Biblical Philosophy of Ministry

PART 1 : The Vocation and operation of the church
               (Understanding the calling and conduct of the church)
PART 2 : The Character of the church
PART 3 : Direction, Administration and functioning of the church
PARK 4 : Primary foundation of the church

Purposes of the Church
·         Eph 1:6,12 – to be the praise of God’s Glory and Grace.
This occurs when people come to Christ and become conformed to His image.
·         Col 1:28

          3 objectives to pursue!
1. Exalting the Lord
* everything the church does must first and foremost exalt the Lord.  (1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:17)
2. Equipping the Saints
* equipping is a primary way to help people become Christlike
* this is achieved by people pouring their lives into others!  (Eph 4:11-16)
3. Evangelising the Unchurched
If the church isn’t sharing the gospel it isn’t fulfilling one of the reasons God put her on earth.  (Matt 28:19-20;  Acts 1:8;  Col 4:3)

Priorities of the Church
* Purposes are only accomplished when we set objectives that move us toward our goals.
* God has established certain vehicular objectives which will take us toward His design for the Church.
* So we must know what they are and be committed to their use!

The Church is to function in two forms:
1. The Gathered Community
2. The Scattered Community

1. Gathered Community (what do we gather for?)

1. Instruction
2. Edification
3. Worship
4. Fellowship

2. Scattered Community (what do we scatter for?)

1. Evangelism

          Gathered Community
Instruction and Edification
1. Preaching (2 Tim 4:1-3)
2. Teaching (Acts 20:20; Col 1:28)
           -  large and small groups
           -  practical application
3.  Training (2 Tim 2:2-4)
           - we must train each other in such things as Bible study, prayer, walking in the power of the Spirit
4. Admonishing
           -  encourage one another to good positive responses to Christ – Christlike values

Worship and Exalting God by:

1. Giving Praise and Thanksgiving (Heb 13:15)
           - public opportunity to express our Praise, Thanksgiving and Adoration.
2. Singing and making a joyful noise (Col 3:16; Acts 16:25; Eph 5:19)
           -  worship is a spirit motivated expression to God – is both corporate and individual
3. Baptising (Matt 28:19; 1 peter 3:21)
           - public demonstration of faith
4. Taking Communion (1 Cor 11:23, 24)
          a) Declaring again the testimony of one’s faith
          b) Remembering the work of Christ on the Cross and the God Conquering in
              raising Christ
          c) Expression of a harmonious relationship with God and His body.

Fellowship - Sharing together by …
1. Encouraging  (Heb 10:24-25)
           - key part of Small Group Ministry
2. Counselling (1 Thess 5:14)
           - this is a form of encouragement and instruction
3. Disciplining  (Matt 18:15-20; Gal 6:1-4)
           - Scripture says this is not an option
           -  Discipline is always with a view to build up and encourage
4. Sharing and Giving  (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 16:1,2, 2 Cor 9:6,7; 2 Cor 8:7)
           -  Generosity – born out of a recognition of God’s generosity
5. Working together  (1 Cor 12:4-11; 1 Cor 12:14)
           - Body concept
6. Helping one Another  (Rom 15:1-2; Phil 2:4)
7. Ministry of Prayer
      a) Confession  (Prov 28:13; Ps 66:18; 1 John 1:9)
           - we need to keep short accounts
      b) Adoration  (Eph 3:20-21)
           -  we need to be challenged to make all aspects of life acts of worship
      c) Intercession and Petition  (Eph 6:18,19; Phil 4:6,7)

          The Scattered Community - our walk
1. Making Friends  (Matt 22:39; Luke 10:33; Titus 3:14)
           - we must be taught to build bridges and develop relationships with our neighbours
      Our Task
           a) Personal witnessing  (Rom 10:17; Luke 10:2)
           b)  The Methods : sharing,refuting, reasoning, persuading, proving, demonstrating.                (Acts 9:22; 17:17; 18:4; 19:8-9; 18:28; 1 Pet 3:15)
* ALL THIS IS DEVELOPED THROUGH TRAINING

* 1 Peter 2:5, 9, 11               

• “Living stones being built up for a spiritual house”
• “a holy and Royal Priesthood”
• “a people belonging only to God.”
• “aliens and strangers”

TWO MODELS OF CHURCH

The Leaders – of the church are referred to as:
1)  Elders – Acts 20:17; 1 Tim 5:17
2)  Overseers – Acts 20:21; Phil 1:1
3)  Leaders – Rom 12:8; 1 Thess 5:12
4) Pastor/teachers – Eph 4:11; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2

Principle of Pastoral Priorities
1) Necessity of establishing priorities (Acts 6:2)
2) Necessity of training and delegation (Acts 6:3,4; 1 Tim 4:6, 11-16)

Personal Priorities for Pastors/Elders
1) Pursuit of God  (Matt 6:33)
2) Strong marriage relationship  (Eph 5:25; 1 Tim 3:4,5)
3) Training and discipline of children  (Eph 6:4; 1 Tim 3:4,5)
4) Serving the church in pastoral responsibilities  (1 Peter 5:2-3)
5) Modelling  (1 Tim 4:12; 1 Peter 5:3)
6) Modelling the Great Commission  (1 Tim 3:7)

Personal Priorities
1) Strong marriage   (Eph 5:25; 1 Tim 3:4,5)
2) Training of Children (Eph 6:4; 1 Tim 3:4-5)
3) Serving Church in Pastoral Responsibilities  (1 Peter 5:2-3)
4)  Modelling  (1 Tim 4:12,15; 1 Peter 5:3)
5) Model the Great Commission  (Do the work …)

Pastoral Priorities for Pastors/Elders

Primary
1) Prayer : Spiritual Preparation (John 15:7; Eph 5:18; Col 3:1-3; 1 Tim 4:14-16)
2) Preaching and Teaching the Word (1 Tim 4:6, 11-13; 2 Tim 4:1-2; 1 Cor 9:16)

1. Teach people to love God and His Word (Isa 66:2; Ps 1:1-3)
2. Lead people to submit to the authority of the Bible (Joshua 1:8)
3. Demonstrate that the proclamation of the Word is critical to worship (John 4:24)
4. Motivate people to live in view of the second coming (Titus 2:1, 11-15)
5. Motivate people to ministry (Titus 2:14; 3:1,8,14)

3) Disciple future leaders (Matt 28:19,20; 2 Tim 2:2)

Secondary
1. Pastoral care through counselling, calling etc.  *Role of everyone! (Rom 15:1-4; 1 Thess 5:11-12; James 1:27; 5:14)
2.      Administrative functions – thinking, planning, visioning etc.

• Principle of Plurality  (Acts 14:23; 20:17; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 5:17)
• Principle of Selectivity  (Acts 6:3; 1 Tim 3:1; 2 Tim 2:2)
• Principle of Philosophical Purity

1. Agreement of leaders
          a) purposes, goals
          b) priority of certain ministries eg exposition, prayer, training, evangelism
          c) methods used to reach those objectives

2.      Agreement means unity not unanimity

Principle of Servant like Ministry
·         Church leaders must be those who have a servant heart and attitude and whose motives are pure.  (Luke 22:26; 1 Thess 2:3-8)

Principles of Administration
(From: Sharpening Focus of Church – Gene Getz)

1.  Face the reality of the Problem
          - Problems don’t go away!  They usually get worse.  Must be faced and dealt with             according to Scripture.
2. Delegate responsibility to qualified people  ( Exodus 18 and Acts 6)
          - Scripture stresses that this must be done with those who are spiritually qualified and             by their gifting
3. Establish priorities according to Biblical agendas
           - Act in accordance with God’s priorities
4. Solve problems correctly under the leading of the Holy Spirit
           - It is all too easy to get locked into routine methods that can ignore what the Holy              Spirit is saying!

Principles of Organisation
1.  Organise to apply New Testament principles to accomplish New Testament purposes.
2. Organise to meet the needs or purposes according to New Testament standards.
3. Keep the organisation simple.
4. Biblical leaders are not locked in by organisational structure.

1. The authority of Scripture over believe and practice.
* Jer 10:23 – NO!  God is in control and only those who let God direct their ways will be blessed!  Eg Prov 3:5-6; Prov 16:9; Prov 20:24
* The Authority of God’s Word is foundational and crucial to what we are and all we do!
* We must be careful not to operate in contradiction to what is written in Scripture.
  (2 Tim 3:16-17)

2. The necessity for clear vision of the church and it’s purpose for being
* Vision – (seeing as God wants us to see!) is crucial for the people of God!
          It is through Vision that we remain aware of 3 things:
     1. who we are
     2.   why we are here
     3. where we are going
Without a vision we will end up with a navel gazing, status quo unhealthy church.
The results of this are found in Prov 29:18 (fall under God’s judgement)

3. The pursuit of God
*Matt 6:33; Eph 3:16-19
* We are a consumer oriented, self-centred, self-indulgent society – bent on pleasing ourselves rather than seeking to know and love God!

Don’t ask “What can this church do for me?”
OR
“What can I get out of this church?”
BUT
“Can I know God here?”
"How can I give, how can I serve?”

4. Personal commitment to God, to the Great Commission and the Stewardship of all we are.
          - To truly know God is to love God (Matt 22:36-40)
          - To be committed to Him and His Purposes
             Rom 12:1-2 (surrender); 2 Cor 4:16-18 (Cost!)        

5) Priesthood of believers and the principle of every believer gifted for service
          Priesthood  1 Peter 2:9 – Stand in the breech -   Proclaim!
          Spectatoritis – Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Eph 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:7-11.