Why Church? Part 1
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Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT)
Statistics tell us that only one in four Americans who call themselves Christian attend church regularly. Many are disillusioned by the indiscretions of high-profile leaders. Others cite distrust in spiritual leadership due to personal wounds from the past. Still others are dismayed by pastors who have abandoned the proclamation of God's word in favor of eloquent anecdotes.
Sadly, based on interviews with 601 Senior Pastors nationwide, representing a random cross-section of Protestant churches, Barna Research Group reports that "only half of the country's Protestant pastors – 51% - have a biblical worldview." A biblical world view is defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists, that it is based upon the Bible, and having a biblical view on the accuracy of biblical teaching, the sinless nature of Jesus, the literal existence of Satan, the omnipotence and omniscience of God, salvation by grace alone, and the responsibility for personal evangelism. (The Barna Update, January 12, 2004)
The Barna study concludes: "Based on our correlations of worldview and moral behavior, we can confidently argue that if the 51% of pastors who have a biblical worldview were to strategically and relentlessly assist their congregants in adopting such a way of interpreting and responding to life, the impact on our churches, families and society at-large would be enormous." (The Barna Update, January 12, 2004)
I have had the privilege of serving under some wonderful pastors in my life - two of whom are in heaven now - and I esteem them highly. The office of pastor is arguably the most challenging ministry gift to fill and requires a special grace from God.
As a child, I was firmly convinced that my pastor was right up there next to God. My heroes were pastors and other ministers of the gospel. As I grew up, I learned some very important truths about pastors:
(1) Pastors are imperfect. It is imperative that we honor the calling on their lives and the office in which they stand, all the while understanding that they are not the foundation of our faith. Jesus is our firm foundation, and our faith must rest in Him alone.
(2) Pastors have a target on their backs. Perhaps more than any other ministry gift, when pastors fail, sheep are wounded. That's why the enemy fights them even more diligently than he does you or me. They desperately need our prayers, even in the best of times.
(3) Pastors will give an account before God. Hebrews 13:17 says to "obey your leaders and do what they say. They are watching over you, and they must answer to God. So don't make them sad as they do their work. Make them happy. Otherwise, they won't be able to help you at all." (CEV)
More to come in Part 2.
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