Six Critical Aspects of Pastoral Ministry...

There was a very good article in the January 2006 edition of SBC Life describing the role of the pastor. Roger Willmore, senior pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Alabama wrote the article which is an excellent summary of pastoral ministry. I wanted to pass it along to my church and so I thought that I would share it with you here. Willmore quotes from John Piper, David Wiersbe, Erwin Lutzer, Thom Rainer, D.L. Moody, Stephen Olford, and others as he briefly examines six areas of pastoral life. I'll share here a few quotes that hit each of his main ideas. You can link to the article to read the entire thing.

The Pastor's Character: "The New Testament does not give a job description but a charcter reference" (Alec Motyer). "Character issues that demand attention are: personal relationship with Jesus Christ; disciplined personal discipleship; personal holiness; faithfulness and loyalty to wife and family; peaceful temperament; financial responsibility; and biblical and doctrinal soundness" (Roger Willmore). "God is more concerned about who we are than what we do, and if who we are does not please Him, then what we do is virtually useless" (Stephen F. Olford).

The Pastor's Duties: 1. Nourishing Sheep, 2. Protecting Sheep, 3. Seeking Sheep, 4. Sacrificing for Sheep, 5. Knowing Sheep, 6. Model Integrity to Sheep, 7. Managing Sheep, 8. Healing Sheep, 9. Loving Sheep, 10. Leading Sheep, and 11. Uniting Sheep (David W. Wiersbe).

The Pastor's Relationships: "Relationships are chief among all the pastor's duties" (Willmore).

The Pastor's Priorities: "This one thing I do..., not these forty things I dabble in" (D.L. Moody). "Praying is more important than preaching, preaching is more important than administration, the family is more important than the congregation, faithfulness is more important than competition, and love is more important than ability" (Erwin Lutzer).

The Pastor's Example: "Jesus mentions five specific aspects to remember in shpherding: His Sheep, His Voice, His Life, His Hand, and His Father" (John 10, Willmore).

The Pastor's Importance: "Did the pastor and his preaching play a part in your coming to the church?"--97% Yes! "What factors led you to choose this church?"--90% The pastor and his preaching! (Thom Rainer, survey of 353 formerly unchurched people).

Read the entire article in SBC Life here.