One of the exciting developments in the kingdom of God is the number of young men who are desiring and pursuing pastoral ministry. The growing number of theological institutions and the planting of new churches are but two testaments to this development. Much can be said and shared about this crop of gallant soldiers of Christ. But today, let me share three considerations with them.
1. Love and be content with the ordinary nature of the church
Church life is ordinary, routine and quite unspectacular. The planning, the studying and meetings are the same. The people, the programs and the preaching are all ordinary. The questions asked, the conversations had, and the struggles faced are the same year in and year out. A young man not content with plugging into the ordinary life of a local church will be discontent with the ordinary nature of pastoral ministry. The church is made up of ordinary people who faithfully and consistently do ordinary things in ordinary ways, enabled by the extraordinary grace of God. To pastor effectively is to embrace the ordinary nature of the church and ministry.
2. Genuinely love and zealously pursue people
The church is the people. Not the building or the program. It, therefore, goes without saying that ministry is about people. All kinds of of people. Pastors are shepherds, tending to the flock (people), and will give an account for every soul (people) under their care. To be a pastor is to love people genuinely and pursue them. Young men who are waiting and wanting to be pursued or receive attention will struggle with the nature of pastoral ministry. As John Piper famously reminded pastors, “brothers, we are
not professionals.”
3. Love the word
Paul exhorts Timothy to continue in the scriptures, for they are profitable. He charges him to rightly handle the word, to commit it to others and to follow the pattern of scripture. The minister of the word must love the word. He must be a diligent and devoted student of the word. He must also live out the word in his own life so that his progress will be evident. It is common to see young men love theological discussions and debates ( primarily from reading theological books or listening to podcasts or conference talks. And there is a place for all this), but that is not necessarily the same as loving, studying and growing in the word. Those who study the word will no doubt get grounded in sound doctrine, but they will also grow in their love for the Father and will progressively change in the likeness of Christ. As D.A Carson rightly put it, “The aim of thoughtful Christians, after all, is not so much to become masters of scriptures, but to be mastered by it, both for God’s glory and his people’s good.”
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