It is Monday morning (or Tuesday, if your pastor takes Monday off), and your pastor is wondering where to begin. There are sermons to write, committee meetings to plan, visits to make, and things left over from last week’s list that he was never able to get to. He may already feel overwhelmed, and the week has not yet even begun.
Where should he begin? What should he be doing? Most Orthodox Presbyterian churches do not have a written job description for their pastor. We expect them to know what to do. But with the lack of a clear job description comes the problem of our expectations””unwritten, but as firm as if written in stone””of what our pastor ought to do. Pastors face the same problem: what should their priorities be?
In this article, I want to suggest that the pastor’s job description can best be defined by aligning it with the job description of Christ as our mediator. The Shorter Catechism reminds us that Christ, as our mediator, executes the offices of prophet, priest, and king (SC 23). Since pastors are Christ’s representatives, serving as undershepherds of their flock, it is helpful to think of their calling in terms of the same three categories. I have found that I cannot be a faithful pastor if I am not actively involved in all three areas.
Interesting reflections from another tradition–read it all.
Jeffery Landis–The pastor as Prophet, Priest and King
It is Monday morning (or Tuesday, if your pastor takes Monday off), and your pastor is wondering where to begin. There are sermons to write, committee meetings to plan, visits to make, and things left over from last week’s list that he was never able to get to. He may already feel overwhelmed, and the week has not yet even begun.
Where should he begin? What should he be doing? Most Orthodox Presbyterian churches do not have a written job description for their pastor. We expect them to know what to do. But with the lack of a clear job description comes the problem of our expectations””unwritten, but as firm as if written in stone””of what our pastor ought to do. Pastors face the same problem: what should their priorities be?
In this article, I want to suggest that the pastor’s job description can best be defined by aligning it with the job description of Christ as our mediator. The Shorter Catechism reminds us that Christ, as our mediator, executes the offices of prophet, priest, and king (SC 23). Since pastors are Christ’s representatives, serving as undershepherds of their flock, it is helpful to think of their calling in terms of the same three categories. I have found that I cannot be a faithful pastor if I am not actively involved in all three areas.
Interesting reflections from another tradition–read it all.