Deliberate Church: Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – The Role of the Pastor

Practitioner of the Marks
A true church has 2 marks: (1) right preaching of God’s Word and (2) right administration of the ordinances. The pastor’s primary responsibilities revolve around these two marks.
“The most important and fundamental role of the pastor is to preach the Gospel clearly.”

Teaching is Everything
“Everything that happens up front in a corporate worship gathering is part of the teaching ministry of the church.”
*Everything teaches, whether you intend it to or not.
“If you are the main preaching pastor at your church, then God will in some way hold you accountable for everything that happens up front in the corporate worship gatherings of your church.”

The Day-to-Day
Sermon preparation
Staff meetings
Weekly schedule: “God has entrusted you with only a finite number of hours and days. Steward them well to His glory, the heath of your family, and the edification of the church.”

The Three G’s
Graze – The pastor’s first responsibility is to feed the sheep on the Word of God.
Guide – The pastor is to lead the congregation toward green pastures. This implies that the pastor is watching his own life and doctrine closely.
Guard – A faithful shepherd is always on the watch against predators and will put himself in harm’s way on behalf of the flock when the need arises.