My Ministry Philosophy

Last semester I took a Pastoral Ministry class at the Arizona Campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.  I gained a lot more awareness about things that Pastors need to think about, deal with, and prepare for.  So...here are some of the things that have been floating around in my head about what I think God wants me to do to be counted as a faithful servant.

Ministry Philosophy

LEAD GOD’S PEOPLE

        My primary responsibility as a Pastor is to be a leader of God’s people.  The leadership I exercise over God’s people must first come from practices that are found in my own life.  It is imperative that as a leader of God’s people that I faithfully and consistently practice spiritual disciplines.  Just as Moses was not able to be the leader of God’s people until He was obedient to the stipulations of the covenant, I cannot be a leader of God’s people until I am faithfully obeying God’s Word (Exo 4:24-25).  In order to have integrity in preaching God’s Word I must live it out.  I will lead by example modeling what should be done in the hopes that my people will follow me.  Moreover, by leading by example through servant leadership, I become a person who earns the trust of the people whom I serve.  Joe Bisangio says in his Pastor’s Handbook, “Leadership is not demanded; it is deserved. Pastoral leadership is taught in Scripture and must be granted by the people but earned by the pastor. When you have to start telling them, “I’m the pastor,” you no longer are.”[1]By putting the needs of my people ahead of mine in service I become a person worth following.  I never ask people under my authority to do something that I am not willing to do.  Additionally, I will never ask my people to do something until they have been taught and coached in how to accomplish the task.  I will train and equip those under my leadership giving them the necessary tools and guidance to ensure their success.

COMMUNICATION

        An essential part of leading God’s people will be to clearly and consistently communicate primarily with the leaders in the church and then with the congregation.  In Andy Stanley’s book, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, he cites that one of the key things to communicate and clarify with both staff and congregation is the defined measure of success for the church.  He says that it is important to be, “intentional about defining a win so that you don’t accidentally communicate the wrong win or keep your team guessing about what is really important.”[2] It is important to keep the focus of the people in the church on the core commands and principles of scripture that advance the gospel so that the church is effective at accomplishing its mission in the world.  Keeping the focus on the important things keeps the church body focused and keeps the body from investing time in good things that do not really engage people with the gospel leading them to relationships with Jesus that continue to grow in intimacy.
UNITY
        The great hindrance to effective churches in accomplishing the task of making disciples is unity.  One of the primary roles and emphasis of my leadership will be on unity.  One of the key goals I will have in approaching leadership is to teach the people of God that they are on the same team.  To teach them how to resolve conflict and the role conflict plays within the God’s redemptive plan.  Disunity or separation will always be framed within the context of the fall of man and the necessity for God’s redemptive plan.  Unity will always be framed in the context of aligning with God’s redemptive purposes according to Matthew 22:37-40.

SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

        Regardless of the style of church polity practiced, shared accountability is an integral part of a healthy church.  As a leader I must never be in a position where I have no human accountability.  I must be held accountable for both my own personal spiritual life and the leadership decisions I make as a person in authority.  There must be a group of people with whom I can be transparent in all the areas of my life.  These people will hold me to the highest standard of leadership and be my watch guards (1 Sam 14:6-14).  These are people with whom I share a sharpening relationship with (Pr. 27:17).While I will be held accountable for the decisions I make, the responsibility for decisions that must be made fall to me regardless of the outcome good or bad.

DISCIPLESHIP

        Recognizing that the call to make disciples fulfills one of the primary purposes of my life, my ministry will be characterized by disciple-making.  I recognize that as a follower of Jesus Christ , Jesus is ultimately my true teacher, However, I will model discipleship in my own life by seeking out people to teach and mentor me.  These may be people at my place of service or from other ministry contexts, but I will always be in a discipleship relationship where I am the one being discipled.  I will also model discipleship by taking on people to teach and mentor.  As a leader of leaders, I know that my primary responsibility in discipleship will be to teach and mentor leaders under my authority.  My discipleship relationships will consist of growing in our relationships with Jesus Christ and growing in our ability to teach others.  To ensure successful multiplication in discipleship I must pass on the passion and urgency for my leaders to seek to replace themselves.  It is also essential that the philosophy of discipleship be clearly communicated to leaders in the church and that everyone in the church understand that discipleship is a necessary part of Christian life in order to be obedient followers of Jesus.  Success in discipleship will be measured by spiritual maturity.  It must be communicated that spiritual maturity is not achieved until a person becomes obedient in practicing spiritual disciplines and is capable of teaching others how to form spiritual habits.
(Acts 1:8, Col 1:3-14, 28-29)

REPLACEMENT

        As a soldier in God’s Army I recognize that it is necessary to ensure that people under my authority learn how to make decisions at my level.  I must actively seek out the next generation of leaders acknowledging God’s Sovereignty to move me or take me as He sees fit.  It is not my job to make people dependent on me but to always teach and equip people to become ever increasingly dependent on Jesus Christ.  I must always maintain an attitude of humility by remembering that God has blessed me by allowing me to be in a position of servant leadership. God is allowing me to be a part of His ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-21).  I must remind myself and others that the ministry/church doesn’t belong to anyone but Jesus Christ (Eph 2:10, 4:1-16).  Every leader under my authority will understand that it is their responsibility to train up and mentor leaders who will be capable of doing what they do just as good if not better than how they do things.  Each leader under my authority will also understand that as we train future leaders, we are not training them to do things the way we do it.  We are training future leaders how to make good decisions by allowing them to observe our decision making process.  Future leaders will grow as from our success and failures.

SUCCESS IN TEACHING

        People under my leadership will measure success in teaching by life change.  The success of teaching will not be wholly measured by information transfer.  Success in teaching is measured by the application of teaching to how individuals live life.  Success will be measured by growing obedience to Jesus.  Therefore, teaching on all levels will be oriented towards challenging people to align their lives to God’s Word.  Recognizing that obedience to Christ is always connected to our relationship with others, small groups will be the primary vehicle for teaching. Obedience issues communicated in large group teaching times will be re-iterated and lived out in the accountability and support of a small group.
(1Jn 3:7-18, Eph 5:19-6:9)

CORE TEACHINGS

        At the heart of everything taught in every level of the church will be God’s redemptive plan necessitated by man’s distrust of God resulting in the Fall and completed in the person of Jesus Christ (Rom 5:12-21).  Particular attention will be drawn to the consistency of God’s nature throughout scripture shown in the role He’s taken as pursuer and initiator of a love relationship with His people demonstrating His Sovereign grace (Rom 5:6-11).  Restoration will be emphasized as a major theme throughout scripture and as a posturing the people of God should adopt in their relationships with God, the family of God, and the unsaved.
THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
        This command is one of the essential imperatives God has given to His people throughout scripture.  As the people of God the leaders of the church and its members will be familiar with the reiterations of this command throughout scripture.  Leaders will challenge members to grow in their love for God by consistently communicating the need to Love God and make him the number one priority in every area of life.
(Matt 22:37-38, Deut 6)
THE SECOND GREATEST COMMANDMENT
        Teachers at all levels of the church will also communicate to members the necessity of growing in love for others.  Emphasis will be placed on the identifying marks of the people of God shown in how they treat one another.  Teachings on the church, Christian community and spiritual gifts will be taught through the lens of love for one another.  I will lead the people under my authority to grow in love for one another by demonstrating my desire to grow in character traits that affect individual relationships and ask leaders under my authority to keep me accountable for how I love others in the way I treat them.
(Matt 22:39-40, 1 Jn 2:3-11)
THE GREAT COMMISSION
        The people under my authority will frequently communicate the need to observe the commands in the Great Commission because of the primary commandment to love God.  Teachers at all levels will instruct people under their care to fulfill the mission of making disciples by obeying the secondary commandment of “loving your neighbor as yourself.”

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

        In order to be obedient to Christ’s charge to “preach repentance” and “make disciples of all nations” no activities or programs will be supported unless they prepare followers of Jesus to engage people with the gospel or successfully present and engage the community with the message of the gospel (Luk 24:47-48).  The primary allocation of all resources in the church will be to effectively engage the local community.  The church will establish a presence in the community built on service, tempered with a love for Jesus, to meet the physical needs of the lost.  The leaders and church members will be taught to understand the principle of holistic love. Leaders in the church will set the example of building relationships with people in the community and disciple people under their care to do the same by bringing their disciples with them as they reach out to the community.  I must set this example by doing the same with the people who I disciple.
(Jas 1:27, Rom 12:9-21, Acts 2:42-47)

REST AND WORK

        A core part of leadership that must be modeled both for the congregation and leaders under my authority is rest.  The church must know that it is okay and good to rest.  I must make a practice of regular rest from work in my week.  I must also establish a precedent for taking retreats or extended rests.  The leaders under my care must be taught to rest from work, this practice observed from the congregation must also be addressed in a proper teaching on rest stemming from Exodus 20:8-11.  From this passage I must also demonstrate for my leaders and congregation what it looks like to work hard.  A proper work ethic must be demonstrated first by me.  No one under my leadership should be working harder or more hours than me.  My work ethic will set the standard for leaders under my authority.  The work ethic leaders see me demonstrate should also work its way down to the congregation and teachings that communicate the proper way to approach work will be taught to all members of the church.
(1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:22, Rom 12:1)

FINANCES

        The finances the church possesses are a gift from the people of God for the purpose of advancing the gospel.  In order to ensure that the leaders of the church are being good stewards of the church’s finances it is imperative that there be a team of mature believers who monitor the fiscal use and management of the church’s money.  Decisions regarding large investments or movement of money will be made only at the consensus of church leaders representing the entire church body.  However, as the Pastor, I recognize that the management of church finances is not my primary responsibility.  I also recognize that mature members of the congregation are better informed and equipped to manage the finances of the Church.  Therefore, I will defer the day to day management of money to a team of deacons and elders who are experts in the field of finance.  However, it is imperative that all leaders of the church know how money in the church is spent.  It is also of utmost importance for leaders to periodically communicate how money in the church is being used to advance the gospel.
        Every leader in the church must set the example of how to be a responsible steward of personal finances.  All leaders in the church must be in accountability with other leaders in the church about tithing and debt.  This area of humility must be demonstrated by my own financial transparency with the leaders under my authority.

COUNSELING

        Counseling is an important ministry and integral part of pastoral care.  However I will not devote the bulk of my time to being available to counsel everyone in the church.  My time for counseling goes first to the leaders under my authority and the people I am discipling.  Secondary priority goes to resolving disputes in the church.  Then people who are dealing with marital issues.  All other counseling opportunities will be evaluated for priority on a case to case basis.  The first resource for counseling will be at the small group level.  The primary support group for individual members in the church will be with people in their small group.  If the person seeking counseling requires individual attention or is monopolizing their small group’s meeting time, small group leaders will meet with the individual at a time and place away from the rest of the group.  All small group leaders will be trained to use reflective listening to identify whether the issues brought up are spiritual, relational or professional.   Group leaders will be given resources to refer group members to places that can give them the help they require when the issues go beyond their ability.  Small group leaders will refer individuals to church staff if they determine that the issue doesn’t require professional help but takes more time than they are capable of giving.  Pastoral staff will all be equipped with basic reflective listening skills, be familiar with reality therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.  Issues that require more than 3 sessions will be referred out to a professional counselor.

PREACHING

        My primary purpose in preaching is to unify and mobilize people to accomplish the work of bearing witness to God’s transforming grace in their lives and to make disciples.  This is accomplished by framing life issues within the context of God’s Word and aligning our vision with the mission and purpose of Jesus Christ.  My goal in preaching is to teach people what God’s Word says about life and challenge them to do what it says.[3]

LARGE GROUP WORSHIP GATHERINGS

        Topics that are preached should be the main focus of all large group worship gatherings.  The speaker must work closely with the worship team to create a dynamic and cohesive worship experience that will effectively communicate the message of the gathering.  The message of the gathering should be reiterated in as many ways possible to ensure maximum absorption by the audience.  Communication of the message will be done primarily through preaching and music.  However other elements that aid in communicating the message should be utilized such as media, drama, testimonies, etc.  The atmosphere of the area people gather in should be conducive to communicating the message of the gathering as well.  This can be accomplished by communicating the theme of the meeting time to small group leaders so that members can be prepared for what to expect.  Aside from affecting atmosphere through attitude posturing are elements of lighting and space.

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[1]        Bisagno, John R. (2011-09-01). Pastor's Handbook (p. 8). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[2]        Stanley, Andy; Jones, Lane; Joiner, Reggie (2008-08-19). Seven Practices of Effective Ministry (p. 72). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

[3]        Stanley, Andy; Jones, Lane (2008-08-19). Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication (p. 95). Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bisagno, John R. (2011-09-01). Pastor's Handbook (p. 8). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Earley, Dave. The 8 Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders. Kindle Edition.

Giglio, Louie (2009-01-16). The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life. Random House, Inc..
Kindle Edition.

Stanley, Andy; Jones, Lane; Joiner, Reggie (2008-08-19). Seven Practices of Effective Ministry.
Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Stanley, Andy; Jones, Lane (2008-08-19). Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to
Irresistible Communication. Multnomah Books. Kindle Edition.

Welch, Robert H. (2005-03-01). Church Administration . B&H Academic. Kindle Edition.

Willard, Dallas (2009-02-06). The Spirit of the Disciplines. Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.