It takes many people in many different roles in order for the church to function properly. The church needs elders and deacons, Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, Catechism teachers, organists or pianists, and people with technical abilities to run the sound system and livestream to name only a few.
But of all the roles in the church, the role of the pastor is the most important.
That is because it is the pastor’s role to equip the members for ministry. In Ephesians 4:11–13 the apostle Paul writes that Christ “gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” For what purpose? He tells us: “For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Paul clearly teaches that it is not the task of the minister alone to do the work of ministry in the church. This is the task of the members. The task of the minister is to equip them for this task.
From this, we see how important the task of the minister is. For a church, not having a minister is like having a car with no engine. It’s still a car, but it is lacking its most essential component.
How does a minister equip the members to do the work of ministry? He does that by preaching the Word of God. The pastor has many tasks. He has to teach catechism classes and confession of faith classes. He has to lead the Bible study, chair consistory meetings, visit the sick, provide pastoral counsel, officiate at weddings and funerals – and many other things. But none of these things may take precedence over (much less replace!) his primary task which is to preach the Word of God. That is because it is by means of the preaching of the Word that sinners are saved and saints are built up and equipped to do the work to which the Lord has called them.
Many years ago, ministers would write after their name the letters V.D.M. which is an abbreviation of the Latin expression Verbi Dei Minister (Minister of the Word of God).By means of this expression, they reminded themselves - and others - that in addition to their other responsibilities, their primary task was to minister the Word of God.
Needless to say, this is a most glorious work. In Isa 52: 7 Isaiah exclaims: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’!”
Normally we do not think of feet as being the most beautiful part of the human body. We usually judge beauty by a person’s face, not his feet. But Isaiah disagrees. He says the feet of ministers are “beautiful”.
Why? Because a minister is a messenger. In ancient times, when a country was at war, people at home would anxiously wait for word from the battlefield. Did they win the battle or lose? Of course, in those days they did not have internet, radio, or cell phones. The only way they could receive news was by a messenger. How relieved the people back home were, therefore, to see a messenger coming from the battlefield. In fact, usually, the watchmen on the walls of a city could tell by how a messenger was running what kind of news he was bringing – even while he was still a great way off. If he ran fast the news was usually good. If he ran slowly the message was usually bad.
The same is true for ministers of the Word. As messengers, they bring “good news”. To be sure, a minister (if he is a true minister) also brings bad news. He must tell the wicked and unbelieving that if they do not repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ they will surely perish in their sins. But in the main his message is good. It is good because he proclaims on behalf of his Sender that sinners can be reconciled to God. They can have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. Isaiah understood this. That is why he says that the feet of ministers are “beautiful”.
Since that is so, how we need to pray fervently that the Lord would send us more ministers. We currently have a great shortage of ministers in our denomination. What is more, most of the ministers who are serving our churches were not born and raised in our churches. That doesn't matter so long as they preach the truth - which, thankfully, they do. But it begs the question: why are there so few of our own young men who apply for the ministry? Young men: are you even considering this? If the Lord has blessed you with the ability to study, think, read write and speak, and if He has placed on your heart a burden for souls, you not only may, but you must at least ask the Lord if He is not calling you into the ministry of the Word.
The work of the minister is not easy. It can be stressful and exhausting. And it never ends. But it is wonderful work. Is the Lord calling you to this work?
Pastor Jack Schoeman (Abbotsford FRC)