The Role of a Pastor

As Paul ends his third missionary journey, he plans to go to Jerusalem to deliver a love offering from the Gentile churches to the church in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9) and then relocate his base of operations to Rome in order to establish the work of Christ in the western provinces of the Roman Empire (a plan he refers to in the Epistle to the Romans).  He is also aware that there is a real threat that he could be arrested and martyred in Jerusalem.

However it turns out, Paul is aware that he will not see the people of the church in Ephesus again.  In Acts 20.17-38, Paul meets with the elders of the church to tell them goodbye and to issue a charge to them to continue his work there.  Paul provides us with five aspects of the work of a biblical pastor in this charge: the role of the pastor, the commitment of a pastor, the warning of a pastor, the confidence of the pastor, and the strength of the pastor.  I will address each of these in a series of five posts.  I encourage you to read the entire passage in Acts 20 first, and then follow along with the references as you read my comments.

The first aspect is the proper role of the pastor (vv. 20-21). Paul had set the example during his work in Ephesus.  The work of the pastor involves two components.  The pastor is to boldly teach (20) and to boldly reach (21).  Paul did not shy away from declaring to believers what they needed to hear from the Word of God.  He said what needed to be said without regard to the reaction. The church is in dire need of pastors who will say what needs to be said without worrying about popularity or job security.  The church is in need of members who will let their pastors say what needs to be said without the threat of unemployment.

The pastor is to boldly reach.  He must be eager to share the Gospel of Christ with anyone and everyone.  The message of repentance Paul refers to is the message that all are sinners condemned before God and who need to turn from sin to God through the death of Christ.  Too much of our message today lacks the reality of sin, the certainty of God’s judgment, and the absolute necessity of the sacrificial death of Christ.  Too many are attempting to present a cross-less Christianity when there is no such thing.  True biblical Christianity is centered on the death and resurrection of Christ.  As Paul tells the Corinthians, he decided to know nothing among them other than Christ and him crucified.  Such a message is not popular today but that unpopularity only heightens the necessity of the message.

We call upon pastors to do many things in churches today.  All of these are worthwhile in their own right.  However, these other tasks must flow out from the two primary roles of a pastor:  to boldly teach the entire Word of God and to boldly reach the lost with the message of salvation.