Page 44 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook

Other Pastors

Relationships with other ministers should be fraternal, honest, and professional whether or not they are
members of the same denomination.

Predecessors

A pastor enjoys a peculiar bond with those who precede him and those who succeed him in a church. It is good
for the new pastor to remember that one day, he too, may be the former pastor. Praise the accomplishments of
the former pastor. Uphold him in high regard.

Successors

The best advice I can give to a person regarding his successor is to advise him to stay out of his successor’s way.
It is wise policy to withdraw from the scene as much as possible and let the successor lead. Under no
circumstances should you interfere. Your ministry in that church and community is a thing of the past.

Denominational Officials

One’s Country

A story is credited to Dwight L. Moody that may or may not be apocryphal. It is said that a follower met Mr.
Moody on the street one day and asked the great evangelist where he was going. “Why, to vote,” was Mr.
Moody’s reply. With that the follower asked, “If your citizenship is in heaven, why do you bother?” Mr. Moody is
reported to have said, “Even though my citizenship is in heaven, I still own property in Chicago.”

The Christian must always remember that he is a citizen of heaven and of the country in which he holds his
earthly citizenship. He has a duty to both. He has, as a citizen of his earthly country, an obligation to vote, pay
taxes, and to obey the laws of the land to the extent his conscience is not violated.

6.4 Let’s Practice…

1. Believers in your church are not only sheep. They are what three titles where mentioned:

2-6. List five ways that a shepherd or pastor is encouraged to lead his flock (the church).

7. What does mutual submission mean within the leadership structure of a church?

8. Describe what the Greek word diakonein means:

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