For the past two weeks Paul (the lead pastor) and I have been talking about this. A lot of interesting things have come from those discussions.
Here's some of the things God has made extremely clear to me. A lot of pastors talk at their church but never talk to their church (youth pastors included). A lot of pastors pick the topics they speak about very haphazardly. A lot of pastors see people in black and white and really don't know what to do with those who are somewhere in the gray and are unable to be instantly fit into the church stereotype of "spiritually mature".
A few things I've been "shown" about the teaching ministry of the church is the following:
- The leaders need to know where the flock is and know how to give them right steps to go where they should be.
- An accurate view of Christ that combats the myths/misconceptions about Christ needs to be taught from a very culturally relevant perspective (combating today's misconceptions of Christ). This is deeply connected with the Gospel and a powerful way to create a platform for introducing people to the real Christ and inviting them to enter into a relationship with Him.
- An accurate view of what it means to be connected to the local church (local body of believers) to combat the unbiblical style of "church" being practiced today. Every member should be an active partner in a ministry within the church.
- I think until the teaching ministry has truly "taught" #2 and #3 all other things being taught will be fruitless. Sort of like trying to cure cancer with a bandaid.
I'm not saying these things because I've figured it all out, but this has been passing through my mind for some time now.
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!
3 comments:
I'm not sure I can know where my flock is. Everyone is at a different location on their spiritual journey. I just preach the Word of God with as much application as possible and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Just my thoughts.
Hey Travis, thanks for stopping by.
Keep in mind that the teaching ministry isn't just a Sunday morning sermon, and it's not just what you yourself teach, but is also what you delegate others to teach, strategic events that expose your flock to right kind of things, etc.
Also, it's not your job to know where everyone is in their spiritual journey but it is your job to make sure everyone is known by someone; this is part of the teaching ministry (btw, teaching isn't just the things we say but is also what we expose them to).
I don't mean this to sound mean.
But as a pastor (shepherd) my job is to know where my flock is. It's my job to lead them to food and water.
Certainly, as Travis said, I don't know the details of every member's spiritual journey. But the church is a body, not individuals.
Where is the body? I should be able to discern that much.
As to teaching with purpose: why do anything else? Pastors who teach without an idea of their congregation's needs are likely out of touch with anyone (including the Holy Spirit) except their own egos.
Read the post on my blog "Be Ready" and you'll see how the Spirit works with purposeful teaching.
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