The Call to Pastor (pt.2) Discipleship/Edification
Discipleship
Once the authoritative nature of expository preaching is being carried out in the church the pastor’s vision should also include a proper attitude of discipleship. One of the many reasons for Christians’ failure to maintain a consistently healthy spiritual lifestyle is because the church does not have a sufficient vision of discipleship. Included in the discipleship role of the church is also the practice of church discipline. If there has been one area of church life that has been neglected recently it is the practice of church discipline. There is a great misunderstanding by what is meant by church discipline. The purpose of this practice is to restore and reconcile the believer who is going astray, to keep the sin from spreading to others, and to protect the purity of the church and honor of Christ.[1] Matthew 18:15-17 gives explicit directions on how to carry out church discipline. From this passage of scripture it is clear that with any consistent, unrepentant sin, it is the pastor’s duty to confront that person and let the person know that his sin is disrupting the church and that he should repent. If the member refuses and is not repentant, then the pastor should take two or three of the most spiritual men in the congregation and approach the member again. If the member still refuses to repent and does not choose to leave the church, then the church may vote that the member be suspended from church membership. This formula for church discipline is Biblical and is the only one that will ensure the purity and unity of the church.
Edification
Perhaps one of the most neglected aspects of the pastor’s vision of his church is proper edification of his flock. What is meant by the term edification? Jim Shaddix defines edification as the “building up” of Christ’s body of believers into His image through the ministry of His Word.[2] Shaddix explains that this “building up” comes from feeding the congregation a steady diet of God’s Word. This feeding comes from proper teaching through books of the Bible and explaining the foundational doctrines of the Christian life.
In addition to teaching the Word of God to the congregation, a pastor can also edify his flock properly by shepherding them through proper pastoral ministry and care. John MacArthur states that the pastor must “exercise oversight of them (his flock) and must lead them by the example of his life.”[3] The character of the pastor is of utmost importance, and the traits of his character are spelled out clearly in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 as well as Titus 1:5-9. The pastor should always strive to be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not pugnacious, gentle, uncontentious, not greedy, ruling his own house well, not a novice, of good reputation, not resentful, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, just, devout, and self-controlled. After reading these qualifications one may ask “Who can be like this?” No pastor can based on his own righteousness but through reliance on the Holy Spirit he can. That is what God wants his pastor to do: rely on His Spirit and strive to model to the flock how we should live.
In addition to preaching and modeling to the flock how to live, the pastor should also meet the flock’s needs practically through ministry. Derek Prime and Alistair Begg have an excellent chapter on the practicalities of pastoral ministry in their book On Being a Pastor. The pastor should consume himself with visiting church members in their homes, visiting lost people, visiting those in hospitals, and even writing letters of encouragement to others. The point the authors make that the New Testament letters themselves illustrate the value of letters in pastoral work is a valid one.[4] Doing ministry should be a primary job description of a “minister.” The pastor should minister to the needs of the flock to the best of his ability. If the church is too large for the minister to do this effectively, and many instances this is the case, there should be a pastor at the church whose sole purpose is to minister to the needs of the congregation
posted by Charlie Wallace at
12:05 PM
2 Comments:
Just an organizational thing, but you should post part 2 first then part 1. That way when you scroll down you aren't reading in reverse and can start with part 1 and continue on to part 2. It gets confusing going back and forth.
Makes since, but since I post the parts at different times (mostly days in between) posting them backwards would be even more confusing then having to scroll up...thanks for the input.
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