Before you think about the duties of your pastor, think for a moment about his position in the church. You are bombarded by numbers everywhere you look. In the music world you are directed to the top 100 songs, or, maybe, even to the top ten. In football and baseball, the emphasis is on having a sellout game, where the teams hope to move up in the rankings. Thus, this obsession with numbers carries over into the church. The larger the number of members of a church, supposedly the better the church.
Understand that something can be said for large numbers in a church, but in America there is an overemphasis on numbers. Your pastor is a called of God representative on earth to your church. He did not choose to become a pastor. The Lord Jesus called him out to be used for God’s purposes. Vance Havner puts it this way: “If the pastor of the smallest church in North Carolina became the president of the United States, he’d be stepping down.” Do you actually believe that? Your pastor is God’s mouth to your church. God uses your pastor to speak to you.
When the Holy Bible talks about spiritual gifts given by God to the church, it lists pastors as being a gift from God. You cannot claim it yourself. “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Notice, that God is the One who gives this gift – “He gave some.” And the purpose for the pastor’s gift is to prepare church members for the use of their gifts and to be an encourager.
Remember, the pastor of the smallest church has a more important position than the president of the United States. And his duty is to prepare you to use your spiritual gift and to encourage you. Tell your pastor, in person or by email, just how much you appreciate him!
