Practicing Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG11

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P R A C T I C I N G C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

The Over-committed Pastor

All of us have heard of the pastor who overextends himself in his ministry, and explains it in terms of his love for the Lord. While his family never sees him, or eats with him, or really rests alone with him, he quotes texts on the sacrifice of Christ on behalf of the Church, and sincerely calls himself to the same level of heartfelt servanthood as the Lord who called him. Many ministers are on the brink of divorce and broken homes because they have not been able to truly get a handle on the relationship of the priorities of the Kingdom, the Church, and the home. How would help an “over-committed pastor” get his own house in order, i.e., managing his time and life in sync with the priorities of Scripture? In a developing church that is growing and evangelical, the senior pastor is seeking to redefine the role of the shepherd. While he believes that God has in fact called him to be the senior pastor of the church, he does not feel the obligation to shepherd individual families or persons. He has gathered around himself a dramatically gifted staff of associates to whom he delegates the primary responsibility for shepherding–visiting the sick, counseling others, answering questions, dealing with marriages and funerals, etc. This trend, now commonplace among the growing mega-church movement, seems to be the method-of-choice in churches that isolate their senior pastor as a teacher or public figure, and all shepherding duties are given to others. Is this trend of the Lord or not? The Christian leader provides counsel to the people of God by providing effective spiritual direction through a careful, relevant application of the Word of God. A Christian counselor is God’s physician, that is, in the same way a compassionate physician cares for the body of a patient, so a spiritual counselor seeks to care for the soul and life of the person he cares for. As God’s physician of the spirit, the Christian leader applies the Word of God with skill and loving-kindness to the issues and concerns of God’s people for their upbuilding and growth. The Christian leader is also one charged with the responsibility to provide care for and to seek the healing of God’s flock during their times of trial and distress to reestablish them on their faith journey with the Lord and his people. All believers will inevitably encounter situations, concerns, and problems which represent the dark side of life - trials, tribulations, and distress. The Christian leader functions, whether formally Called to Be the Pastor, but Not to Pastor

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Restatement of the Lesson’s Thesis