#18 3 Types Of Pastors And Their Churches
The 3 signs of a good pastor
There are three types of relationships a pastor must focus on in order to be a good pastor. Pastors need to be know the Bible and God first and foremost. But they also need to know and care for those in the church and outside the church. Yet being focused on only one of these three things or even ignoring one may prove to be the ruin of a good pastor.
“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:6-8)
Relationship With God
True pastors have a relationship with God. That relationship is seen in the lives of pastors through their ministry. They must pray and study the Bible. You can tell how well a pastor knows God by how he prays, how often he points you to the Bible, and how he reflects the heart of God.
If a pastor only focuses on their relationship with God they may spend 40 hours a week writing their sermon. And thus ignoring their congregation and other responsibilities. For the Bible says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27) Pastors who are too focused on their relationship with God have no religion.
Relationship With The Church
True pastors know their people. Pastors know names. Pastors know how people are doing and where they are in life. They know their prejudices, how they are growing, where they work, and where their heart is.
Pastors who are too focused on those in the church will become obsessed with numbers. They forget to share the truth of God. They steal church members from other churches and they do not reach the unbelievers. This is the sin that many mega churches and their pastors fall into. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7) It is meaningless to grow the church community unless those people are also learning who God is, and learning to reach the lost.
Community Outside The Church
Pastors are committed to reaching nonbelievers. Christ came for the nonbelievers not for the believers. Pastors must be bringing God’s love to those outside the church in order to earn the title of pastor.
Pastors who are too focused on outreach fail to be good leaders and alienate those around them. When pastors are too focused on those outside the church the church dies. Furthermore they tend to abandon the word of God in favor of social good. This is the trap that many denominations fall into today including the United Methodist Church. They seek to minister to those outside the church to the detriment of the word of God and their members. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) These verses show us that our works mean nothing. Reaching the lost is nothing if our souls and theirs are lost in the process.
Conclusion
In Conclusion pastors should seek to serve God in all three of these areas. And as Christians we should be wary of Churches and leaders who fail to bear fruit in each of these areas.
