Correcting a Pastoral Model in the Contemporary Church

Walk with Teams

I knew “the buck stops here”, with me. But I had wonderfully gifted people around me to sound out my ideas, check my leadings from the Lord, and make up for my deficiencies in ministry and wisdom, as together, we looked for an agreed witness of the Spirit in our deliberations.

In this series, I have been presenting the case against pastors seeing themselves in a “sole leadership” position. Not only is this a sub apostolic practice, it isolates pastors under a burden of responsibility no-one is equipped to bear.

In New Testament times, the terms ‘pastor’, ‘elder’ and ‘overseer’ all referred to the same calling. ‘Pastor’ describes function, ‘elder’, qualification and ‘overseer’, role. Local churches were led by teams of acknowledged pastors/elders/overseers.

Fivefold ministry

Within this overall leadership category, the 5 ministry gifts of Ephesians 4:11 function: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Each of these specialise in different kinds of ministry. They are the gifts of Christ distributed to his body, the Church. He had them all and we need them all.  If any of these ministries operated translocally, they had no governing authority independent of the local eldership or leadership team. Translocal governorship does not appear to exist in the New Testament church.

Apostolic teams had a translocal role in establishing new churches and appointing elders, but their on-going role was not perceived as translocal eldership. For a while, Paul continued to oversee the churches he planted, but it seems he was not an on-going part of the local church governing body. That was the responsibility of the local eldership team, the pastors and overseers.

In the local church, there is always a plurality of eldership, but this does not rule out a ‘first among equals’ or a ‘presiding elder’, such as appears to be the case in the Jerusalem church, where James seems to have that role (Acts 15).

The power of teams

If this analysis is to a certain extent correct, then it shows that pastors should never walk alone. They function in teams with each duly appointed leader having a helpful and distinctive contribution to make. While there are many different styles, collegiate and co-operative leadership is essential.

Throughout my time in ministry, I have always worked in teams appreciating what others bring to the table. I never saw myself in monarchical leadership and was all too aware of the dangers it brings and its tendency towards becoming authoritarian, dictatorial and severely truncated. Who, apart from Jesus, can bring the full complement of ability and wisdom to the table? We need each other.

That is why I worked hard to break down the so-called clergy-laity divide. Those who led from a full-time position in professional or occupational life were equal to those whose sphere of ministry was centred around full time work in the church. That meant, though I often felt lonely, I was never actually alone. I knew “the buck stops here”, with me. But I had wonderfully gifted people around me to sound out my ideas, check my leadings from the Lord, and make up for my deficiencies in ministry and wisdom, as together, we looked for an agreed witness of the Spirit in our deliberations.

Celebrating our differences

Maturity in life, ministry and the workplace all came together in the gift-mix of our teams. We looked beyond ourselves and drew from the spiritual wisdom of the whole church. We recognised and celebrated our different gifts and areas of expertise. We discerned the full range of Christ’s gifts among us from the apostolically-minded to the didactically-gifted, from the prophetically-motivated to the pastorally-equipped and the evangelistically-enthused.  

For too long, churches and denominations have paid mere lip service to these New Testament principles. It is time for a bold and thorough-going reformation. We must move intentionally, albeit probably gradually, establishing these uniform principles and expressing them in the myriad patterns that can emerge from them. One size does not fit all, but we must nevertheless fully embrace the principles laid down by the Apostles.

What price failure?

The first casualty is the traditional-style pastor who inevitably functions below potential. Loneliness, discouragement and burn out often set in, sometimes compensated by increasing defensiveness, insecurity and self-referential promotion. The next casualty is the life and health of the church whose truncated leadership can never build the body of Christ correctly or bring it to full maturity. Finally, the casualty is our mission which a weak and ineffectual church can never fulfill.

Walk With the People

Isolated Pastors

The idea of ordination to the ministry is, at best, unhelpful. All believers are in the ministry of Christ. The moment pastors see their ordination as giving them special powers or spiritual privileges, they unnecessarily isolate themselves from the people. Instead, all church leaders should see themselves as fellow members of the Christian community along with all God’s people. Being among them and walking with them not only ends the isolation, it accurately reflects our unity and equality before God.

There should be no clergy-laity divide. The ‘ministry’ belongs to the Body of Christ. There 47 ‘one another’ scriptures in the New Testament.

Much that surrounds historical and contemporary practices of ordination is drawn from the Old Testament model of ministry. The Priesthood was instituted by God in the context of his covenant relationship with Israel. It ensured that the Temple in Jerusalem was preserved as the sacred space where God manifested his presence. Thus the central promise of the covenant was fulfilled, “I will dwell among you”. 

The priests of the Old Testament were given special privileges and special powers to approach God in the sacred space and to maintain its sanctity performing rituals on behalf of the community.

The whole community of Israel was also considered to be part of a corporate priesthood. But this did not rule out the special role of some. For example Moses and Aaron as High Priest, the sons of Aaron and the Levites all had sacred roles to fulfill within the Old Covenant context. 

Now, that mediatorial role has been fulfilled by Christ, the only Mediator between God and humanity. And with that, all special powers belonging to special people are rescinded. Or, perhaps better expressed, they have been dispersed to the whole Christian community.

In the New Testament Church, the priesthood of all believers is the central emphasis, where we are all servants of God and ministers of one another. Believers, both individually and together, are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. There are some 47 verses in the New Testament which describe our role in encouraging, teaching, admonishing and serving one another. 

Ministering to one another

Leadership in the New Testament also takes on a different form. Specific people with specific ministry gifts are called to leadership in Christian communities. But these are not given special powers to preserve sacred space or to prepare the people to approach God. Christ the Mediator fulfills this role perfectly and exclusively.

Originally, the terms ‘pastor’, ‘elder’ and ‘overseer’ all referred to the same calling. Pastoral leaders, elders and overseers were given ‘delegated’ or ‘derived’ responsibility from Christ himself, the Chief Shepherd. Their responsibility, for which they were given the spiritual authority to discharge, was the overall care and spiritual leadership off the flock of God, but the overarching concern was pastoral. Above all, this service was offered from among the people, not exalted above them.

From the Second Century onward ministerial roles were developed and separated into hierarchical categories. With the coming of Constantine, the situation worsened. Church structures reflected the administrative structures of the Roman Empire.

Ending the isolation

It is time we stopped giving mere lip service to the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Imagine the difference it would make to church life and ministry and our influence in wider society, if we removed artificial distinctions between sacred and secular, and between clergy and laity. Certainly, it would end the isolation of pastors thinking they have to walk alone.

The Garden of Your Soul

In the last post, I touched on the need for those in pastoral ministry to resist the lone ranger approach. I highlighted an unfortunate tradition in many churches of looking at the Pastor as the one who is “in sole charge of the church”. Apart from the loneliness and isolation produced, it sets us up for failure. God has much more for us to accomplish than we could ever achieve on our own.

In this post, I am looking at the minister’s walk with God. We never walk alone if we walk with the Lord. Self-reliance is one of the biggest traps in the ministry. And it just does not make sense. 

Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (John 15:4).

Partnering with the Holy Spirit is a core value when it comes to serving God. He has all the gifts and abilities you could ever dream of, and his best intention for you is that you move forward, upheld and sustained by his empowering presence. Your natural gifts are enhanced and you also find yourself doing things that you never knew you could do, because it is not you, but he who is doing the works.

A pastor friend of mine once told me that he was about the resign from the “ministry” and become an Uber driver. I pointed out that Uber drivers have many opportunities to reach out to people and pass on some spiritual insight or help answer peoples’ questions if they enter into conversation. That is ministry.

But my friend was really wanting to find a new dynamic in his own personal life and ministry. Quite simply he was discouraged and felt disconnected from God. No wonder he was thinking of changing his vocation.

Your true vocation

I explained our true vocation was to get to know God and to learn to love him and enjoy him in the garden of our own souls. All that before we step out and reach relying on the Holy Spirit to make Christ known to others.

Once, I was also at the point of resigning from the “ministry”. I told the Lord I was tired on my ministry. Amusingly, I felt God communicate with me the fact that he was also tired of my ministry. In fact, I did resign from my own ministry. Instead, I decided to engage in God’s ministry through me. 

Futility or fruitfulness

We have shown God what we can do. Now its time to ask him to show us what he can do when we turn our ministry entirely over to him. I felt God say to me, “You have seen the futility of your own ministry, now let me show you the fruitfulness of my ministry.” It was a turning point for me.

But all this depends on cultivating deep intimacy with God. You must come to the place where you delight so much in the person of Jesus Christ, totally captivated by his overwhelming love and his mind-blowing grace, that everything else takes second place. Now, all you do for God flows from your experience of him in the secret place. Service of Christ grows out of your intimacy with him.

The Edenic vision was set in a garden, called ‘the garden of God’. It was no doubt idyllic. I picture, rushing streams of clear unpolluted water and endless rows of luscious plants with delicious fruits and much more. But it would have meant nothing without God’s presence. It was all about him. No really. ALL about him.

Entering into any place of worship with the service in full swing, you can tell straight away whether the ministry of that house is about God or something else. No matter how many times those presiding over the worship or preaching or participating in the service declare that their focus is on God, the whole atmosphere is devoid of genuine devotion. Practiced and polished presentations, slick communication techniques and all the other elements of “attractional” ministry are utterly meaningless without God’s presence impregnating everything that happens and charging the atmosphere with a deep sense of God.

So Pastors, begin with the garden of your own soul. Invite God’s presence deeply and meaningfully into your inner life. Determine that you will make no attempt to do anything for God that does not come from your genuine delight of God. That way, you will never stand or walk alone in your ministry. He will be with you every step of the way.

For more information on my ministry mentoring programme email me on admin@colindye.com