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Here is a basic breakdown of my roles and responsibilities as I seek to faithfully serve the people of God:
1) Preaching and teaching (2 Tim. 2:15; 4:1-5; 1 Tim. 5:17-18). Weekly I prepare the Sunday morning sermon exposition and the Sunday School hour (teaching time). Our church has embraced the priority of PREACHING and values verse-by-verse exposition as the main spiritual diet (John 21:27). In my early years I also taught a weekly bible study during our Sunday evening service. I currently teach a combined adult SS class and deliver a weekly sermon exposition during our worship service. I also teach the T & T students during the AWANA year and provide a short devotional during prayer meeting when Awana is not in session. For many years I spent a lot of time preparing teaching material for our men's leadership training and development ministry; (see #6). The congregation and lay leaders have always given me ample time (see Acts 6) for expository study (Tuesday-Saturday) and for in-depth expository preaching during the morning worship service! For this I rejoice!
2) “Leader among leader” responsibilities (1
Pet. 5; Heb. 13:17; 1 Cor. 11:1). The week before our monthly leadership
meeting I put together the monthly agenda. I have always had a great relationship
with our chairmen. The chairman and I talk on the phone or meet in person as much
as is needed. As I have stated many times before faithful lay leaders are the backbone of the church.
3) Worship planning. I put together the order of worship for the
upcoming month. I generally do this
the last week of the month. I often
correspond with our lay praise leaders and with our secretary as I complete
this task. Our liturgy planning includes
Scripture texts, praise songs, special offertories, Scripture reading/readers, etc. Thankfully, our congregation
has not engaged in any fruitless worship wars during the time I have been
here. Our service includes Worship through adoration, worship through prayer and offering, worship through hearing God's Word read, and worship through the exposition of Scripture, and worship through the ordinances (communion and baptism).
4) Pastoral care. I try and visit those in the hospital and
shut-ins as needs arise. Over the
first eight years of ministry here I have helped plan/officiate 30+
funerals. During this same time period we
have only had two or three weddings. We
have welcomed a number of new additions (babies) during this
time as well. Today many of our sweetest and
most important members are senior saints. Our shut in list is much smaller than it once was as is our senior’s fellowship group. Our lay leaders over the years have also helped shepherd the weak/sick
via our “deacon care” list (note 1 Peter 5:1-4; Hebrews 13:17). Our
deaconess’ have always done a exceptional job of “washing the feet” of the saints!
5) Lead Weekly Prayer Meeting. When I am not teaching/serving during Awana I
lead our Wednesday evening prayer meeting. I
generally lead in one song of praise, have our pianist play a song for meditation and reflection, I present a 10-15
minute devotional, and then facilitate the prayer request time. Our prayer partners then break into small groups and pray
accordingly.
6) Men’s Leadership Training and Development (2 Tim. 2:2). For 7 years I led various groups of men
through a monthly “super study” (Saturdays; 7am-10:30am). This was one of the most important
things I did as faithful lay leaders are critical to biblical growth and maturation (2 Tim. 2:2; Titus 1:5f). Each year the men and I would read 5-7 books most
of which dealt with biblical ecclesiology., leadership matters, elder/deacon
training, discipleship, counseling, etc.
In 2015, it seemed like our group needed a
break from this monthly ministry. Over the years I have
found it is easy to find men who want to help make decisions but much harder to
train men who will carry the weight of shepherding/counseling/discipleship. That is what the American church desperately needs today!
7) Led Staff meetings. For many
years I met at least once a week with our youth pastor, secretary, and PT
children’s director. As this church revitalization work continued to decline financially we had to eliminate our children’s director in 2008 and our youth pastor position in 2013.
Our current janitor/facility director and our secretary/bookkeeper and I
meet as various needs arise. We communicate regularly in order to try and help everyone stay on the same ministry page. As with all things good communication takes care of most problems.
8) Home Hospitality and Assimilation Ministries - Over the past 8 years Andrea and I have tried and
have members, new visitors, missionaries, and regular attendees into our home (generally on
Thursday nights). It is helpful for people to see the pastor and his family in an informal context away from church. We have had hundreds of guests and members in our home.
9) Pastoral Oversight and Administration- I make a number of phone calls, send out many
emails, and have various meetings from week to week. We currently have
nursery/children’s SS; nursery for 0-5’s; Adult SS; Choir; Various praise
teams; Tech ministries; Youth ministries; Awana, Potlucks; Men’s and Ladies Bible Study; and we also offer various adult SS activities. I try and remain in
contact with our missionary chairman especially when a missionary contacts me
about coming to share a report. The same
is true of our trustee chairman as they provide oversight of our
grounds/facilities. I have weekly
contact with our Awana Commander. I also speak with our deaconess team as needed. Pastoral administration is often one of the most neglected and overlooked roles of leadership within the life of the church. Dr. Joe Flatt helped me learn how to be proficient and efficient as a leader in Christ's church.
10) Budget Committee Leadership- Each calendar year I provide leadership to our budget committee. We have two formal meetings
around October before our congregational meeting. In addition to this the leadership teams and I review the financials each month. Our current bookkeeper provides weekly reports
to key leaders and monthly reports to our boards. FBC Freeport has been blessed over the last 8
years with some massive estate gifts that have helped keep things afloat. However, over the past 25 years the church
has also had to make a number of difficult cuts because of declining income/offering. Pastoring a church that is growing spiritually but that is still bleeding financially has it far share of challenges. These issues have to be addressed with much prayer (Phil. 4:6) and with wisdom from above (James 1:5).
11) Prepare for and Lead our annual “Member’s
Meeting”- I have provided general
leadership as the deacons and I prayerfully determine what ministry appointed
needs the congregation has; (boards/committees/ministries; etc).
During this meeting the congregation affirms various nominees and I
often share a “state of the church” report. I also try and set spiritual benchmarks and goals for the
year to come.
11) Counseling and Discipleship- Over the
past 8 years Andrea and I have done almost all of the counseling and crisis
counseling in the church. Sexual abuse,
marriage conflicts, family hardships, etc. I enjoy meeting with men for discipleship as needs arise and as much as
my schedule allows. ACBC provides
intentional biblical counseling seminars and tracks to help equip lay people
for the work of the ministry.
12) Other Roles- It is impossible to state every pastoral responsibility in the life of a local church. Serving God and His people as a under-shepherd is a tremendous privilege! Apart from Him no man is adequate for this high and holy calling!
12) Other Roles- It is impossible to state every pastoral responsibility in the life of a local church. Serving God and His people as a under-shepherd is a tremendous privilege! Apart from Him no man is adequate for this high and holy calling!
