What Does A Pastor Do? Series

This morning we will be starting a short series on each and everyone’s responsibilities.

Pastor’s– Deacon – Trustee’s – Committee Chairpersons - Members – everyone!

Before we start Who Believes the Bible is the infallible Word of God?

I ask you that, so if I am quoting the Bible, then you can get mad at the writers, like Paul, Peter, James....get it?

The Bible says we are the body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:27

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

1 Corinthians 12:12

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”

Romans 12:4

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,”

1 Corinthians 10:17

“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”

1 Corinthians 12:20

“As it is,there are many parts, but one body.”

This is a disclaimer; before you get your underwear in a bunch, hear me out

Oneof Jesus' favorite metaphors for spiritual leadership, one He often used to describe Himself, was that of a shepherd--a person who tends God's flock.

The Bible refers to the Pastor, Overseer as the Shepherd ….I am not referring a Pastor to Jesus, especially this Pastor.

A shepherd

He leads,

He feeds,

He nurtures,

He comforts,

He corrects,

He protects--responsibilities that belong to every church leader.

In fact, the word pastor means shepherd.

Please don't think I am looking at you as sheep.....however, this is what the Bible says

Peter wrote these words to elders who would have been familiar with sheep and shepherding in

1 Peter 5:1-4

“I exhort the elders among you ... shepherd the flock of God ... exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory”

To give you a more complete picture of what a pastor's role is; let’s take a look at the nature of sheep, the task of shepherds, and how they compare to the pastor's role among the church.

Shepherds Are Rescuers

A sheep can be totally lost within a few miles of its home. With no sense of direction and no instinct for finding the fold, a lost sheep usually will walk around ina state of confusion, unrest, and even panic. It needs a shepherd to bring it home.

Matthew 9:36

“And so when Jesus saw the crowds, lost, spiritually disoriented, and confused, He likened them to sheep without a shepherd “

Isaiah 53:6

“The prophet Isaiah described lost people as those who, like sheep, have gone astray--each one turning to his own way”

Like lost sheep, lost people need a rescuer--a shepherd--to lead them to the safety of the fold. A pastor does that by pointing the lost toward Jesus, the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.