And He Gave Pastors

F. Zimmerman Thomas

Description

This comprehensive manual for pastors discusses the pastor and his relationship to his Lord, family, church, and denomination. Also addresses counseling, one's personal life, devotional practices, legal issues, finances, and other topics.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Gospel Publishing House
• Date de parution: 01 juin 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781607315872
• Langue: English

Extrait

And He Gave Pastors
And He Gave Pastors
Pastoral Theology In Action
EDITOR
Thomas F. Zimmerman, D.O.
General Superintendent
Assemblies of God
ASSOCIATE EDITORS  
G. Raymond Carlson, D.D.
Assistant General Superintendent
Assemblies of God
Zenas J. Bicket, Ph.D
Academic Dean
Evangel College  
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked ( NASB® ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations marked ( Amplified Bible ) are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations marked ( J. B. Phillips ) are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, copyright © 1958, 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked ( Weymouth ) are taken from Weymouth’s New Testament in Modern Speech , by Richard Francis Weymouth as revised by J. A. Robertson. Used by permission Harper and Row Publishers, Inc. and James Clarke and Company Ltd.
15th printing 2019
02-0460
© 1979 by Gospel Publishing House, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, Missouri 65802. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the copyright owner, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in magazines or newspapers.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-50485
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-60731-983-2
Printed in the United States of America
Preface
For a number of years, there has been a need for a book dealing with pastoral theology from the Pentecostal perspective and with a practical emphasis. Pastors and ministerial students have asked for such a volume. College faculty members have requested a textbook for classroom use. The few books in this field with late copyright dates is evidence of the appropriateness of these requests.
In recognition of this need, the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God in 1975 called for the publishing of such a book. This volume is the product of that authorization and the efforts of the editors and ministers who have shared their knowledge and experience in these chapters.
The Executive Presbytery asked Dr. Thomas F. Zimmerman, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, to serve as editor of the book. Dr. G. Raymond Carlson, assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, and Dr. Zenas Bicket, dean of Evangel College, were asked to serve as associate editors.
In making plans for the content it was decided the book should emphasize the practical rather than the theoretical aspects of the work of the pastor. To implement this objective, 20 ministers who have demon-strated expertise in respective areas of ministry were asked to do the writing. This has made it possible to present ideas that have been proven in the pastorate.
Guidelines for preparing this book were developed on the basis of expressions of leaders from across the Assemblies of God fellowship. The book must be written from a Pentecostal perspective. It must emphasize ethical principles of the Word of God. It must be intensely practical. Every effort has been made to keep these guidelines in constant focus.
We are deeply grateful to God for the privilege of being a part of the Pentecostal revival which has circled the world. With the firm conviction that the greatest days of this revival are not in the past but in the future, we send this book forth with the earnest prayer and fervent desire that it will help pastors meet the challenge of the future by ministering in the best tradition of the Pentecostal revival.
—The Executive Presbytery of the Assemblies of God
Contents
1 The Pastor and His Lord
Hardy W. Steinberg
2 The Pastor and the Church Call
William H. Robertson
3 The Pastor and His Personal Life
Owen C. Carr
4 The Pastor and His Family
Delmer R. Guynes
5 The Pastor and His Denomination
Lowell C. Ashbrook
6 The Pastor and His Preaching-Teaching
Richard E. Orchard
7 The Pastor and Personal Counseling
Richard D. Dobbins
8 The Pastor and Evangelism-Missions
Robert M. Graber
9 The Pastor and Special Ministries
Edward B. Berkey
10 The Pastor and Congregational Services
Thomas E. Trask
11 The Pastor and Christian Education
Robert H. Spence
12 The Pastor and Total Church Leadership
Richard L. Dresselhaus
13 The Pastor and His Community
James K. Bridges
14 The Church and the Community
Edward S. Caldwell
15 The Pastor and Administration
James E. Hamill
16 The Pastor and Official Church Relationships
G. Raymond Carlson
17 The Pastor and Church Finances
R. D. E. Smith
18 The Pastor and Legal Affairs
Joseph L. Gerhart
19 The Pastor and Building Programs
Thomas E. Scruggs
20 The Pastor and Pentecostal Distinctives
Leland R. Keys
Appendix
And He Gave Pastors
1
The Pastor and His Lord
HARDY W. STEINBERG
A minister with many years of experience wisely observed: “A pastor is the servant of the people, but they are not his master. There is only one who is his Master, even the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In the course of a lifetime the pastor feels pressures from many different directions. Members of the congregation will express how they feel things should be done, and this is often complicated by the fact that these views are divergent and at times even contradictory. A pastor should always try to get new ideas, but if he is not careful he can become a victim of the pressures. He may find himself doing things not because he feels they are right but because he is intimidated.
If pastors are to have effective ministries, they must be leaders. They must have an inner conviction that they are doing what Christ would have them do. This entails great responsibility, but there must be a willingness to accept it along with all the consequences, both pleasant and unpleasant.
There is great significance in the fact that Jesus is referred to as the “chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). The implication is clear. Because He is Chief, pastors are undershepherds. They must get their instructions from Him. They must have His approval on their work, and in the end they will have to give an account to Him for every day of their ministries. To be what He intends them to be means they must work carefully under His direction.
Hardy W. Steinberg, D.D., is national director of the Assemblies of God Division of Christian Education, Springfield, Missouri .
Recognizing Christ as the Chief Shepherd does not mean that pastors will disregard the thinking of others, including those in the congregation. The Bible teaches that in the multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14). Much can be learned from many different sources, and the pastor who capitalizes on the best thinking of others will enhance his ministry. Eventually, however, the pastor has the lonely responsibility of determining the mind of Christ concerning the leadership in the congregation.
The pastor will be effective only as he recognizes that the pastoral office is created by Christ, that the individual call and guidance come from Christ, and that he is ultimately accountable to Christ.
The Office of the Pastor
THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH
The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is the Head of the Church. Unfortunately, not everyone recognizes this fact. In the earlier years of the church there was a heretical group that wanted the Christians to believe Christ was less than God, that He was a creature rather than the Creator. Paul had a great concern for those who were being subjected to this heretical teaching. In the letter to the Colossians he wrote that the One through whom believers have redemption is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: … and he is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:15, 18).
In writing to the Ephesians concerning the husband-wife relationship, Paul used the Christ-Church relationship as an illustration. Here he again stated the headship of Christ when he wrote, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23).
In Colossae the attempt to discredit Christ was deliberate. These heretics who were vainly puffed up by the fleshly mind were “not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God” (Colossians 2:19).
Committed pastors today will never deliberately reject the headship of Christ. They must be careful, however, lest an overconcern for public opinion should produce the same effect. The work of the church can be seriously impaired, whatever the reason may be for not recognizing the lordship of Christ. There must be a continuing conscious recognition of the fact that Jesus is Lord, that He is the Head of the Church, and that He is the Master of every undershepherd.
THE GIFT OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP
Sometimes people think of Christ as no longer being in the world. In a sense this is true, but in another sense it is not. In addition to the fact of His omnipresence, the Church as the body of Christ is very much in the world. It touches people in all nations, and every member has a vital role in this relationship. In Ephesians 4:11, however, Paul recognizes people who have been given to the C