I am your
pastor.
“…the
pastors and teacher[s] responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work
and build up the church.” (Ephesians 4:12)
I can teach
you the truths of God from His Word and show you his love by example. I am
redeemed by the same blood of Jesus and live in the same undeserved love and grace
as you. I am not an expert on marriage, relationships, sex, raising children, politics,
or the economy. Some may expect their pastor to fill these roles but the
apostle Paul warns against pastors and teachers getting in over their head in
areas they don’t belong: “Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion
of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless
speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.” (1 Timothy
1:4)
I tell dear
people all the time, “I will meet with you once to determine what it is you
want to work on and how to best approach it.” You see, I will listen to you. I
will pray with you for healing, grace, strength, and courage, both spiritually
and physically. I will connect you with the appropriate experts with the
experience and gifts to help you deal with life’s issues. My role isn’t to do
your thinking or living for you by giving you some religious expectation, a cliché,
or scripted biblical answers or explanations – it’s to teach YOU how to think, to
pray, to listen, and to act. In this way, your faith is in Jesus Christ by
listening to the Holy Spirit and not in me or what I think. Your faith has to
be your own. Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch
cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful
unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.” (John
15:4-5)
I - am just your
pastor.
