Emmanuel Evangelical Church Chippenham

From 23^rd June 2005:

In this session we are going to consider the important question of just what is a Pastor.

Background

Church has an eternal, international, regional and local expression. Here, we are part of EECC.

Last week we saw that, among other things, in the New Testament it was normal for there to be a plurality of Elders, that it is a servant task that may be aspired to, it involves grappling with spiritual issues and that such men should be honoured.

Pastors

This week we are going to consider the important question of just what is a ‘Pastor’.

Please look at the following questions:

1. The word ‘Pastor’ derives from the Greek word ‘Poimenas’ meaning ‘Shepherd’.

   What can you deduce, from the following passages, about the role that all elders are intended to fulfil?

   1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 20:25-31 (esp. vs 28)

2. What does the passage in Ephesians 4:1-16 tell us about ‘Pastors’?

3. How are we helped by 1 Timothy 5:17-20 in practice regarding how such a brother may be regarded?

4. In various pairs / groups shown to us in the NT, what do you always find one man doing in order for matters to progress?

   Acts 14:12; Acts 12:17; Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18; Galatians 2:9

5. Given that we have seen a plurality of Elders is a requirement of scripture, how in practice can we pull together the various strands into a coherent model?

   Think through who the following letters were written to and just what their role was: 1 Timothy; Titus; Revelation 2-3.