A ‘firebrand’ pastor…
Q: What more training do I need to have to be a firebrand pastor? I have just passed out of Bible school in Benin and am eager to start my church. But before I venture into it, I want to have all the training available so that I can stand tall in the midst of preachers. Please tell me what makes a pastor great? What kinds of book should I start reading? What kind of network should I join? There is a girl in my life now, she is not well read. I want a well-educated wife who can speak good and correct English, a woman who can complement my ministry. [First published on 15 March 2009]
What’s a firebrand pastor? I suspect you mean, using the language of Scripture, ‘a man after God’s own heart’. David was such a man and God’s testimony of him in Acts 13:22 (NKJV) is ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
The first step in that direction is to accept the salvation and lordship of Jesus Christ. According to Romans 10:9-10, ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’
I want to believe that you are persuaded about God’s work for your life. Attending a Bible school should not necessarily result into starting a church. You should be convinced about what He has called you to do for it is God in heaven who appoints everyone’s work (John 3:27). What makes a great pastor (or anyone in the five-fold office of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher) is total obedience to his employer – God, not necessarily standing tall among preachers.
A great pastor must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap. (1 Timothy 3:2-7; ANIV)
A great pastor should care for the flock that God entrusts to him—not because he must, but because he is willing, as God wants him to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to him, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, he will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5:2-4)
A great pastor will set an example for the Believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. He will devote himself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. He will fan to flame God’s giftings in his life. He will be diligent in these matters; give himself wholly to them, so that everyone may see his progress. He will watch his life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if he does, he will save both himself and his hearers. (1 Timothy 4:12-16)
A great pastor will do everything to avoid attracting the ‘woe and doom’ of Ezekiel 34:2-6: “Woe to the shepherds (pastors) who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no-one searched or looked for them.”
A good preparation is wonderful but more wonderful is an ever-learning attitude. A great deal will be learnt on the job. An open Bible with an open heart is a great asset. Other training should include: identifying and walking with faithful people that have travelled similar paths; associating with people at your level that are going the same direction and be accountable to them. Regarding the girl in your life, it is your choice and you should be guided by the Holy Spirit. She might not be that educated now, but if she gives herself to study nothing stops her from being one of the greatest minds tomorrow. You need to make the choice as it relates to your calling, but don’t just look at the physical.