Friday, August 8, 2014

My Personal Mission Statement and Philosophy of Ministry

            And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

As a Pastor my role is to minister to the ministers of the body of Christ; seeking their full maturity in Christ Jesus; that they may learn to love their God with all their heart, soul, and mind; that they may fulfill their mission to make disciples of a lost and dying World in need of a Savior; that they too may grow a disciple to full maturity.

            I believe the best way to accomplish this is through the expositional preaching of the full counsel of God’s Word. Expositional preaching is the preaching of a complete book of the Bible from beginning to end.  This type of preaching forces the pastor to preach topics that often make both the pastor and congregation uncomfortable due to the subject matter but necessary for personal growth in the Lord.  Expository preaching protects the congregation from missing the life transforming Word of God and protects the pastor from the accusation that he chose a topic to personally attack members of the congregation.

            The Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 tells us what is most important and who we are to love, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” 

            The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 tells us how we can fulfill that love, “they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.  And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
      
            We show our love to God through our Worship and our obedience to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a World in need of a Savior. We show our love to our neighbor by preaching and teaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

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