Importance of ethos in Pastoral Ministry
Pastoral ministerial ethos involve the accepted code of conduct by the pastors in their daily devotion to the work of God. These are the qualities that are morally and spiritually upright that distinguish the pastors from mere men. Every pastor must engage this ministerial ethos so that the gospel be effective. Ministerial ethos are so important because they help a pastor to conduct every function following a spiritual blueprint that offers guidelines that the minister of the Gospel ought to follow (Gula, 2010).
Ministerial ethos like total obedience to the word of God will help the servant of God to live a life that is a good example to their followers and thereby making the sermons they preach more effective and true. Followers of a certain church will always be just like their pastor and therefore if the pastor followers the ministerial ethos to the letter even the followers will be upright.
Ministerial ethos helps a pastor to define their lives as people of the high level of integrity and therefore, will always have a voice to fight against any vices being done in the society. Ministerial ethos will give a pastor a moral platform to condemn vices like corruption and poor leadership in the society (McKenna & Eckard, 2009).
Roles played by Spiritual Discipline in Pastoral Ministry
Ministerial discipline is a requirement from God to all church leaders and pastors included. 1 Timothy 3: 1-7 clearly illustrates the disciplines that a pastor should possess. On the off chance that anybody wants to be a pastor, he covets an honorable assignment. Therefore he/she must be unquestionably sound, the spouse of one wife, calm minded, self-controlled, respectable, accommodating, and ready to instruct, not a boozer, not savage but rather delicate, not combative, not a significant other of cash. He should deal with his own particular family unit well, with all respect keeping his youngsters docile. For on the off chance that somebody doesn't know how to deal with his own particular family, in what manner will he nurture God's congregation? He should not be a late changeover, or he may get to be puffed up with pride and fall into the judgment of the devil. Moreover, he should be well considered by pariahs, with the goal that he may not fall into disrespect, into a catch of Satan. These spiritual disciplines will define a true pastor who is called of God and distinguish them from them not called of God.
The Importance of Prayers in the Life of a Pastor
Prayers are one of the ministerial ethics that every pastor must have. A pastor is a servant of God who is faced with very many hard temptations which require a heavenly back up to overcome. The only avenue to have the power to overcome the temptations is only prayers. In prayers, God will direct a pastor on which decisions to make. It is in prayers and fasting that God will reveal the hidden things to the pastors. The pastor is required by the followers to give direction, counsel and insight concerning many mysteries they face and the only help to pastors are from God through prayers (McKenna & Eckard, 2009).
Pastors are expected by their followers to give a revelation of the Word of God eve when the congregation reads and fails to understand the Word. The revelation will only be given by the Holy Spirit and this will come through prayers. Pastors face numerous challenges ranging from their family members up to the congregation and will constantly need support and encouragement. The Holy Spirit offers this encouragement as well as support with the channel being prayers alone. At times pastors are overcome by bodily pleasures and fail to know the direction to take. Through prayers, the pastor will get to know the will of God concerning every circumstance or even any question they have regarding life (McKenna & Eckard, 2009).
Importance of Leadership Skills to a Pastor
Leadership skills are the lid which indicates the pastor’s mark of effectiveness. If the pastor’s ability to lead is low, their lid for potential leadership is also low. If the pastor’s ability to lead is high, then their lid on potential is also high. If a pastor’s leadership stands at an 8, then their effectiveness can never be greater than a 7. If their leadership is only a 4, then their effectiveness will be no higher than a 3. A pastor's leadership skills will always for better or worse decide their effectiveness and the potential impact of the church (Kuruvilla, 2015). The pastor will need to possess good leadership skills so as to be certain where they are leading their followers. Having the leadership skills will help the pastor communicate with followers effectively on where they are going and how they will reach the destination.
How Character and Integrity affect the Pastor’s Sermons.
Proverbs 20:7 puts it clear that “A righteous man who walks in his integrity; How blessed are his sons after him.” A pastor of good character and integrity will always be known not mostly while delivering a sermon but when in the office and when engaging people outside. Integrity gives a pastor a character that is adored by their followers. The sermon of a pastor of integrity will always be based on the word of God without any alterations of exaggerations.
A sermon delivered by a pastor full of good character and integrity will always be effective in that the listeners will go out to practice what the pastor has said. More interestingly, some followers will sit relaxed in the church listening to whatever the pastor is saying only to get out to test the pastor whether they truly practice what they preach (Carter, 2009). A story is given of a pastor who after a vibrant Sunday service went downtown the following Monday morning in a taxi vehicle. After paying the fare to the taxi driver, the driver gave out excess change to the pastor.
The pastor noticed it and counted the money ten times to confirm the change is in excess. All the way the pastor fought hard battles with his heart on whether to return the excess money or not. The amazing fact is that he was in shortage of money to use that week and the excess change will wonderfully seal the deficiency. When he reached his destination the pastor alighted went straight to the driver and told him that the change was in excess and would not go with it. The taxi driver with a smile on his face told the pastor that he had done that intentionally. The driver revealed to the pastor that the previous Sunday he was in the pastor’s church where he preached about honesty and integrity and had decided to test the pastor. The pastor was glad that he had passed the test. Therefore, character and integrity defines a pastor and will form the basis for preaching. Pastors should always talk the walk and walk the talk (McKenna & Eckard, 2009).
References
Carter, J. C. (2009). Transformational Leadership and Pastoral Leader Effectiveness. Pastoral Psychology, 58(3), 261-271.
Gula, R. M. (2010). Just Ministry: Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministers. Paulist Press.
Kuruvilla, A. (2015). A Vision for Preaching: Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry. Baker Academic.
McKenna, R. B., &Eckard, K. (2009). Evaluating Pastoral Effectiveness: To Measure or not to Measure. Pastoral Psychology, 58(3), 303-313.
