MINISTRY GIFTS 101…Part 3

You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Source: Google Images

Before we move on to explore the other Ministry Gifts, let me reiterate that what I am presenting here isn't exhaustive by any stretch, if anything these are simply overviews or outlines if you will.  I am just sharing my understanding of these gifts and how they operate as I see them in the light of Scripture.

Now on to the Ministry Gift of Pastor. This is by far the most popular gift in the Church today; many believers don’t even think twice about calling someone by the title of “Pastor”, it almost becomes the minister’s first name, you’ll often hear people talking about or addressing the minister as  “Pastor so-and-so” many times over, but “Prophet so-and-so” or “Apostle so-and-so”… hmm not so much! Why is that? Aren't they all Ministry Gifts given to the Church by the Head of the Church Himself?

This mindset is a result of misunderstanding what Ministry Gifts are; here’s my take, we've erroneously viewed these gifts as the ruling class or  the higher ups and big bosses in the Church. This in turn gave rise to the twisted idea of ranking the Five Fold Ministry gifts from what we figured was the greatest to the least, in this order: the Apostle, followed by the Prophet, followed by the Evangelist, then the Teacher and lastly, the Pastor. We then equated them to levels of promotions to be earned by ministers. That is, one starts from the lowest level which is Pastor and then climbs the ministry ladder as it were and who knows, they might make Apostle, just like how one would start from janitor to CEO in a corporation. Nothing could be further from the truth!

We should respect and honor all gifts, yes, but let us not forget they are gifts given to the Church to equip us for ministry, to help us mature and fulfill our destinies in the Lord, not to lord it over us with their own self-serving motives. It is Christ who gives these Ministry Gifts as He wills, we neither apply nor work our way into them. It is my prayer that we will be mature enough to recognize, confirm and embrace the Ministry Gifts He has placed in our midst. They are also part of the Body of Christ and are servants not despots and that they too are growing in different areas too, they haven’t arrived yet…no one has. We are not in competition with one another, we are on the same team just playing different positions. We have a common goal. That's a much better approach, don't you think?  

We've also erroneously thought if we called ourselves Pastor even though we are a Prophet we are being humble and that's because we have believed the lie that being a Pastor is the lowest ministry gift and being a Prophet is somehow more superior, believe me, there nothing humble about that, actually it is a form of pride. The rampant religiosity isn't helping either, it’s making things worse, we hear phrases like “touch not the Lord’s anointed” being thrown around by some attempting to exert authority, the fleshly kind, over believers and that is so not scriptural. 

As for being the Lord’s anointed, I submit to you that if you are in Christ, you too are the Lord’s anointed for His anointing is in you and abides in you (1 John 2:27) It’s unfortunate that some individuals have come in and twisted Scriptures to justify their tyranny over the saints. I believe every Ministry Gift and more so the Pastoral one, must be ready to gently and patiently converse with others even when they are in opposition to them.

²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, ²⁵ in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, - 2 Timothy 2:24-25 NKJV    

As under-shepherds  under Christ the Chief Shepherd, Pastors tend and feed the flock of God, the Church. Pastoral ministry will always look out for the welfare of the flock, ready to protect the flock by exposing and fending off danger. The same cannot be said of hirelings who creep into this ministry for what they can get and are ready to bolt out the door at the very first sign of trouble, leaving the flock to helplessly fend for itself.

Who else is well suited to pen what I’ll term as “the Pastoral Manifesto” than the Apostle Peter, who was charged (three times, I might add) by the Chief Shepherd in John 21:15-17 to tend His sheep. Years later, here is what the Apostle said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: ² Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; ³ nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; ⁴ and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away – 1 Peter 5:1-4 NKJV

This Ministry Gift is endowed with the graces of nurturing and governments; Many times Pastors literally take care of spiritual as well as physical needs of believers. They also oversee the flock and following the pattern set for them by the Good Shepherd, Christ himself, they lead the sheep besides still waters, where they can drink, be refreshed and rest in safety. Pastoral Ministry puts a high premium on the flock being well fed and well taken care of. Pastoral ministry does not give up on the weak and the feeble among the flock, instead Pastors willingly devote themselves to nursing the weak and wounded back to health and vitality.

Pastoral Ministry will seek to bring other Ministry Gifts into their local assemblies for the equipping and edification of the saints, for their desire is to see each saint grow and fulfill their destiny in Christ. This can be likened to “making the flock lie down in green pastures”, a picture of a well fed, contented and restful flock.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. – Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV

Source:Google Images

Pastoral Ministry rejoices in seeing growth, maturity and multiplication in the flock, as the very heart of this gift is to see each saint increasingly reflecting the One they confess and proclaim as their Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

Let me also quickly say this: I strongly believe that every Ministry Gift stands to benefit greatly from having the input of a Pastoral Ministry, in other words, Ministry Gifts should be part of a local body of believers, just like it was in the early church, not lone rangers, doing their own thing with no accountability whatsoever.

Let us embrace the Ministry Gift of Pastor, submit to it joyfully, be equipped by it and be truly competent ministers of the Good News to those who don’t yet know Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

Much blessings to you!