Pastor Stephen continued his series on the five-fold ministry gifts found in Ephesians 4:7-16 with this message about the pastoral gift. If you don't know your ministry gifts, head over to www.fivefoldministrytest.com!
The big idea: Pastors equip by caring!
To determine what pastors do in a church, Pastor Stephen related pastors to shepherds, as they are the same word in Greek.
Here's what pastors do:
- They guide their faith community closer to the spiritual life-giver: Jesus
- They guard the faith community from those that seek to destroy the congregation
- They seek to rescue the hurting however they can so that person can come to a place of wholeness
- They are aware of the needs of those in the church and bring words of counsel, comfort, encouragement and healing.
- They encourage people to make peace with each other and to gather regularly.
Here's how you can use this gift (even if it's not your main one):
- Look for hurting people...and don't walk away
- Challenge your Christian friends to build a closer relationship with Jesus--perhaps by joining a Life-Transformation Group.
- Stand against gossip, bitterness and dissension
- Encourage participation in Church life
- Encourage reconciliation
- Befriend those who are new
For those whose main gift is pastoring Pastor Stephen added:
- Instil a passion for pastoring in the congregation.
That's it in a nutshell! Be sure to listen to the full sermon online here.