Philosophy of Ministry:
Pastor, Deacon, Layperson, and Ministry (Elders, Ministers, Congregants, and committees)
At the beginning of the Church, the leadership was centered on the Apostles. As the Church grew, and early in its history the mantle of that leadership was passed down to overseers or elders. From Acts Chapter 6 we can observe one of the first issues inflicting the early Church which changed the dynamic of leadership and set a precedence that should be followed for healthy growth as well as a continuing healthy congregation. As the scripture goes, the Church was growing and becoming more and more diverse. From this diversity arose a feeling that a certain demographic within the Church was being overlooked when it came to the distribution of benefits. The leaders of the Church decided that they would focus their attention on the Spiritual, emotional, and moral welfare of the Church. They would then employ other people, people of respect and integrity, to minister to the physical needs of the Church. Thus, a division of the leadership within the Church was formulated. One branch of leadership for the Spiritual and the other for the physical.
Laypersons, servants (Congregants)
As we understand the Church to be like a Body, and often called the Body of Christ, each individual (this is to include Pastor, Minister, and Congregant) is to be a functioning part of the body. In a sense, each person is a minister to their particular talent and individual calling. For instance, if a person finds that they have a particular talent in finding value in used items of clothing. They have an ability to communicate well with people, convincing them to donate their older clothing instead of throwing them out or selling them. Now, a second person has a knack for distributing items to people in need without incurring a feeling of inferiority, guilt, or shame on the recipients. They then are fulfilling their calling, their personal ministry, as a part of the Body of Christ. Both of these people are ministering individually, but they are not called ministers or deacons. The title of Minister or Deacon is given to those who are overseeing a larger aspect of a ministry. To continue the example, there is a third person whose talent is logistics and organization. This person then organizes the other two people dispatching the first to people that might be willing to donate clothes and the second to those that are in need. This third person, being a leader of other people, is then given the title Minister. Thus, another example could be, the Music Minister is more than someone who plays the music. They are someone that coordinates with the preacher, so the songs agree with the message. They also work with other members in the music ministry to assure they know the song and are ready to sing for the services. However, each congregant may not have the talents or the call to step into the role of a Minister. Their gift is in serving, perfecting their talents to perform the individual tasks necessary to accomplish the greater ministry.
Deacons, Ministers (Ministers)
Today we have Ministers, in some denominations, there still are called Deacons, who are charged with the physical welfare of the Church, and/or reaching out to the unchurched and those in need within the community. These are Ministers (used as a title), they are not the Spiritual leaders but rather they are leaders of a specific part of the Church’s function. For some examples; in the churches today we have music Ministers, outreach Ministers, homeless and benevolent Minsters. All of these Ministers have a leadership role of a specific aspect of the Church in sharing God’s love to the world. The Minister is responsible for the particular ministry or ministries they are overseeing. That is to say, they give vision, guidance, and inspiration to the ministry or ministries they lead. For instance, the Worship Minister could also be in charge of the Minister for the church’s social media outreach ministry. Thus, any activity which reaches out to the people of the church or the community in a physical way can be said to be a ministry. While some churches have gone to a committee-style organization for each of their ministries, there is still a need for a single person to oversee the function of those ministries. Again, a Minister can oversee more than one ministry. While the committee makes decisions and decides where resources and supplies are used, it is the charge of the Minister to give guidance, vision, and inspiration for the continual operation and growth of each ministry they oversee.
Elders and Pastors or Overseers (Pastor)
These are the titles for those who are given the charge of advising, encouraging, and inspiring the Spiritual, emotional, and moral aspects of the people within the congregation. This should be the main focus of their position. Therefore, a Pastor should be viewed as a sort of Spiritual coach, someone who leads their congregation on each personal individual Spiritual, and Life’s journey. This is why it is of utmost importance for a Pastor to know their congregation. They should know the individuals and understand where each person is on their journey. A Pastor should also be able to assist people in finding, understanding, and growing their talents. In accomplishing this a good Pastor is able to inspire and challenge their congregants to new places of ministry. Pastors should not be involved in the leadership, organization, or coordination of other ministries that involve the physical. However, they should be a key adviser to all ministries. The role of advising ministries is not to subject them to the Pastor’s will and desires. Rather, the role of adviser should be to ensure that those in the leadership of the ministry are kept to a standard of Spiritual, emotional, and moral values agreed upon for the congregation and members. Otherwise, those involved in the ministries, or those in leadership could lose the overall focus of the Church. Pastors can also be Ministers in the form of overseeing a ministry that is related to the teaching and spiritual growth of those in the church. For instance, a Pastor can also have a preaching ministry, or they may have an outreach teaching ministry for the unchurched, new members, or new Christians. However, ministries that revolve around teaching and preaching do not solely fall to a Pastor. A preaching Minister could be someone that has a gift and a calling to preach the gospel of God’s love. While they are called and gifted for this ministry, they may not have a call, desire or talent to care for the Spiritual welfare of those in the congregation. Therefore, they should be seen as the Preaching Minister, or in the case of teaching, Educational Minister. It must be remembered that a Pastor is one who leads the congregation on their journey to seek who they are and guide them along their path of Spiritual understanding.
Ministries
Ministries of a church should be a natural part of that individual church. The ministries which a church takes up should be driven by the talents and calls of the laypersons. To force a ministry upon a church where there is not a person gifted or called to do that ministry could be counterproductive. However, if someone in the church sees a need for a certain ministry there is a good chance that there are people to start, lead, and make that ministry happen. The key is a feeling of call, a conviction to action. The ministries of the Church should always have a larger overarching goal of sharing God’s love and having others come to the understanding of that love. The final goal is an attempt to have all people eventually setting aside selfishness in their lives, turning instead to living loving, caring lives. If a ministry does not hold this as a final goal it fails to have a larger purpose. It is as if it exists just for the sake of existing and not for the purpose of love. As the saying goes, give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. So, show someone love and they feel loved, teach and share love and the world will become love.
While there are many titles in the Church today. However, the use of these titles is not universal. It would appear that different denominations and even separate sects, or groups within a denomination use the titles in a number of varying ways. The titles used are not of importance. What is clearly of importance is the function of these roles. There need to be people that fill the role of looking after the Spiritual, emotional, and moral aspects of the congregation. There need to be leaders, people of great integrity that are looking after the physical needs of the church, congregants, and people of the community. There is also the need for each congregant to step up and fill their personal calling, utilizing their talents in helping share God’s love. No matter what title you give these people, understanding the differences in the roles, and the accomplishment of the roles they fill, is what’s important.