Biblical Models of Pastoral Ministry

In this week’s topic, we explored what it means to be a shepherd, and various models of pastoral ministry from both the Old and New Testament. Kevin Hovey started the lecture by reading from a resume of a minister who definitely did not fit into the modern church’s requirements for a minister, and revealed at the end that it was the apostle Paul himself.

Here's a link to Paul’s inspiring resume: 

http://www.stolzweb.org/webpage/inspirational/pastor.htm

That left an impact on me as it made me rethink the qualifications, background and experience of a minister. I never want to overlook a potential leader, or to judge a leader by their ‘resume’.

We discussed the meaning of pastoral care, its history and what it means to be a shepherd. The importance of shepherding is reflected in my ministry and ministry experience. My church in Singapore had an acronym when it came to selecting leaders: SHIFT, which stands for Shepherd’s Heart, Hunger, Influence, Faithfulness and Teachability. Leaders first of all need to have a shepherd’s heart, as they are overseeing God’s sheep. The shepherding process involves three aspects: healing, sustaining and guiding(Hiltner, 2000). Pastoral theology is the study of the shepherding perspective on functions and operations. I believe that every Christian leader(including volunteers) need to learn how to shepherd, especially in a relevant way. This involves constant learning and applying, and it is essentially being a good steward of both our leadership role and the people God has entrusted to us. Even if one is unsure if they have been called to the office of a pastor, we are still pastoring people and developing our pastoral skills is a lifelong journey. I also find it interesting that many of the significant leaders in the bible, such as Moses and David, started off as shepherds. If we are faithful with our sheep(be it a class of Sunday school children, or cleaning the bathrooms), God can trust us with more. 

According to Tidball(2008), “the New Testament writers set before us a number of ministry models – each shaped by the needs of their own churches, and their individual personalities and interests”. Different authors had different needs they were addressing, and brought their own background, ambitions and passions to their ministry and how they did pastoral care. Hence the context combined with the person of the writer and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit led to a diversity of pastoral care methods. For example, Luke had a special concern with ministering to the marginalized, such as women and social outcasts. I was really encouraged with Tidball’s conclusion that there is no one size fits all ministry model, because it allows for diversity in the church, and flexibility to try new methods to adapt to our ever changing generation that is made of various groups that could be based on age, gender or cultural background.  Nonetheless, this “diversity finds its unity in the gospel and is always limited by the gospel”(Tidball, 2008, p. 237). We have to ensure that we do not compromise on the gospel, and remain accountable to church leadership. 

Ultimately, the ministry model we choose exists to serve Christ and His church, and not the other way around.

References:

Tidball, Derek. Ministry by the Book. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2008, 234-246. 
Hiltner, S. “The Meaning and Importance of Pastoral Theology”, in Woodward, J. & Pattinson, S. The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral and Practical Theology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000, 27-48.