What are the minister's priorities according to the Bible? The following is a study on the subject.

The Minister’s Priorities (a study)

Questions for you to consider:

What kinds of things do your elders expect the pastor to do?
What kinds of things do church members expect their pastor to do?
What are the priorities of your life that God expects of the pastor?
How do you, pastor, prioritize your God-given duties with people’s expectations for what you should do?
How do you, pastor, handle the conflict that comes when you are fulfilling biblical priorities but not people’s personal expectations?

Listed in order of priority, the minister is responsible to God first, secondly to himself and finally to others. All too often members of a church reverse the order, only to the detriment of their personal and corporate well-being in Christ.

The pastor is responsible to serve the Lord first.

1. The Christian pastor must possess and exercise a saving faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:11-14).

2. The minister’s first priority is to serve the Lord first and foremost before he serves people. (Acts 20:19; Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4; Eph. 6:6-7; Col. 3:22-24). He serves God’s people by serving and answering to the Lord first and doing so for the glory of God (Deut. 10:12; Josh. 24:14, 15; 1 Cor. 10:31; 15:58; Eph. 6:7; Heb. 12:28; 1 Pet. 4:10-11).

a. This was clearly the pattern of God’s true prophets, priests, and kings (1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 12:8; 34:33).

b. This was also the pattern of Jesus Christ who always did His Father’s will (Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8; John 8:26-28)

c. This was the pattern of the Apostles (Acts 4:5-21; 27:23; 1 Cor. 15:58; Col. 3:23; 1 Thess. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 12:28).

3. The minister is to live for Christ

a. He must never to be ashamed of Jesus Christ (2 Tim 1:8-11; 2:11-13).

b. His focus is to always be upon Christ (Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21; 2 Tim 2:8-13).

c. He should expect to suffer for Christ (Lk. 21:19; 2 Tim. 2:3-7; 3:10-12).

The pastor is responsible to keep his life right in relationship to the Lord.

1. All believers are called upon to keep their lives right before God (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 4:16; Gal. 5:17-25; Eph. 4:23-24; Col. 3:10; Phil. 2:12-13; 1 Thess. 4:1-12; 2 Tim. 2:19-21; 2 Pet. 3:1-11). They are to be faithful stewards of Christ and are accountable to Him through a biblically balanced life (1 Cor. 4:1-2; 9:17; Col. 1:25f).

2. This is all the more true for pastors, as well as for elders and deacons. The admonition to Timothy is applicable to those who take on the yoke of ministry, that the pastor or elder must guard and maintain his life, piety and gifts (Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:14-16; 2 Tim. 2:19-21) so that he might have the proper capacity to serve others through Christ (2 Tim. 2:1, 6, 15; 3:16-17). Further, he should practice and devote himself to godliness in Christ so that others will see progress in his walk (1 Tim. 4:15). This is what Thomas Murphy means when he says that “The conversion of souls and the prosperity of the Church depend on the degree of the pastor’s piety” (Murphy, 1996, p. 47).

The purpose of taking care of his life in Christ is not for self-actualization or other self-serving goals but rather so that he may be of greater service to others. While this might seem odd, a properly oriented life that is saturated with God through Christ is a far better blessing to others. This is because the greater, more expansive capacity one has for God the greater his capacity for a fruitful ministry.

Jesus is a model of one who, though sinless, maintained and nurtured his relationship with the Father, to understand God’s will and to be strengthened from on high in order to accomplish all that God set for him to do. He always made it a priority to spend time with the Father before serving others.

Challenge:
What do you think of the statement: “The purpose of taking care of his life in Christ is…so that he may be of greater service to others. This is because the greater, more expansive capacity one has for God the greater his capacity for a fruitful ministry”?What do you say to someone when they say that serving him or her is serving the Lord?

3. The pastor is called to train and discipline himself for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7-11) so as to become more and more like Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Tim. 4:14-16; 6:11; Ti. 2:12; 2 Pet. 1:4). After all, the minister is to “incarnate” and model the life of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 12:18; 1 Thess. 2:10-12; 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3). This is very profitable for him and for others (1 Tim. 6:6). At a minimum, this would include the nurture and improvement of the godly character required of him according to 1 Timothy 3:1-9 and Titus 1:5-9. Yet he should also cultivate and strengthen other qualities God desires of him as Christ’s under-shepherd such as, but not limited to:

a. Humility (Acts 20:19; 1 Cor. 10:12).

b. Being free of or fleeing from the love of money (1 Tim. 3:3; 6:7-11)

c. Being a vessel of honor that is set apart from sin (2 Tim. 2:20-21)

(1) Actively pursuing biblical righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness (1 Tim. 6:11).

(2) Fleeing youthful lusts, pursuing righteousness, faith, love (2 Tim 2:22).

d. Fearing no one or nothing except God (Deut. 10:12; Eccles. 12:13; Psa. 118:6; Isa. 12:2; 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:17).

e. Being sober-minded about everything (2 Tim. 4:5).

f. Maintaining a clear conscience before the Lord (2 Cor. 11:31).

Challenge:
What does your church do to foster and encourage their pastor to grow in Christ and godliness?Minister, which of the above items is the easiest for you to get a handle on?Which of the above is the hardest to train yourself in?

4. He is to put to use the good gift(s) God has placed upon him. In fact, he is called upon to fan the flame or rekindle the gift(s) of God in his life (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6). How do you handle it when people expect you to minister as if you had a special gift(s) they want, but you have not been given?

5. The pastor or elder is to saturate his life with and properly handle God’s Word (1 Tim. 5:17; 2 Tim. 3:14-16).

a. Always growing in grace and truth (2 Pet. 3:18).

b. Holding fast to and be nourished by the Word of God (1 Tim 4:6; 2 Tim. 1:13; 3:14-17; Ti. 1:9).

c. Rightly handling God’s Word so as to be approved (2 Tim. 2:15).

d. Contending for the truth of God’s Word (1 Tim. 1:18-19).

e. Guarding the truth (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:12-14).

6. He should bear fruit (Jn. 15:8; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 2:8-10; Col. 1:10; Ti. 2:7; 3:8, 14).

7. He is to take care of his physical life (1 Tim 5:23).

8. He should not be concerned about the judgments of others (1 Cor. 4:1-5), neither should he compare himself with others (1 Cor. 3; 2 Cor. 10:12-16). At the same time, he should defend a biblical and righteous ministry in the cause of Christ against false accusations (1 Cor. 1:6-23; 2:4, 17; 3:6, 12; 4:1-8; 5:14, 21; 1 Tim. 4:12).

Challenge for the minister:
What do you do with judgmental criticism or condemnation from:
a church member?
an elder?
a power player in the church?

9. He must keep his family life in order (1 Tim. 3:4-5; Ti. 1:6).

10. Finally, the minister and others must understand that his life and ministry is a living sacrifice to God (Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6; 2 Sam. 24:24; Acts 20:24; 21:13; Phil. 3:7-8).

It is not even your own estimate of your service that is important. Feeling good about your ministry may have some limited utility somewhere, but surely it has no ultimate significance. You may think more highly of your service than God does. But if you are constantly trying to please yourself, to make self-esteem your ultimate goal, then you are forgetting whose servant you are, whom you must strive to please. So Paul candidly writes, “I do not even judge myself” (4:3). He does not mean that there is no place in his life for self-examination or self-discipline; his own writings contradict any such interpretation (e.g. 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 2 Cor. 13:5). What he means is that his own judging of himself cannot possibly have ultimate significance. As he puts it, 'My conscience is clear.' (4:4)
- D. A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry; p. 97