Pastor, you’ve been entrusted with a weighty task. It’s a privilege.
In this video from TGC’s Pastor to Pastor series, pastor and TGC Council member T. J. Tims shares how the privilege of participating in both the sacred and mundane aspects of pastoral ministry never gets old. He encourages pastors to cling to the gospel as the source of their hope and the center of their ministries, and he celebrates the friendship available to pastors as gospel culture permeates their congregations and elder boards.
Transcript
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T. J. Tims: The most important thing that I didn’t learn in my theological training is how not only to preach the gospel, but to create an environment where the gospel is shaping the relationships to create a gospel culture. You know, there are some parts of being a pastor that are really hard and at the same time, you know, this is a sacred privilege to be with people. I was with a young couple last night, late night call. They’re at the lowest moment in their life, and I just think to myself, this is a sacred space that I’ve entered into, and what a privilege to be here giving them the heart of Christ. But the routine things are really special, too. For instance, at Emmanuel, where I pastor, we when we give Holy Communion, we look at everybody who comes down, we look them in the eye, and we say, the body and blood of Christ were given for you. And it never gets old. And just the many different kinds of faces, after about 20 people, after you’ve said it about 20 times, it suddenly dawns on you Jesus. The church of Jesus, Christ is massive and huge and varied, and he’s the savior of all kinds of people. And what I can’t even believe I get to do this. You Yeah, I know what it’s like to think to yourself. Pastoral ministry is so weighty, like, Who could ever do this? Who would ever, who could, who would ever say of themselves that they could do it? It almost feels prideful to even say that, but at the same time, it’s so weighty that you never really could do it in your own strength. So you’re always going to be trusting God to help you. So if the Lord has put that desire in your heart, you really can’t ignore that. It would be unfaith to say to God that he couldn’t use you. The desire matters a lot. It also really matters to see yourself through the eyes of others, and that happens in the context of a church. You get a chance to teach, to encourage someone, and people affirm what they see in you, and it’s strengthening to not only have the opportunity to encourage people, but to hear people say to you, you know, I think I could see you being a pastor, and you need that in order to have the confidence to take this massive plunge. The biggest mistake I made as a brand new pastor was undervaluing the teaching of the gospel. I think I felt a real pressure to perform and to build things that were really interesting for people to be a part of. And it’s good to have fun, but the simple teaching of the Gospel, the plain explanation of the gospel, is so deeply satisfying to the human heart. There really is no greater magnet in a ministry than that. I don’t think I trusted the gospel when I first started out, but now I’ve seen the gospel do so many things it’s easier to trust. The most important thing that I didn’t learn in my theological training, is how not only to preach the gospel, but to create an environment where the gospel is shaping the relationships, to create a gospel culture. And for instance, this is, this was a big one. How do you lead an elder meeting. That’s not just a corporate board meeting, a gospel centered reality with God. Elder meeting is a lot like a really great church service. It’s honest. It’s Christ centered. It pays attention to relationships before business, and when you put all those things together, when you actually care for one another, you can do the business in about half the time. It’s great. If I had to stop being a pastor tomorrow, the thing I would miss the most are elders meetings, because the elders are some of my best friends, and they know everything about me. They’re my biggest encouragers. I hope I’m their biggest encourager, and I would lose regular access to a lot of dear friends the end of John’s gospel, when Jesus is preparing his disciples. Is for his crucifixion and his departure. He says to them, I don’t call you servants anymore, because the servant doesn’t know what his master’s doing, but I call you friends. And the reason he gives is that all that the Father has said to me, I’ve said to you, so I mean, that’s disclosure. The difference between a servant and a friend is disclosure. So how do you cultivate friendships among elders? You actually disclose who you are, what you’re really going through. And you do that enough times, you pray for one another, enough times. And pretty soon you look around the elder room and you think to yourself, these guys are my best friends, and the business gets done really well too. So bonus.
