says they are. They equip the saints disciples to be ministers of the gospel.. No where will you find that one man is to be over all of the sheep of God.

Read 1 Peter 5. It clearly states in this scripture that Elders more than one who has been appointed by the people are to be the overseers, the shepherds of Jesus flock. The word shepherd has been twisted to make it into pastor, although you will not find it any the bible that says a pastor is the shepherd of the flock. Study it, you will not find it.

I am agreeing with you, and let me add…. The elders 1 Peter 5 says the elders has the responsibility to overseer and shepherd the flock. Not sit around being fat sheep, nor being fat equippers, or fat elders…. Ezekiel 34 speaks volumes to the Elders overseers shepherds, as out lined in 1 Peter 5. Spot on, brother.

Amen, and many Pastors that are fearful to trust delegation, and run a one man show, perhaps due to insecurity. You are discrediting the work of shepherding. Numerical growth is of God. Spiritual growth is the work of the pastor. Sorry dear one..

They are called by Jesus to be the equippers of his sheep, not the care takers, that is the elders job. Wear more than one hat can be a problem and a conflict of interest. Excellent stuff. How did you go about teaching your members to shift the mindset, and training them to shift their pastoral care to groups? What was your process? Sermons, small groups training, etc? Yes, formal roles in church life are needed, but the informal roles within the church are the most important.

I agree. Pastors are expected to do more than they were called to do. But they need to teach their congregations to actually be the church. The many various individual christian churches all have their own congregations flocks with their own pastors shepherds and teachers, all claiming they are part of the one true church and that they are working for Jesus.

But rather, the christian pastors and Bible teachers and theologians are simply the blind leading the blind, and have led the religion of Christianity into a pit of darkness. The truth is that Messiah Jesus is the only good shepherd, the One Shepherd Pastor of his one flock; our only Master and Lord; our One Teacher, and we are all brothers and sisters with One Father who is in heaven John , 16; Ezekiel , ; Isaiah ; Jude ; John ; Matthew — we are disciples of Jesus, not members of the religion of Christianity.

We are the true worshipers who worship the Father in spirit and in truth, rather than in church buildings and with empty rituals. John ; Isaiah See John , 27; Jude , 11; Matthew Jude ; see also Matthew , If we wish to enter into life, we would be wise to listen to the voice of truth, and leave the blind guides:. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit. And then come follow the Light of the world, so that you might have the light of life, and no longer walk in darkness; for his words will set you free from the darkness and deception if you are willing to listen and obey them.

John , , If people duck out of the services during the final hymn in order to beat the crush in the parking lot, that church is too big for me. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

If we believe the Bible and we can understand the clear language that Paul has given to no less than three of the early churches, then we see that Christ himself has give different gifts to different people. That simply is not Biblical. A man who has been given the gift of being a teacher may not have the same gift of being a pastor. A man with the gift of being a pastor may not have the gift of being a preacher.

The man who has the gift of leadership may not have the gift of being an encourager. If the head of a local church is given the gift of leadership and guidance, and he appoints someone to preach the word on Sundays and another to be in charge of visitation, how many would accept that in our church culture? And yet, if he is using his gifts and he is allowing others to use their gifts, he is doing the right thing.

Putting the pressure of running a church on a single man is not what is taught in the New Testament. The New Testament teaches that various gifts are given to various people so that the church can run effectively.

Even near the very beginning of the church, the Apostles appointed seven men to run some of the pastoral duties of the church in Jerusalem. Good pastoral care is the main reason why broken, vulnerable and needy people come to church in the first place and stay.

The world watches how we deal with each other. I am utterly fed up with silly headlines putting pastoral carers down and implying that bigger is always better. If all those people who travel miles to go to a mega church where they can hide in plain view actually committed to living their lives in the communities where they physically live, showed true loving pastoral care to those who will also know them through and through, THEN the Church will be known by its love of each and love of others and actually be noticed for all the right reasons.

Stop knocking it. I can sense your aggravation with this topic and I understand your view. I will try and answer your response with respect and with the love of Christ—knowing we are brothers. As an ex-church planter, current church planter trainer, a pastor, and now a revitalization pastor, I agree with Carey. He I believe I am reading his article correctly is stating that to further the gospel, churches can reach more people by making sure that pastor is focused upon leadership training which includes pastoral care training , preaching the gospel, and intentionally being a part of community.

As a pastor, I have to work hard and deliberately to set aside time to meet new people non-believers , outside of my circle of influence. I do this in many ways, but understand fully what Carey is stating. I could be reaching even more people with gospel, if I were training members to reach and serve the community, and while doing that, having a pastoral care team that can effectively care for the needs of the flock. The problem is our broken clergy model—which heightens the role, expectations, and duties of the senior pastor—to do it all.

If more laity were empowered Eph 4 , the church would be reaching and connecting to a far greater amount of people. Instead of surviving, the church would be thriving. First, we are not brothers Matt. I am not male. Second, the title of this article is deliberately downgrading the importance of pastoral care in churches.

Fourth, the point that we can agree on is that the over reliance on the clergy to essentially do the work and ministry of the laity should be doing as well as the leaders not instead of is a big problem in many churches. Empowering the laity is a major challenge and many of us now are reaping the fruits of teaching and practices that elevated the ordained leader to a position they should never have had.

I am clearly responding to an article that is downgrading the importance of a church leader having a pastoral heart. You need to read replies in the context of the discussion. I think you missed the whole premise. We have been given a Great Commission to go and make disciples. This means that we are seeking to reach people far from God with the Gospel. A shepherds job is to care for the sheep, yes… but he should also be making sure his sheep are reproducing..

Just a thought. Let me give you an example of what CEO teaching Pastors do now.. A man in his church has to have emergency open bypass surgery but CEO Teaching Pastor cause he is too busy on his twitter, blog ect.

Well that visit is never made, nor does the CEO Teaching Pastor never call himself or come cause he thought his assistant to the assistant did it for him. I think we have very different definitions of pastors. Maybe caring for more people by scaling your church means you actually care more. Carey, I really think that your definition of pastoral care is more in keeping with the corporate structure than it is with Biblical truth.

My 48 years as a pastor convinces me. Complication 2 applies to other groups—such as the Jaycees or the Lions Clubs. I used to belong to Jaycee and Lions Club organizations, and they wanted me to serve as a puppy—not as a leader. The Jaycee chapter to which I belonged is now defunct and the Lions Club to which I belonged is dying. I failed at being a real leader, and so did my groups. Pastoral care is a fundamental aspect of church ministry which should not be neglected.

Other churches seem to maintain their numbers, but do this by continually bringing in a constant stream of new followers. Clicks form, and ultimately, the churches exit door is just as big as the entrance. As living the Christian life is much more akin to a marathon than a sprinting race. It does not matter how many people you have sitting on seats, in your church, if there is no longevity. Pastoral care, is often critical, but also overlooked aspect of ministry.

It is essential for maintaining the Church. From many examples of those situations sighted weddings, funerals, illness, relationship problems, etc. Good pastoral care should be happening continually, everyday, and before people reach these life stages. Hard to do, and impossible for one person.

The real key is to enlist the help of others. By encouraging, and equipping the lay community to take on leadership and ministry roles for themselves. I think most Christian communities need to let go of the personality cult. The church pastor is not superman, and he is not the only pastor.

His job is not to minister, but rather, to train others in how to do it. This is exactly what Carey said. He said you train people up to do the pastoral care in the trenches through grouplife initiatives. We care for each other, not the pastor cares for everyone.

Sighting, at the begining of his article, that the vast majority of churches with congregations smaller than people is a problem.

I would firstly like to ask the author why he believes that a person church is undesirable. It seems clear to me that if people is the optimum size for pastoral care, then this is a good size to have. Kingdom growth simply means that you have more of them.

Another point which I picked up from the language is the general lack of emphasis on training and equiping. The author seems to be advocating the wholesale delegation of pastoral care; but not giving a clear picture on how those needs are now to be met.

But in restructuring a church, careful consideration needs to be given to how these needs are now to be met. I do appreciate that the author could have perhaps been deliberately provocative with the title of this article. But I do also detect a subtle idolatry creeping into this line of argument. An idolatry which should be identified and addressed.

Raising up other followers of Jesus who do the same is the goal. We need to do this in smaller groups and one on one whenever possible. Having home groups in a larger church is a good way to do this. Healthy accountability, as opposed to disfunctional accountability is the way to do this.

Regarding pastoral care, it seems pretty simple. Those with the gift of leadership… lead. However, each has our unique calling. Just like all of us give, not all have the gift of giving. All of us are to serve, but for some, it is their principle gift. All of us are to show compassion mercy but some have this in abundant measure. If the entire body fulfills their calling, we have… the body of Christ.

If someone primarily is called to pastoral care, it might be difficult to adequately fulfill other role such as teaching, vision casting, etc. Get all believers on the right seat on the bus, and it will go as far as God intends. This is why he gives us spiritual gifts! This is a good article, but an even more fascinating discussion. The basic question seems to come down to what God wants for the church. Perhaps love God, then neighbor and self?

Perhaps feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, shelter to the stranger, and visit the sick and the prisoner. Many churches have turned these directives upside down. Love us, pastor. Feed, shelter, and visit us, pastor. A church that follows these clues will be active in its community and will attract new people through its service, and grow.

What matter is how the church cares for the community in which it lives. Corey is absolutely right. The pastor is called to lead and model and equip the church for this service. Thanks Corey for this article, this is so true. I serve a church that was wise enough to realize that congregational care could reach much further than pastoral care alone. I, as senior pastor, still provides care in urgent and important situations, but trained, gifted lay persons provide the on-going care.

Thanks to the faithfulness and leadership of these lay leaders and the power of God, our church has been able to grow well beyond the barrier, and God willing, will keep growing and reaching new people.

The Seminary approach to providing church leadership is contra-biblical——-Disciple Making is the Biblical method. If you do not understand that, you have much learning to do. Another way to through the pastoral care trap is to embrace the New Testament concept of ekklesia where Christ-followers serve and minister to one another. Thank you so much for this article. Much of the problem lies in the language we use. I believe the word for this is abomination.

I used to go to a church just like this. After 17 years, 5 different pastors, prayer meetings giving way to the pastor teaching instead, I realized I had to leave in order to come alive spiritually again. Also my children needed to see a more Biblical model so they could live too. She now wants to go to Uganda for a long-term mission. More money […]. Sure, leadership is an important part of pastoral work, and delegation is a good part of leadership.

It is perfectly fair to criticize pastors who fall into the trap of loving to be needed pastoral idolatry? Some people get too dependent on the pastor. Others like me never see the pastor nor any care. There is a thing as too little pastoral care. I have never really seen it unless I was at the hospital visiting a grand parent when clergy came. For all the committee meetings and time consuming nonsense, there needs to be some care about ordinary people.

Yet why should my opinion count? I see your premise as flawed. It is NOT measured by programs or buildings. One who loves Jesus obeys His Word. In the pastoral epistles the directive is to feed His sheep. Preach the Word. Feed the sheep—not the goats. Feed the sheep—not entertain the goats. Spend your time preaching the word of the Cross which is the power of God for salvation. Get over yourself. You are not Christ. You are not the reason the church exists. You are not the one that saves anyone.

Repent of your self-serving nature and return to your first love, if it is. God will add to the number of the church. As the senior leader of a congregation I have frequently seen Pastors do the inverse of what God is doing. It may seem odd but I see true pastoral care like Paliative Care — comfort them while they die.

God is trying to lead us to the cross and die to ourselves but instead, many are busy trying to keep alive what ought to die. Without diving too deep into the atonement; I see the cross as helping us understand how we can overcome realities that seek to denigrate, demoralize, and destroy us. The focus should not be on the cross, but instead on the redemptive and empowering message of transforming the stories and symbols of our lives so that we may serve in our fullest capacity.

It teaches them to evaluate pastors like they evaluate CEOs, so their performance becomes more important than their character. They fail to consider that of all the biblical qualifications for pastors, there is just one related to skill. All the others are related to his godly character. Meanwhile, the pastor as priest model neglects a key doctrine recovered by the Protestant Reformers: the priesthood of all believers.

While Luther and the other Reformers affirmed the office of the elder or pastor, they also emphasized that, through Christ, we are all ministers of the gospel and all have access to God. God continues to call men to pastoral ministry, but he also calls every Christian to minister to one another.

Some are set apart to lead as pastors, but we are all called to minister. The calling of the pastor is inextricably tied to the biblical metaphor of a shepherd tending to his flock of sheep. It also includes protection from their own sinfulness, which is why a pastor is called to a ministry of exhortation—of calling people away from behavior that is dishonoring to God and toward behavior that is pleasing to him Titus It is why pastors eventually confront ongoing, unrepentant sin and enforce church discipline Matthew A shepherd not only protects his sheep from danger, but he also cares for them by feeding them.

He can offer the rest Matt. He goes on to talk about how a true ministry is of God, and how this ministry can be most effective if we are in communication with God.

Christianity has grounded our lives in the living God as revealed through Jesus. This belief must be a choice people make as well as a gift we all receive within the Christian community. Christians must trust in and rely upon God as the source of everything in their lives. Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. The Importance of Being Pastors Pastors who have been called by God to take responsibility in all humankind. They have been called to preach the Word of God. It is the highest calling from God in His ministry.

Jesus is exemplifies in many images of pastoral care such as compassionate person, teacher of wisdom and knowledge, healer, reconciler and most especially is the good shepherd. There are several themes of pastoral care as the image of the good shepherd that can find in the New Testament. Renewing and awakening in faith, hope and love in pastoral care When pastors help the sheep be awaken the spirit within them, can better cope with pain, disappointment and loss When you awaken the spirit within you, you can better cope with pain, disappointment, and loss.

The Apostle Paul caused riots in Greek cities preaching about Jesus. Martin Luther thundered against the Pope, and gave the scriptures back to the people after years of darkness and ignorance. John Knox was a galley slave for two years, and made the queen of England fear his prayers more than an invading army. John Wesley preached to prisoners, miners, and angry mobs. Colonial pastors like Jonathan Mayhew preached that their church members had God-given rights, igniting the American Revolution.

The role of the pastor is one of the most difficult callings in the world, because he is entrusted by God to be the Spiritual Teacher, Leader, and Shepherd of his people. They suffer from great discouragement, stress on their marriage and family, feel inadequately prepared, and struggle with conflict within their churches. When a new pastor is hired, he is always compared with the pastor he replaced.

If his predecessor was excellent, he will be expected to have similar gifts and strengths, even though all pastors are unique and have different personalities, experience, and spiritual gifts. We need to be patient with all new pastors, because it takes years for them to earn trust, build leadership teams, and establish effective ministry. For example, it takes a new youth pastor four years to build his work into an effective ministry.

Preaching is a joy for pastors, but very difficult because they need to speak to people who are in different stages of their spiritual journey.