Tag: pastors

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Exodus Devotions

What we all need

Carrying burdens

“What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him.

“You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.” (Exodus 18:17-18)

“You can’t do it alone.”

I found it interesting that Jethro told Moses that not long after the battle against the Amalekites.

Moses literally couldn’t keep his hands up as he was interceding for the Israelites before God, but Aaron and Hur supported him until victory was achieved. (Exodus 17:8-16)

And now Jethro was telling him again, “You can’t do God’s work alone.”

That’s something we all need to remember.

Our leaders may seem like “super-Christians,” but they can’t do their jobs alone.

They certainly need our prayers and encouragement. But they also need us to do our part in ministry as well.

God has given each of us gifts to minister to others. Ministry is not just the job of the leaders. It’s the job of every Christian. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

But beyond that, all of us need support in our Christian lives.

Our personal ministries to our families and those around us can get heavy. Life itself can get heavy.

So let’s not try to live our Christian lives on our own.

Let’s support and encourage each other so that our load will be lightened and we’ll be able to endure. (Exodus 18:22-23)

As Paul put it,

Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

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Hebrews

Following and praying for your leaders

Hebrews

I have great respect for the pastors who have been over me.

I’ve been teaching God’s word for a long time, but have never sensed the call to be a pastor.

If all being a pastor meant was teaching God’s word, I could probably do that. But a pastor is called to do much more in shepherding the flock God has given them.

We forget that sometimes. And not only do they have the responsibility of shepherding the church, they have the everyday responsibility of shepherding their families as well.

These are heavy responsibilities. And most take them seriously because they know that one day they will answer to God for what they have done.

More, they know that because of the specific responsibilities they have over God’s flock, they are held to higher account than most people.

And so the writer of Hebrews tells us,

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.

Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage of you. (Hebrews 13:17)

Like I said, being a pastor is tough as it is. It becomes even tougher when his own flock starts sniping at him. Criticizing him. Tearing him apart for every mistake that he makes. Questioning every decision he makes in leading the church.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Don’t do that. Follow them. Submit to their authority.”

Why? Because God is the one that gave them that authority. And ultimately, he is the one they are accountable to. He is the one who will judge them if they go off the right path, not you.

When we are constantly criticizing and tearing down our pastors, their job becomes a burden instead of the joy God intends it to be.

That’s not only bad for them. It’s also bad for us. Instead of being able to focus on all the things God has called them to do, they are forced to put out all the fires in the church.

And all the while Satan laughs.

So don’t be a part of that.

Is there no room, then, for criticism of a pastor? Certainly, there is.

If they’re getting into false teaching, they must be confronted.

If they’re neck deep in sin and immorality and will not repent, they must be confronted. And Paul deals with such situations in 1 Timothy 5.

But if you’re simply dealing with differences of opinion, in the direction of the church, in how things are run, etc., follow the leader God has given you. It’s entirely possible that they see things that you cannot.

And if your pastor does make a mistake in these things (and they inevitably will)? Don’t snipe. Don’t criticize. Build them up. Encourage them. And above all, pray.

The writer of Hebrews said,

Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. (18)

Most pastors are the same. Even though they feel like they have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way, they still fall. They still make mistakes. So pray for them.

What is your attitude toward your pastor?

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1 Timothy

Biblical principles: God’s standard for pastors

1 Timothy

The standard to which pastors and elders are held is a very high one. Why? Because they represent Christ to their congregation and they represent the church to the world.

We’ve all seen what happens when they fail in this and scandal rocks the church. It not only hurts people within the church, but damages the church’s reputation in the world.

And so while Paul does require two or three witnesses before admitting a charge against the pastors and elders, he makes it clear to Timothy that when the charge is proven, he cannot simply ignore it. Rather he is to bring it in front of the church and rebuke that pastor or elder.

Why? For one thing, it proves there is no double-standard between the leadership and the congregation.

Second, it shows the church that sin is taken seriously and will not be ignored no matter who commits it.

Third, it serves as a warning to those who are being tempted to sin in the same way.

But as important as it is to deal with these problems when they come up, it’s even more important to do everything possible to make sure that it doesn’t happen at all.

We should choose leaders who are full of integrity and won’t fall in such a way that it brings disrepute to the name of Christ and to the church.

Because of this, Paul told Timothy,

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (1 Timothy 5:22)

When people were chosen as pastors or elders, people like Timothy or Paul would lay their hands on them, praying for them, and committing them to God for that work.

So what Paul was saying was, “Don’t be hasty in choosing someone to be a pastor or elder. Don’t share in their sins by supporting them for that position without checking them out first.”

And the most important way to test a pastor or elder was to watch their lives. Paul said,

The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.

In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden. (1 Timothy 5:24-25)

In other words, some people are easy to disqualify because their sins are so obvious.

Other sins, though, are not so easy to see, and you won’t notice them until you have spent time with that person and gotten to know them.

On the other hand, there may be other people that you think are not so special or qualified. But when you take a closer look at their lives, you’ll see that they are the very ones that are most qualified.

Either way, watch those within the church who are candidates for pastor or elder. Make sure of them before assigning them to that position. If you don’t, you could very well find yourself with a disaster on your hands.

While Paul is focusing on pastors and elders, I think you could extend this to any ministry where a person needs to take a leadership role.

It might be for the process of choosing people to be small group leaders or Sunday school teachers. Anyone who represents the church as a leader or teacher is to be held to a high standard.

So we need to be careful who we choose.

And for those who are in leadership or teaching positions, we need to be careful to always represent Christ well by how we live.

How careful are you being?

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1 Timothy

Supporting and honoring our pastors

Honor your pastor

Pastors are not perfect. And because they’re up on the pedestal at church, they often become easy targets for criticism.

More, far too often, we neither honor nor support them the way that God commands us to.

And God does command us to do this.

Paul wrote,

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 

For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17-18)

Paul tells us here how we are to look upon our pastors and elders in the church. We are to consider them worthy of not just honor, but double honor. We are to respect them and support them.

How are we to support them? With our prayers, first and foremost, but also with our encouragement. And with our finances.

Sometimes people argue that tithing is not a New Testament command. I happen to agree with that.

But most people who make such arguments usually stop there and say, “Therefore I have no obligation whatsoever to support my church financially.”

But Paul makes it crystal clear that is not true. He says you do have an obligation to support your pastor financially.

Put it this way.

If your pastor is forced to work an outside job in order to support his family (remember that Paul said in verse 8 that a person that fails to do this is worse than an unbeliever), how much time can he put into the message on Sunday?

How much time can he put into counseling those who are hurting?

How much time can he put into all the pastoral duties God has given him? Not much.

And yet one of the main complaints that people in the church have is that their pastor is not fulfilling his obligations.

If you’re making that complaint, let me ask you: “Are you supporting your pastor financially so that he can?”

More, are you supporting him in other ways? Are you praying for him? Are you encouraging him with your words? Are you seeking to take the burden off of him by actually participating in ministry so that he doesn’t have to do everything himself?

Or are you just simply sitting in church waiting to be ministered to?

The church is a body. Each person has a part in it. Are you playing your part?

Now don’t get me wrong. There are times when a pastor is to be criticized. Paul will go into that later. But there are fair criticisms and unfair ones.

And among the unfair ones are criticizing him for not doing all you feel he should be doing, when you’re not doing all that you’re supposed to be doing.

So before you start criticizing your pastor, look at yourself. Are you honoring and supporting your pastor? Are you doing everything you can to make his job easier?

Or are you just sitting on your chair at church, taking potshots at him?

Where is your heart?

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1 Timothy

To be a leader of God’s flock

1 Timothy

As I look at the whole of this chapter, the words resonate with me, and it shows me just how powerful these words Paul gave to Timothy were.

They were words that challenged Timothy to be the leader in the church God had called him to be. And they are words that everyone who is a pastor needs to take to heart.

What did Paul say?

First, he charged Timothy to teach the church the Word of God.

In a world where teaching was becoming corrupt, where what was good was taught to be evil, and what was evil was taught to be good, Paul laid out clearly what was truly good.

And he told Timothy,

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. (1 Timothy 4:6)

In other words, “Do you want to be a good minister of Christ, Timothy? Then lay out the truth of God before this flock he has put under your charge.”

He makes this much stronger in verse 11, where he charges Timothy,

Command and teach these things.

Teach what things? Teach godliness. Teach about the hope we have in God, who saves all who believe.

But in doing so, Timothy was not to teach from his own wisdom, but to make God’s wisdom the center of all he taught.

Paul told him,

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (13)

Often times, pastors teach a lot of good things, even godly things, but the center of their message is not scripture, but their own thoughts and experiences.

But Paul says, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture. Make Scripture your starting point, and then from there preach and teach what God has said. Don’t simply preach and teach your opinions.”

But not only was he to teach these things, he was to live them as well. Paul told Timothy,

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (12)

Timothy was young compared to some of the people in his congregation.

But Paul said, “Young or not, you be an example to the people in your church. Be an example in what you say, how you live, how you love, in the faith you proclaim, and in your purity of life.”

Perhaps some of the false teachers were trying to shout Timothy down. To intimidate him into silence because of his youth. But Paul reminded him that the gift he had came from God, and he was to use it. (14)

And then he told Timothy,

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. (15)

In short, be diligent in teaching God’s word. Be diligent in practicing godliness. Immerse yourself in these things, so that people can see that you too are growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ, and follow your example.

Finally, Paul concludes,

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (16)

Here Paul reminds Timothy to be vigilant. To guard against temptation that would bring him down, and to be sure to teach what is right.

Why? Because as a leader and pastor, his influence was an immense responsibility. And by doing these things, he not only would save himself, but the flock God gave him.

But if he didn’t he could bring down the flock with him, and God would hold him to account for it.

It is no light thing to be a pastor. Only those so called should become pastors. And for those who have been called, it would be well to remember Paul’s words to the Corinthians.

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (I Corinthians 4:2)

How about you? Are you proving faithful?

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Colossians

Praying behind the front lines

Colossians

I wonder if we understand just how important our prayers are behind the front lines.

There are so many people, pastors and missionaries especially, who are out there on the front lines. Yet many times, we act as if they don’t need our prayers.

They are by definition, after all, “spiritual,” right?

But it is these very people on the front lines that need our prayer the most. Paul certainly recognized his need for others’ prayers. And so he told the Colossians,

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2)

The idea of “devote” is to be persistent, to hold fast and not let go. In short, don’t just blow off a quick prayer and go on your merry way. Truly engage with God in prayer.

Paul says to be watchful.

Watch for what God’s trying to do around you and ask him how to pray in the midst of what he’s doing.

Remember also to have a thankful heart. Don’t just make your prayers a “give me” list. But make it a time to remember God’s goodness in your life and draw near to him.

But Paul then gives specifics on the kinds of things people on the front lines need prayer for.

They need prayer that God would open up doors of opportunity to preach the gospel.

And they need prayer that God would give them the words so that people can clearly understand the gospel.

One would think, “Just preach the gospel. What’s so difficult about that?”

But while the gospel message remains the same, they still need wisdom on exactly what words need to be said to break through whatever blinders Satan has put on unbelievers.

So as you think of the missionaries and pastors you know, pray for these things. They need your spiritual support.

And let them know you are praying for them as well. It’s always encouraging to know you’re not fighting alone, but that you have people behind the lines supporting you.