In today's world where there is lack of respect for spiritual authority and so much bad talks and accusation about men of God, people find it difficult to refer to a particular person as their pastor or man of God probably for the fear of being deceived or duped by the Pastor or being seen as a weak fellow for having "a Pastor".
It should be noted that for the case of this discussion, the word Pastor is used as a generic word for the five fold ministry (Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Pastors and Evangelists).
Now, I've heard a lot of people say things like "I don't need a Pastor to tell me what God says", "I can read the Bible for myself", "God can talk to me anywhere and anytime, I don't need any MOG". Some have even gone as far as labeling all Pastors entrepreneurs and fraudsters. The question I will like to ask you is why did God give us these ministry gifts if we do not need them? In Ephesians 4 verse 11, the Bible says ;
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" KJV
So did God just give us these gifts that we do not need? No, we need them obviously and that's why he gave them to us. He told us the reason for giving them in the following verses. Ephesians 4 verse 12 - 14
"[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
[13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
[14]That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; " KJV
I'm going to break down these reasons simpler for you to understand.
- You need a "Pastor" to teach you.
I've explained that I'm using the word Pastor for the five fold ministry in this article, so I believe it shouldn't be a problem anymore.
Now you may say you can read the Bible and learn for yourself, I agree with you. In fact, you should read the Bible and know the word for yourself. But that doesn't replace the part of the Pastors, they are specially ordained by God for this purpose and there is an anointing upon their lives to carry it out.
- You need someone to monitor your growth.
Yes, you do. Even though not all Pastors perform this properly but it's part of their job. They act like fathers to see to your well-being, your spiritual well-being particularly. Your spiritual well-being controls the physical, so once you perfect it there, you'll perfect it in other areas. So the Pastor watches you grow spiritually and detects when you're not making progress like you should do.
- For correction.
This supports the point above. Your Pastor is there to correct you when you miss it. Once he detects that you're doing the wrong thing or not doing something right, he comes in.
- You need a Pastor to inspire and motivate you.
You can say this is the work of a motivational speaker. Calm down. What I mean is you need someone to inspire you to do the things of God and to grow spiritually. That is what the Pastor should do with his teaching and his lifestyle.
- You need a Spiritual Head to guide you.
There are just sometimes we need guidance. Yes, we have the HolySpirit to guide and direct us. But remember, one of the end reasons God gave us these five fold ministry is that "we should not be tossed to and fro" . It means these offices are required to keep us in a straight path. And you also need someone that represents you on the altar. You should not just pay your tithes to anyone and everyone. Take it to the Church (the church you attend; that is you must have a particular church) and give it in your church, that's where the blessing lies.
- To protect you
Yes, your Pastor "keeps" you, through prayers, his word and prophecy over your life and his teachings. The fourteenth verse of Ephesians 11 suggests that Christians can be deceived by the cunning craftiness of men. This five fold ministry helps to prevent that and protect you.
So prayerfully seek for a church and join. Follow the leader attentively, it may be a Pastor, Prophet, Teacher, Apostle or Evangelist. They are all ordained for us.
This is where I'll stop for today. Please feel free to agree or disagree. Drop your comments.
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