The Purpose Of: Pastors
If you were to ask ten people what the purpose of a pastor was you’d probably get anywhere between seven to nine different ideas to answer this question. It’s one that has many opinions and has just a diverse of a reaction as the purpose of the church. Those outside of the walls of the church look on with a distant disdain and even some mockery. Those inside the walls have a tendency to champion their pastor but to what end. We’ve seen the rise, and quite honestly the fall, of many celebrity pastors and while their ascent and, for those that have, their crash was loud and at times ugly, most pastors are humbly and steadily about the work to which they have been called. Like before, my hope in this post is to give hope and maybe some reminders to both those inside the church and those outside her walls when we ask the question, what is the purpose of pastors?
Ephesians 4:11-14 says,
“11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” (NIV)
There’s really so much to unpack here in this passage but let’s work backwards on this one. I believe the number one purpose of pastors is to equip and empower the body of Christ (the church) for works of service so that they move towards maturity. What does this maturity look like? According to Ephesians, to not be infants, tossed about by the various things we hear. I would say the mark of maturity is to know what you believe, why you believe it, and how do you live out your beliefs in the context of your life. These days we hear so many things about so many different subjects. Just take the Covid pandemic and how many opinions and ideas there were. From doctors and politicians to pastors, neighbors, and your crazy uncle you only see at holidays, everyone had a belief. I’m not arguing whom was right and whom was wrong but just giving an example to how easily we can be tossed back and forth by the arguments the world is having around us. I believe that the role of the pastor is to calmly speak out truth to those they lead and help guide them towards maturity. Pastor, you’re allowed to have an opinion on matters but we trust that you’re taking your opinion to God.
Paul also says to “equip people for works of service.” This phrase is so much more powerful than many will give credit to. When we really understand the context of this phrase we’ll understand that the purpose of the pastor is to equip their people for a life of ministry. I’m not talking about vocational ministry but a life of ministry. It is not the pastor’s job to share the gospel with your friends and family, it’s their job to equip you to do it. The “works of service” is just that, loving others and taking care of them. Don’t miss this! The purpose of the pastor is more than preaching, more than leading a church, it’s getting you ready for the life you’ve been called to!
Paul starts this passage by saying that Christ himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to do this equipping. This sounds like it’s a few different people and in many cases it probably is but I think more than the people, this is who the person is and how they function. I won’t be able to unpack each of these things in this post but please CLICK HERE to read more about what’s known as Five Fold Ministry. These are ways each of us view the mission we are called to. These are ways pastors live out the equipping they are doing with their people. Me, I’m an Apostolic/Teacher. What that means is apostleship is my vision and values, the lens by which I see things and make my decisions. Teaching is the vehicle by which I accomplish that vision. When we look at the purpose of a pastor, I think it’s important for us to look at how they are wired differently and why they approach things differently. I recently heard Chris Hodges, pastor of The Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, AL say,
“instead of the pastors ministering and the people leading, let the pastors lead and the people minister.”
What a powerful way to word this! Pastors lead and people minister, this is exactly what Paul is saying in Ephesians.
For anyone reading this that’s not engaged or involved at a church, please don’t look at the faults of some as the collective whole. Again, there are many humble and good pastors doing the work of equipping God has called them to. For those of you inside of a church, I challenge you to challenge your pastor with this Ephesians 4 model. Tell them you want to be equipped for the works of service God is calling me to. For us as pastors, let us live out the mission Christ has given to us and do it well! Stay the course! You have what it takes!