Paul’s ministry in the early stages of the church serves as an exemplary pastoral model. His theology arose from his pastoral experiences and the circumstances surrounding the church and society of his time, which seemed clear in his writings. His heart, ambitions, techniques, advice and frustrations were all apparent in his letter to the New Testament churches.
According to Derek Tidball, the complexity of Paul’s role as a pastor is seen in the three phases of his ministry. First, we can see his pastoral role among the churches he founded. As a church planter, his correspondence with the church reveals his vision and concern for the church as a whole and for the individual members as well. His letters convey much love and sensitivity to the needs of the church. He dealt with the issues and circumstances much like a father. His concern primarily was for the church to grow collectively, as it is being transformed into Christlikeness.
The churches at present seemed to veer away from this model. This is the sad reality when many pastors at present are so caught up with church growth methods but are so indifferent with the idea of helping the church to be like the Savior. Paul had always wanted the believers to be like Christ, dying daily in their lives and making Christ more and more visible in their everyday walk. With this in Paul’s mind come the different analogies and expressions he used in his letters to articulate his goal- the transformation of the body of Christ. He is resolute in his goal and he sees complacency as a disease that will kill the church if they are caught unaware of it.
The passion that Paul has is shaped by his unceasing excitement for the future. Thus, his teachings cannot be separated from his eschatological hope. This is the driving force behind his zeal. It was a constant reminder of his accountability to God as much as he is eager to see the future outcome of his toil for the church.
I believe that this is one important element in our ministry that we somehow have overlooked. We seem to have forgotten the bigger picture of events fast tracking to the blessed hope of Jesus’ return. His parousia should always enthuse us to do his work, reminding God’s people that it should be our goal to be like Christ so that when he comes back, he will see us living and doing his work and shining his light to the world. Tidball argued that many churches today are motivated to keep the people committed to the church and its programs but not helping the members mature in the faith leading to Christlikeness. Quantity seems to be the name of the game disregarding the quality of the Christian life that the believers should have. Shepherds appear to be complacent that the believers will not despise the faith anymore and so they neglect those who have been there for a longer period of time. They concentrate more on the new believers at the expense of those who are already churched which is very indifferent to the New Testament style of shepherding.
Second, Paul’s role as an apostolic teacher to other churches, some of which he had never visited should be given consideration. On two occasions, Paul referred to himself as the father of the churches he had planted. This is to note his special relationship with them as a doting father who deals with his children (1 Cor. 4:4, 1 Thess. 2:11). This special relationship is qualified by Paul by saying that he became their father “through the gospel”, who provides, protects and guides them.
Some scholars are not in agreement though with the way Paul exercised his authority especially when according to them, Paul, conceitedly urged his “children” to “imitate” him, accusing him of power tripping. Yet, it is important to know that Paul only invited the churches whom he founded to do so (Phil. 3:17, 1 Thess. 1:6, 2 Thess. 3:7, 1 Cor. 4:16 and 11:1). These churches had the privilege of seeing Paul and observing his way of life. He was not advocating his own personal cause since he qualified his statement by saying, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.” (1 Cor. 1:11). Thus, the end goal of Paul is for them to follow Christ in his example and be conformed to His image.
Paul’s emotional bond to the churches is apparent in his letters, and this Tidball said that the apostle is always aimed at helping the believers reach their full potential as adults and not reinforcing his own position of power. This is a good reminder and a rebuke at present for many church pastors nowadays to consider. They were given the God-given authority to lead which entails the exercise of power, yet, it is vital to realize that the task of pastoral leadership is not about power tripping as Andrew Clark emphasized, but being of help to the church, serving and encouraging the body of Christ to be more like the Savior.
Paul, while being a founder of these churches did not consider himself of a higher status than the ordinary believers. In fact, he explicitly stated that he is of no importance (1 Cor. 3:5-12), a fool for Christ (1 Cor. 4:9-10) and a garbage of the world (1 Cor. 4:13). He regards himself as a slave representing and imitating Christ who became the servant of all (Phil. 2:1-11).
Lastly, Paul was like a statesman passing on the baton to the next generation. He did this by teaching them their identity which sets them apart from others. He reminded them of how the church was formed and reinforced the importance of knowing how Christ’s followers are to behave themselves in this world. The apostle stressed that the church is a community under the cross (1 Cor. 1:26-2:16), and this should lead them to practice discipline in their lives.
The infant church needed a lot of care and attention from Paul. It was not an easy task for him yet, he strove hard to help these churches to develop and mature in the faith. He led them not astray to the most important aspect of being a Christian and that is to grow into Christlikeness. Paul’s relationship with the church was such a personal one that he considered himself as a loving and caring father especially to the churches he planted. Yet, he did not deem himself the main Person to be imitated since he led those who followed him to look up to Jesus and be like Him.
Pastors at present should go back to the New Testament model of shepherding. While we are aiming at winning multitudes of souls for Christ, we ought to balance it by helping those who are already in the faith to grow in their commitment to Christ and live lives which are pleasing to him. The nurturing of the saints entails hard labor yet there is nothing compared to the joy of seeing the church mature as it prepares itself for the coming of the Bridegroom.
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This article is a response to the 6th chapter of Derek Tidball's, "Ministry by the Book", entitiled, "Paul: Ministry in an Infant Church The Ministry of a Founding Father.
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