@stephansen11glud
Profile
Registered: 11 months, 2 weeks ago
Pastoral Calling and the neighborhood Church Introduction The Christian ecclesias of the first century church were administered by local leaders. Paul had the pattern of appointing elders in the churches (Acts 14:23; 20:17). Paul gave leadership responsibility to Timothy at Ephesus also to Titus at Crete. Peter in talking with elders of the parts of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia challenged them to be shepherds of God's flock. In fact, he identifies himself as a fellow-elder and, therefore, a shepherd. He also identifies Christ because the Chief Shepherd (2 Pet. 5:1-4). We visit a pattern then in the first century church in which the administering of the neighborhood churches was done by elders whose function was to be akin to that of a shepherd. The word 'Pastor' can be used once in the New Testament in Ephesians 4:11. In Latin, the word is derived from the term Pastoral is and in French, Pastor. Both words are translated 'Shepherd'5. The word 'Pastor' is therefore imagery of shepherding that ought to characterize the elders of the neighborhood ecclesia. 'Pastoral' is an adjectival word which, in the context that it's being considered, bears the next meaning: "associated with the office and work of a minister of religion." This is brings out clearly our consideration in this Chapter: We shall examine Pastoral calling in relation to its nature - that's, the office, and its task - that is, the work. The Nature of Pastoral Calling The office and work of the minister of religion or pastor or shepherd or elder, whatever title enable you to designate the office and work, are unique. Anyone may become a Pastor however, not everyone can become a Pastor. Here, we have been dealing with a specialized office into which entry is pre-conditioned by the influence of the divine and the human. There is a calling involved. We often hear people say, in the local church setting in Sierra Leone, "I am called by God to ministry." A leader of a church which was started with the final five years and whose church keeps growing rapidly in a quantitative manner describes his calling by God as having occurred through a dream. Another leader went into an area in the West end of Freetown in 1993, used residence there and begun to organize evangelistic outreaches. Within a year, he has won some individuals to Christ and has started a church. This same leader was in league with another leader who runs their own private ministry (a church). Via an interview with him, it was found out that he could not pull alongside the other leader so he broke away from him to create their own independent ministry. When asked why he was wanting to set up a church in the new area into which he has moved he replied, "I was called by God." He made no reference to the rift between him and another leader which was the motivating factor for him to move off to start his own ministry; nor did he make reference to the conditions which caused him to have sought residence for the reason that new locality and had consequently decided to make there his base for evangelism. Rather, it had been just the blanket statement, "I am called by God." A third example arrived of an interview with the National Superintendent of an evangelical church which includes experienced Sierra Leone since 1969. He mentioned that his own call was firstly a subjective experience. The task of the ministry seemed worthy to him. He saw the job as noble. Such factors resulted from the strong-sense of God's call toward the ministry that may only be expressed instead of described. During this type of subjective experience he had not been only in virtually any employment; yet, he felt a stronger pull in him for involvement in ministry which seemed noble and worthy to him rather than involvement in secular employment. Secondly, this leader described his call as also an objective experience. The objective has to do with tangible evidences. Among such evidences was the necessity for manpower in the ministry of this church; thus, circumstances triggered the target experience. Included in the objective experience was the confirmation of the leaders of the church. The leaders saw the worth of this man who had a solid inner drive for involvement in ministry. Over a period of time, sufficient reason for training, his sense of call was confirmed by the leaders and he became one who fulfilled the need for manpower. In this case, the subjective experience didn't standalone. It found fulfillment and confirmation in the target. The next two questions were put to the same leader: (1) Should one have a sense of call to be involved in ministry? Yes, bilingual spanish church in houston replied. "One must develop a desire or love for the Lord's work. Just having an inclination isn't enough. (2) What do we mean by call? "A series of events leading to a climax. Objective occasions connecting and interplaying with the subjective." The forgoing three examples are representative of the perceptions which many local church leaders in Sierra Leone have concerning the nature of Pastoral calling. In the initial example, it was via the medium of a dream. In the second, it had been calling emanating from the person's availability from subjective feelings finding fulfillment and confirmation in objective realities. We shall further analyse these types of calling and the characteristics of the patterns.
Website: http://iglesiacrosspoint.com/
Forums
Topics Started: 0
Replies Created: 0
Forum Role: Participant