Make Your Move Part 2: Let The Pastor Move Over Series

Make Your Move

Part 2: Let the Pastor Move Over

“[Jesus] was interested primarily in having disciples in whom and through whom His ministry would be multiplied many times over.”

-James D. Smart

The Rebirth of Ministry

Key Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Key Thought: The responsibility of a church’s pastor: the ministry of the Word of God and equipping the congregation for the work of the ministry.

 The 1st time the word for “equip” is used in the New Testament is in Luke 4:19, (the “fishers of men” verse.)

Icebreaker: The results of a computerized survey indicate the perfect minister preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sins but never upsets anyone. He works from 8:00 AM until midnight and is also a janitor. He makes $50 a week, wears good clothes, buys good books, drives a good car, and gives about $50 weekly to the poor. He is 28 years old and has preached 30 years. He has a burning desire to work with teenagers and spends all of his time with senior citizens. The perfect minister smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his work. He makes 15 calls daily on congregation families, shut-ins and the hospitalized, and is always in his office when needed.

Intro: What’s our #1 core value as a church? The Bible is our authority for life. Do you believe that? Do you really believe that? That the Bible tells us how to live our lives? Okay, do you believe the Bible tells us how to run our church? Do you believe that the Bible lays out very clearly what the New Testament Church should look like in function and form?

-Okay. I want you to remember that as we look into God’s Word this morning. Because, for many of you, what we’re going to talk about it going to be difficult, because it represents a major shift in our philosophy of “doing church.”

-For some of you, you’re going to leave here today more energized and motivated than you ever have been for God’s Church. I hope that you’ll rejoice in seeing what God’s Church really is for the first time, today.

-For others among you, today is going to be painful. Because what we’re going to talk about today seems so different than what we’re accustomed to around here. Some of you may think, “No, this can’t be right.” But remember, the Bible is our authority for life. We believe what the Bible teaches and we want to put in into practice, even when it contradicts us. So I hope you’ll see that if there’s pain today, it is a good pain, it’s a needed pain.

-Some of you may even be offended over what we’re going to talk about, today. Heaven forbid we be offended at church, right? You may even start to feel a little angry. Because this is going to seem so contrary to what you believe that it’s going to seem like I’m preaching a false gospel. So I want to remind you, one more time, before we dig into this fundamental teaching on the Church, that the Bible is our authority for life. That means everything. So if you start to feel truly offended at what we’re talking about, just remember, this isn’t my opinion that I’m preaching. It’s what the Bible says. And I’m not trying to persuade you towards my opinion. This is God’s Word stating an emphatic truth, whether we like it or not.

-So, with that being said, some of you are probably freaking out already. “What on earth are we going to talk about, today?” Some of you are already in cold sweats. Just chill out and let’s look into God’s Word.

-For a recent survey of 5,000 pastors across the United States, they asked what their greatest needs were in their churches. Of those 5,000, 98% said their #1 or #2 need and priority was to get the lay people of their churches involved in doing the work of the ministry.

-In his book, The Rebirth of Ministry, James D. Smart says, “Jesus was not satisfied in having a succession of audiences to which He might proclaim His gospel. He was interested primarily in having disciples in whom and through whom His ministry would be multiplied many times over.”

-In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us what our responsibility as pastors is to you in the congregation:

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”