Pastors & Elders - What Does the Bible Say?

Know what God is about, especially in respect of your calling, and keep within it. Most people crack up because they try to do what God never intended them to do. They destroy themselves by sinful ambition, just as much as the drunkard and drug addict. Ambition drives them on.

One of the things that I find so hard about the ministry is that you have to fill so many different roles and adapt to so many different situations. One minute you are at a funeral with the loved ones of the deceased, then you are in an elders’ meeting debating a vision for the future, then you are at a prayer meeting, then a pre-engagement session, then a new member’s interview where the person thinks the church is awesome, then a meeting with a member who is thinking about leaving, then sharing the gospel with a homeless man, then heading off to meet an atheist for lunch; and in all of those situations you need appropriate words. You need to know if you ought to share a word of encouragement, an intellectual worldview challenge, simple kindness and courtesy, laughter, tears, or all of the foregoing! In all of ministry you are looking for words.

Some elders never appreciate the compliment given them when a saint disagrees with the pastor’s exposition of a text. At least the Christian under his care is devoted more to Scripture than to the man in the pulpit. Under his ministry the child of God has reached a maturity to think through issues for himself and has imbibed a Berean spirit (Acts 17:11).

Know what God is about, especially in respect of your calling, and keep within it. Most people crack up because they try to do what God never intended them to do. They destroy themselves by sinful ambition, just as much as the drunkard and drug addict. Ambition drives them on.