KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)–Woven throughout 2 Timothy are “the marching orders of an older pastor” to a young minister and son in the faith who is taking over responsibility “for the church he loves very much.” With that context, layman Paul Pressler laid out priorities for a pastor’s ministry in an April 29 message at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo.
First noting the Apostle Paul’s expectation Timothy will “endure hardship,” the Houston judge said, “We do not pick where we serve based on convenience.” Pressler told of a young minister who said he loved the climate so much in Texas he thought God must be calling him to minister in that state. “God calls you to minister whether the climate’s right or not,” Pressler said.
Through his term of service as a trustee of the Foreign Mission Board, Pressler said he had been moved by the level of commitment expressed by missionaries during commissioning services. Similarly, he said, “We pick where we serve and how we served based on instruction from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Pressler observed from the text ministers must be willing to “endure all things for the elect’s sake.” He spoke of his admiration for youth ministers who are expected to be available all hours of the night. “We are not here to favor ourselves,” he said. “We are called to service.”
From 2 Timothy 2:15, Pressler focused on the importance of study in the minister’s life. “So many people want to get up and point to a verse and then start preaching,” he observed. “My friends, you do not preach just by momentary inspiration when you get in the pulpit. The study and work you do is what allows you to proclaim the word of truth.
“Education cannot end when you leave the portals of this great institution. You can never quit learning, you can never quit studying, never quit working. If you try to slide, the perceptive people in your congregation will understand and know what you’re doing and you cannot minister to them.”
The corollary to study is found in Paul’s advice to “shun profane babblings,” Pressler said. “You can’t drink very long from a cesspool and not get sick.” By gaining a thorough and deep understanding of God’s Word, pastors are able to recognize false teaching, he said.
Citing Paul’s instruction to “flee youthful lusts,” Pressler said, “If you go to pastor or serve the Lord in any capacity, you will have people looking up to you. You can help people toward the cross and victorious Christian living. But you can also destroy them in their Christian faith,” he said, adding, “You do not have a right to destroy other people by momentary pleasure.”
Pastors also should avoid “foolish and ignorant disputes,” Pressler said, asking, “When we stand in the pulpit to preach the Word, are we trying to glorify ourselves or the Savior?” The simple gospel message glorifies the Savior, not the teller, he reminded.
Quoting Paul’s warning of “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof,” Pressler said pastors must avoid “playing church.” The vitality of the gospel must be evident in the life of the pastor, he said.
The final instruction to the pastor asks that he preach the Word, Pressler noted. “I’m a layman and I come to church tired, having worked very hard, and I don’t want to listen to a preacher with cutesy sermons that will tickle my mind and not feed my heart,” he said. No matter how brilliant and educated a pastor may be, Pressler said, “I’m not interested in what you think. I’m interested in what God says.”
He urged Midwestern seminarians to remain faithful in preaching the Word, insisting, “Hungry people come to God’s house to hear God speak through God’s man.”
Annuity Board search committee has one change in membership
DALLAS (BP)–J. Ray Taylor, chairman of the presidential search committee for the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, has announced trustee Alton L. Fannin, pastor of First Baptist Church, Ardmore, Okla., has resigned from the eight-member committee and been replaced by trustee Mark S. Hearn, pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Evansville, Ind.
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