Page 39 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook

2. Believers are Priests, Saints, and Ministers

There is a practical, cogent reason for his submitting to the membership, and that is this: church members
are not merely sheep; they are also believer-priests, saints, and ministers of the gospel. Leaders are given to
the church for only one purpose; to enhance the ministry of those ministers.

3. Believers Need to Know Their Heritage

Many Christians simply do not know who they are. When they are finally convinced of the fact that they are
priests and ministers, they will begin to act the part. The problem however is that often they do not get
much help from their church leaders in realizing the potential of their identity.

4. There is Wisdom in the Composite Body

If a pastor is wise, he will recognize and respect the wisdom that rests in the congregation as its members
act together, and will demonstrate his respect by taking the decisions of the assembly to be wise counsel.
He should continually treat the individual members of the assembly with the respect due to them as priests
and ministers.

How to Shepherd and Lead the Church

Shepherding the Flock of God springs from the biblical understanding of the shepherd’s role and of the Church
as a body of Christ

The Shepherd’s primary responsibility is the safety and welfare of the flock. Some flocks may include as many as
1,000 sheep. The Shepherd will graze the animals herding them to areas of green pasture and keeping a
watchful eye out for poisonous plants and other possible thorns.

In terms of what he does or his role; it is stated that he tends, feeds or guards and herds of sheep. Often times,
Shepherds work in isolated areas and may work independently except for the assistance of dogs and a possible
rod.

Shepherding the Flock can be seen in how well the Shepherd feeds them.

The main goal for the feeding ministry of the shepherd is to attain the Matthew 28 mandate of making disciples.
There should be a deliberate plan by the pastor to have unintentional discipleship programs that is adequately
supported by the church.

Shepherding the Flock becomes possible as the shepherd spends time knowing his flock

As a shepherd of God’s people, we are encouraged to make efforts of knowing the flock by name as well as
knowing their physical and spiritual needs. This is where personal visitation of the flock comes in.

We could point to the journey of Peter to Cornelius, and to Paul’s visits with Priscilla and Aquila, and Timothy
and his family. Nevertheless, there is not enough biblical evidence to prove conclusively those visits were
routinely pastoral in nature. Each of them seems to have been made with a special purpose in mind.

Peter’s visit to Cornelius was a unique evangelistic journey directed specifically by God. Paul’s visits cast him in
the role of a church planter, missionary, and evangelist. Probably the clearest case for New Testament visitation

38