In this essay, the reader will get a good bit of insight on many different areas in the pastoral ministry field of work. I hope the reader can take away something from this paper that previously they did not know before. Another goal of this paper is to inform the reader in what we have been learning in this short amount of time since the class started. But what I want to really focus on today is a variety of things; I will be addressing the importance of establishing priorities in ministry; the roles of character, integrity, compassion, vulnerability, and dependability as they relate to pastoral ministry. As well as answering a two questions, one being “How does the pastor incorporate spiritual renewal, public worship, preaching, pastoral …show more content…
Priorities are a big deal anyways, but I really feel that there is more significant priorities in the ministry because you have to keep your priorities in line to grow and be obedient to God. I think it is very important though to establish priorities in the ministry that way you can hold yourself more accountable and more responsible to stay on top of those priorities. The literal definition of priority is, a thing that is regarded as more important than another. Which in this case could be a number of things as far as the ministry goes. For instance it should be a priority of all ministers to be in the Word daily and when preaching to an audience it should always be a priority to show and teach people the ways of Jesus. If you don’t establish priorities then your overall ministry could lose it’s importance to not only others but your …show more content…
The first question is, how does the pastor incorporate spiritual renewal, public worship, preaching, pastoral care, stewardship and church growth in pastoral ministry? To kind of break down this question, I’m going to rephrase it to how does a pastor balance out all of these aspects of the pastoral ministry. I would have to say that spiritual renewal and worship are my top priorities for this. As for spiritual renewal, I operate for renewal like this; for every 7 days I take a day off, every 7 weeks I take a weekend off, every 7 months a week off and 7 years a month off. For worship, I spend around an hour a day just laying down and just worshiping God, as my father. I also try and lead the way for worship with our people so I am in our worship band praising Jesus! As for preaching I allow God to speak to me but I have prayed and come up with a yearly plan for youth group, sometimes God changes things but most times he speaks on those topics, I write down ideas and points as God teaches me things... it's almost like I am a crock pot. As for pastoral care, I would have a team of elders that help me with that. As a pastor in my job is to equip Saints for ministry, not be the only one that does it and so because of that I would need to train and equip people to handle pastoral care and I empower than to do it. For stewardship I would operate off of a budget 10% tithe, 10 percent savings, 20% ministry expenses,
We are all God’s stewards of time and money. Time and money are gifts from God, and they are also gifts from your ministry for your ministry so it is imperative that it is spent wisely (Fagerstrom 255). The things that guide your personal finances will more than likely be the things that guide your ministry finances (Fagerstrom 230). It is important to be a giver and not a taker. Having a spirit of hoarding resources and money are the people/ministries that you often see struggling.
I agree with Kitchens, Mead, and Roxburgh who all basically say in their own way that one change in ministry that we need to focus on more is the congregational life of the church. However, I think Mead explains it best when he says that the future church must be more intentional in the spiritual formation of its laity (Mead, location 919). According to Mead, the church is moving towards becoming a more missional institution that cares for the needs of the community. Therefore, oftentimes laity will be the ones on the front lines and will need the capacity to minister to people on their own without the help of clergy. In order to do this they will need more directed and intensive training to deal with...
Philosophy of Ministry: God's desires come first, I must always live my ministry God's way. I must live as a Christian (1 Corinthians 9:27) I must have a proper relationship of surrender to the Leader. In my personal life or in the Church I must understand that Christ is Head and Chief Shepherd (Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 13:20). The “management” of Church is about relationships with God and Man, not just maintaining a social organization.
In African American Pastoral Care: Revised Edition, Dr. Wimberly spoke about responding to God’s unfolding and continually changing times when dealing with healing and reconciliation. In this revision of his classic book, Dr. Wimberly updated his message by examining current issues in African American pastoral care, counseling, and outreach ministry in the community. Dr. Wimberly reminded us that we need to do more for our members and proposed new pastoral care approaches to the crisis of disconnection. Using his own narrative, he explained and described how pastors and church leaders can claim a new narrative method for reestablishing the African American village. His paradigm for African American pastoral theology is inspiring African Americans.
"Many homiletics experts have expressed well how much more easily people hear a story than a laundry list of points when someone is preaching . . . Jesus preach by telling stories . . . everyone would rather hear a good story than a laundry list of points or stern lecture about musts and shoulds."
With that said, the time has come at OGBC to manage the inevitable transition of welcoming a new pastor. The researcher is an associate minister at OGBC and recognized the need for developing a transition plan to help her church to transition well. Transition is the process of letting go of the ways things used to be and then holding on of the way they subsequently become. William Bridges identifies a place in between the transition process called the “neutral zone”. Bridges suggests that while in the neutral zone people resist the transition because it takes longer (often much longer) than change, and it leaves us in this zone while a replacement reality and a new reality is gradually being formed. The researcher’s church was in the neutral zone for three years until they finally selected a new pastor. The time has come for OGBC to let go of the way things used to be and take hold of the way things have become and then move forward with their new pastor embracing the process for a healthy pastoral transition. Transition is the way that we all come to terms with change. The pastoral transition process does not have to be chaotic thus, this project is develop in the anticipation to make the way smoother for
Mark McMinn purposely writes this twofold book to first, address the pragmatic assimilation of psychology, theology, and spirituality. Secondly, he explores the spirituality of a Christian counselor, and how this aspect of character affects the methods he or she may use to represent Jesus Christ when dealing with clients. Altogether, this book discusses the dual need for Biblical Counselors to multitask with clients while pursuing personal development in spirituality to advance a Christian worldview. The objective is to “help Christian counselors and researchers unite around certain key questions and perspectives so that our interventions become increasingly relevant and effective" (p. 6).
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element.
Bryant and Brunson have done a terrific job of assessing the pastoral ministry and giving sound advice, to the young or prospective pastor. The present author believes that this book should be standard in every pastor’s library. “God promises to be with his servants as they follow” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 16) The apostle Paul gave three rules to keep the pastor on the track of a good reward: “Fight the Good Fight; Finish the Race; and Keep the Faith.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 240-242) The greatest joy for a pastor is to, “Finish well.”
I truly believe this is the place in my life I am being called, equipped, and gifted. I also believe it is where I most naturally fit when it comes to the requirements of the job description. My heart feels drawn towards creating unity in a team of creatives who are passionate about worshipping, creating, and leading people to the foot of the cross in worship. Worship music gives people the opportunity to express their heart to God in words that they may not have even known they needed to sing, but also unites the voice of the entire congregation and orients us together towards God. I don’t think there is a formula of how to lead people into worship, but I am so deeply intrigued by the different ways to lead congregations, and I believe worship is a place that is constantly changing and growing in new expressions and voice to give to the church. One part of this job description that I really appreciated was the correlation it expressed in planning worship sets in correlation with the senior pastor. I have not been in a worship position where I actually got to sit and pray through the worship sets with the senior pastor. In my experience the senior pastor has either told us what he wants and we do it, or he just gives us all the responsibility and does not really care how we lead the time. However, I truly believe communication with the senior pastor about worship can be one of the most edifying planning aspects for a meaningful worship service that leads people into worship, the spoken sermon, and response
Since the beginning of recorded history, there were individuals who lead people in many different types of ways. Some lead people in the aspects of dictatorship, while others did it in other fashions. In many forms and ways it had been done, people had guidance in their live that would teach, enlighten, inspire and aid. A Pastor/Bishop can do all these things and more for the people who he/she guides. Through the year’s preacher and sermon givers have talked to people with no payment in return.
I acknowledge the characteristics of overseers and elders listed by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Having yet to reach perfection, I hold these as high ideals; and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will strive to maintain all of them as a future Christian minister. Devotion to God, balanced living and stewardship of self must be my first priorities to be an effective pastor. Stress must be managed by maintaining self-control and seeking places and routines of sanctuary for reflection and renewal. As self-care maintenance, I strive to eat balanced meals, get adequate sleep, and exercise regularly.
The shepherd and sheep relationship is the best illustration for the relationship between pastor and parishioners. When Jesus asked Simon Peter does he love him three times and said to him “Feed my sheep”, the shepherd and flock relationship has been set. Since Jesus is our good shepherd (Jn. 10:11a), he laid out a good example for us to follow - to lay down his life for the sheep. (Jn. 10:11b) Thus, the wellness of both in and out of the parishioners should always be the concern in the pastors’ hearts. Soul care for the people is essential. Christian friendship is the foundation of Christian soul care. Pastoral ministry including preaching, teaching, and worship forms the broad context of pastoral counseling. Pastoral care is within pastoral ministry but broader than pastoral counseling. God’s love is the source and motivation. Within the pastoral care, there are spiritual direction and pastoral
Another aspect of pastoral ministry is that every pastor is unique. God has gifted each pastor differently and with his own style. It is imperative that a pastor use the gifts that he has to bear witness about Christ. It is also important to preach Christ and not self. It is crucial that a pastor understand who he is, accept himself, and to develop the gifts given by God. Too often, preachers compare themselves to others and envy what they do not have. That is dangerous and sinful. One must accept the gifts given by God and to use them for His glory.
In ministry it is important to note that the different people involved in your ministry will be at different stages of their spiritual growth. Having an awareness of your own personal theology will be important for how you go about teaching the students who are involved in your youth ministry. One part of personal theology is spiritual formation. Duffy Robbins states that spiritual formation is, “the growing into the likeness of Jesus” (448). Another main part of personal theology is community. Understanding and having an idea of both spiritual formation and community helps with the formation of personal theology of ministry. This paper will share five areas of theology and how they relate to practical theology in youth ministry. The five areas of theology include view of God, view of people, view of sin, view of redemption, and view of scripture.