Note from Luke 1:2 on the role of a pastor

Just wanted to take the mention of ‘ministers of the word’ in Luke 1:2 as an opportunity to share a bit about my own role in this church plant as ‘pastor’. This phrase ‘minister’ or ‘servant’ of the word is partly how I would describe my role.

A pastor is not a Master to be Obeyed. A pastor is not even precisely a Teacher to be Learned From. Jesus is our Master and our Teacher, our Lord and our Rabbi. A pastor is a fellow-servant alongside his brothers and sisters in the church of Christ. The pastor has a specific role as ‘under-shepherd’ to our true Shepherd, Jesus, helping to care for the flock under his Care (see Acts 20:26-35 and 1 Peter 5:1-4).
My preaching and teaching of the word is a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit given to edify the church by bringing glory to Jesus (see 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4). It has been characterised as one servant being charged with simply giving out the necessary food, money, equipment, and so forth to the rest of the household servants. In receiving the word they are properly supplied with what they need to carry out the Master’s business both in the ‘house’ and in all areas of life in the wide world outside the house itself (because of course all the earth belongs to the Lord).
This helps us see better the meaning of a classic text about Scripture’s inspiration and purpose: ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV).

I do this most especially by feeding them this word in such a way that they are looking to, encountering, listening to, loving, and obeying Jesus himself. And of course my own food is exactly the same. This means that the word I proclaim to them, I must also discuss and live with them so that I too can be fed and nourished by the Spirit’s illumination of the word through the whole community. Such mutual discussion and life-application of the word also helps me to work hard to wrestle with our questions and needs as a congregation and do the best I can with the Spirit’s help to pastorally interpret and apply the Scriptures into our life circumstances (1 Timothy 3:13-16).

This understanding of being a pastor also shows that I can’t ‘servant-lead’ the church all on my own, but require the skills and giftings of other servants to make the whole household function properly and smoothly. (Well, as smoothly as can be expected from a bunch of the Lord’s misfits!)