Labouring In Ministry (1 Tim. 5:17-22)
A hard working pastor is a time-honoured truism that few would question. Being hard working is one of a number of characteristics of the minister that brings him much respect. However, drastic changes have occurred in the church such that what were traditionally true need not be so anymore. Just as the style of worship is no longer what it used to be, so also the style of ministry. Beneath the external styles are the undergirding principles, which have been changed. Many a pastor today are not working hard, not because they are inherently lazy, but because they have been taught a different understanding of the gospel ministry in churches and seminaries. Our aim is to make a reasoned plea for a return to the old style of “labouring in word and doctrine”.
I. Two Sorts Of Elders
The context
Our text is 1 Timothy 5:17, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” The context of the verse is important. The passage, from verses 17 to 22, follows the one on the treatment of widows. The church took care of widows who were in financial difficulty (1 Tim. 5:3 cf. Acts 6:1). Widows who had relatives to take care of them were to be excluded. So also those who were living in pleasure, and those under sixty years old. Moving on to the present passage, the idea of giving honour is continued but applied to the elders of the church. Three sections are discernible. Verses 17-18 concerns honouring the elders. Verses 19-20 concerns correcting the elders. Verses 21-22 concerns selecting the elders.
As in honouring widows, honouring the elders does not mean financial support only but giving to them the due respect. In the case of widows, respect is due for their age and circumstances. In the case of elders, respect is due to them for their office and the nature of their job. If honour is given to the widows, double honour is to be given the elders. The “double” does not mean twice the amount of normal honour, for honour is abstract and cannot be quantified. What it means is an abundance of honour. This is how the word is used elsewhere in the Bible when the things are abstract or there is no amount given for comparison. In the book of Revelation, Babylon, which represents worldly allurement, is described as fallen and receiving her due punishment. We are told in Revelation 18:6 that God will “repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.” In Genesis 43:12, Israel allowed his sons to return to Egypt and they were told to “take double money in your hand” — note, not “take double the amount of money”. We read in Isaiah 40:2, “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” The “double” in these instances does not mean a fixed amount but an abundance.
In the second section of our passage, accusation against an elder must not be entertained unless there are two or three witnesses. This does not mean the elders do not receive the accusation from one person, or that the one accuser must have two or three persons present to bear witness to him bringing the accusation. Rather, it means that if there are two or three separate but similar accusations, or the accusation is backed by one or two others who saw the wrong committed, then action is to be taken. The accused elder is to be rebuked in the presence of all the other elders, that the rest also may fear committing the same wrong. The church is not mentioned here. Instead, the context requires us to understand that the rebuke is administered before the other elders. Also, the sin (Gk., hamartano) is not of the grave and public kind — such as fornication, heresy, and drunkenness (Gal. 5:19-21) — which would require the matter being brought to the church for the elder to be removed from office (cf. 1 Cor. 5:4-5).
In the third section, a solemn charge is given to ensure that the correction of a sinning elder is carried out without prejudice and partiality. This is required in dealing with everyone and every issue in the church, but it is particularly needful for the eldership. The health and direction of the church depends to a great extent on the eldership. When an elder sins, the effect is more damaging than when another member of the church sins. The elders, and particularly the pastor, are vulnerable to attacks from other people, including backslidden church members, envious pastors of other churches, and enemies of the gospel (Phil. 1:15-17; 2 Tim. 1:15; 4:10, 14-15). The integrity of the eldership should be guarded from the beginning, when an elder is selected. The injunction to “observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality”, extends to the choice of a candidate for the eldership. Only suitably qualified men are to be nominated and placed before the church for approval. We do not choose a man simply because he is popular, influential, well-educated, or rich. Appointing an unsuitable man out of fear or favour will result in our being responsible to some degree when he sins. We do not want to “share in other people’s sins”. We want to keep ourselves pure (v. 22).
The text
We come back to our text, which is 1 Timothy 5:17, “ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” All the elders are expected to rule well. They are worthy of an abundance of honour by virtue of their office, and by virtue of their work. The extent over which rule is exercised by the elders must not be confused with the extent of the elder’s power. The power of the elders is limited to, and by, the teaching of the Bible. The extent of their rule covers all areas of church life — including the maintenance of the building, the use of church funds, the running of the children’s Sunday School, etc. The deacons, and other members of the church, might be the ones placed in charge of the various departments of the church, and executing the decisions of the church, but they do so under the oversight of the elders. The manner of rule by the elders is such that they make decisions within the eldership, led by the pastor, which are then brought to the congregation for its consent. Once consent is obtained, the decisions become those of the church.
There are two categories of elders — those who rule only, and those who both rule and teach the word of God. For convenience, those who only rule have been called “ruling elders” and those who both rule and teach are called “teaching elders”. The word “especially” (Gk., malista) means “most of all” or “above all”. There is a comparison involved. This comparison is between the elders, not the work they perform, as claimed by some.1 The honour is given to the men, not to the abstract functions of the men. By comparing with Ephesians 4:11, we know that the teaching elders are also the pastors of the church. The context of that passage shows that full-time preachers are referred to, viz. apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. The first three categories are extraordinary officers, which have been withdrawn after the foundation of the New Testament church by the completion of Scripture (Eph. 2:19-22; Heb. 1:1-2; Rev. 22:18-19). Only the “pastors and teachers” remain. The pastors are teachers of the word. It is to be noted that in Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:2, the verb “to pastor” is used, while in Ephesians 4:11, the noun “pastor” is used. What this means in practice is that all the elders together share the responsibility of ruling and pastoring the church, but the pastor alone is set apart full-time to teach the word of God. The pastor is, therefore, normally the leading elder in the church. There can be more than one pastors in the church, although that is seldom the case, but one of them should be recognised as the leading elder. This was the view of John Owen, which coincided with that of the early Particular Baptists.2 Said John Owen3:
“There are elders in the church; there are or ought to be so in every church. With these elders the whole rule of the church is interested; all these, and only they, do rule in it. Of these elders there are two sorts; for a description is given of one sort distinctive from the other, and comparative with it. The first sort doth rule and also labour in the word and doctrine. …They are…not elders only, but moreover pastors or teachers. … They are elders, with the addition of pastoral or teaching authority. But there are elders which are not pastors or teachers; for there are some who rule well, but labour not in the word and doctrine, — that is, who are not pastors or teachers.” (Emphasis original.)
The next thing to note is that those who labour in word and doctrine are to be set apart full-time by the support of the church. This is shown by verse 18, ‘For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”’ Financial support is included in the “double honour” mentioned in verse 17. All elders are to be abundantly honoured, especially the pastor, by setting him apart full-time for the ministry of the word. This has given rise to the term “honorarium”, meaning payment for voluntary service. In practice, most churches are able to support the pastor only up to the level of his basic needs. At least this has been the experience of those who minister in pioneering situations. Our small churches can hardly give us enough to constitute “double honour”. Churches should work towards supporting their pastors sufficiently, based on their needs. The amount will have to be adjusted as the needs change, such as when children arrive at schooling age, etc. The time would arrive when the children go to college or university, and the churches are unable to provide sufficiently to cover these needs. There is no obligation placed upon the church to cover needs like these, for like any family, ways must be found to cover these needs, e.g. by taking study loans, etc.
The point to note is that pastors, by the nature of their calling, must depend on God’s often fickle people to provide for they needs. This is what faith in God is all about, and what is required in those who are called to full-time ministry. We read in 2 Timothy 2:4, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” This is followed by verse 6, “The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.” While the passage is speaking of more than financial support, it surely includes the support of pastors in the full-time ministry. Coming back to 1 Timothy 5:18, we can definitely say that the verse is speaking of financial support. By comparing with 1 Corinthians 9:6-12, we know that this is the case. 1 Corinthians 9:6-7 say, “Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?” Verse 9 uses the same words of 1 Timothy 5:18, saying, ‘For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?’ From these considerations, we conclude that full-time ministry is the norm set for the New Testament church. While there may be situations where a pastor has to engage in part-time work or even engage in a bi-vocational ministry for a period of time, the norm should be pursued. Appeal is often made to the example of Paul who engaged in tent-making to supplement his needs, but that is not to be regarded as the norm for the church. In Acts 20:34-35, he tells us that he provided for his own necessities to set an example for the church to support the weak. The example was set for the church (as represented by all the elders), not for the pastor, and it concerns the support of the weak, not how the pastor is to be supported. We are convinced that 1 Timothy 5:17-18 teach the need to support a full-time ministry. This is one implication of “the priority of the ministry”.
We summarise what have been covered thus far. The view of eldership advocated here belongs to the historic Independent view of church government, practised by the paedobaptist Congregationalists and the Particular Baptists of the 17th and 18th centuries. This view of eldership consists of these principles: the priority of the ministry, the validity of ruling elders, the unity of the eldership, rule by elders, and rule with consent.4 Independency is today held by a large number of Reformed Baptist churches. However, there are those that do not hold to this view of the eldership but to one called the Absolute Equality View or the Parity View.
II. To Labour In Word And Doctrine
We propose here a model of ministry that has been explained elsewhere in greater detail,5 namely that within the church, we must submit ourselves to the headship of Christ, while in relation to the world, we must follow the pattern of ministry set by Christ. As head of the church, Christ occupies the offices of prophet, priest, and king. In the pattern of ministry set by the Lord, the church must engage in teaching the believers, preaching the gospel to win souls and plant churches, and doing good works in conjunction with teaching and preaching. While this model of ministry sounds new, it can be proved to be biblical and therefore to be followed. Furthermore, it will be shown that, although not enunciated in this way, the elements of this model have been advocated by an older generation of writers, including John Owen. Let us proceed step by step.
Prophethood
Within the church, Christ’s prophethood is concerned with doctrine and the word of God. It falls upon the pastor of the church to “labor in the word and doctrine”. The expression “word and doctrine” is literally “word (Gk., logos) and teaching (Gk., didaskalo)”. The word for “labour” (Gk., kopiontes) means “to work hard to the point of exhaustion”. The pastor’s duty is to labour in the study of the word of God and in preparation of the sermon. He is also to labour in teaching the word to others. Sermon preparation and sermon delivery involve hard work and much work. Each week, there is not just one message to prepare but at least three — one for the Sunday morning service, one for the Sunday evening service, and one for the mid-week Bible Study. Special occasions such as a conference, a seminar, and a church camp will require extra sermon preparation. In expounding on the need to preserve the truth or doctrine of the gospel, and to defend it against all opposition, John Owen has this to say:
“It is evident what learning, labour, study, pains, ability, and exercise of the rational faculties, are ordinarily required unto the right discharge of these duties.”6
Priesthood
Christ’s priesthood is concerned with worship, prayer, and pastoral care in the church. In the Old Testament, Aaron presided at the worship of the tabernacle, helped by his sons the priests, and the Levites. In the New Testament, we have no more priests of the Old Testament sense but we are all priests, instead (1 Pet. 2:9). We believe in “the priesthood and prophethood of all believers”. That means we have the right to draw near to God without human intermediary, and to preach his word without being ordained. However, this truth must be understood in the perspective of the overall teaching of the Bible, taking into consideration “the centrality and uniqueness of the local church in the purposes of God”. The priesthood of all believers is no licences for us to do as we like (Rom. 6:18). It requires instead the need to do things in God’s way (1 Cor. 14:26, 40). Similarly, the prophethood of all believers must be correctly understood in the context of the local church. Not everyone is gifted in teaching (1 Cor. 12:29), nor has the right to teach as he likes in the church (1 Cor. 14:33; James 3:1). The days of the prophets and apostles are over. The norm for us today is that the pastor leads the worship service, and he is to be the regular preacher and teacher in the church. Gifted brethren who are recognised by the church may engage in preaching when called upon to do so. The 1689 Confession summarises these truths as follows7:
“Although an obligation lies on the elders or pastors of the churches to be urgently preaching the word by virtue of their office, yet the work of preaching the word is not exclusively confined to them. Therefore others who are also gifted and qualified by the Holy Spirit for the task, and who are approved and called by the church, may and ought to perform it.”
Kingship
Christ’s kingship is concerned with church discipline, church government, and outreach. In addition to preaching in the main meetings of the church, the pastor is to lead in the local outreach and the wider church planting. The gospel is not only to be preached publicly, i.e. before a mixed assembly (whether in church or outside the church), but also from house to house (Acts 20:20-21). Local church growth is to be pursued at the same time as wider church planting (2 Cor. 10:15-16). Outreach points are to be started by the elders of the church, so that teams consisting of other members of the church may visit the groups weekly to proclaim the gospel message. The pastor has to travel to preach elsewhere and initiate the planting of churches. His ministry is not confined to a geographical district or “parish”. We reject the territorial church concept. We would echo John Wesley, “The world is my parish.” This truth needs emphasis today in Reformed circles. Many a Reformed pastor have been influenced by the view of ministry advocated by Anglican writers, notably Richard Baxter and Charles Bridges.8 These pastors have a lope-sided emphasis on teaching believers and not on reaching out to win souls. They may travel to speak at conferences and church camps, but that is not the same as travelling to wins souls and to plant churches. This was not the case with the Separatists of the 17th and 18th centuries — the Particular Baptists included. The eminent scholar, Joseph Angus (1895:183-190), perceptively noted: “Two peculiarities distinguish the Baptist history of the seventeenth century. It was the age of public disputation; and ministers devoted a large amount of time to evangelistic work.”9 John Owen spoke similarly10:
“When, therefore, there are great opportunities and providential calls for the preaching of the gospel unto the conversion of souls, and, the harvest being great, there are not labourers sufficient for it, it is lawful, yea, it is the duty of pastors of particular churches to leave their constant attendance on their pastoral charge in those churches, at least for a season, to apply themselves unto the more public preaching of the word unto the conversion of the souls of men.”
The pattern of Christ’s ministry
We have considered the need of the local church to conform itself to the three offices of Christ. In this work, the pastor plays a leading role, which requires that he labours in word and doctrine. He has to teach in the church. He has to lead the church in worship. He has to lead the elders in opening up outreach and preaching points. He may delegate some of these tasks to the appropriate men, but he bears the overall responsibility. We have to consider also his responsibility of ministry in relation to the world. The Lord has set the pattern of teaching the word to God’s people, preaching the gospel to win souls, and doing good works in conjunction with preaching and teaching (Matt. 4:23; 9:35). The apostle Paul says, “Imitate me just as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). He imitated Christ not merely in personal life, but also in ministry. We learn that he engaged in preaching the gospel “publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20-21), he declared “the whole counsel of God” to the believers (Acts 20:27), and he engaged in good works (Acts 20:35). He also shows us his understanding of the Great Commission by being based in the church at Antioch (Acts 11:25-26), being sent out by the church at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3), engaging in planting churches (Acts 14:21-23), and returning to report to the church at Antioch (Acts 14:27).
Comparing with John Owen
John Owen, in delineating the special duty of pastors, puts it this way: “Though the church be the only subject, it is not the only object of gospel ordinances, but that is various. For instance, — the preaching of the word: its first object is the world, for conversion; its next, professors, for edification.”11 Owen goes on to say: “Ordinances, whereof the church is the only subject and the only object, cannot be administered authoritatively but by officers only, — (1) Because none but Christ’s stewards have authority in and towards his house as such, 1 Cor. 4:1; 1 Tim. 3:15; Matt. 24:45; (2) Because it is an act of office-authority to represent Christ to the whole church, and to feed the whole flock thereby, Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2.”12 (Emphasis added.)
We have developed on the truth that pastors “represent Christ to the whole church” by specifying the offices of Christ as prophet, priest, and king and how they are to be applied within the church. We have also shown that Christ’s pattern of ministry in relation to the world is to be followed, viz. by teaching believers, preaching the gospel to win souls, and doing good works in conjunction with preaching and teaching. Although not spelled out in these terms, Owen taught basically the same thing when he expounded on the duties of pastors under the following heads:13
- To feed the flock by diligent preaching of the word.
- Continual fervent prayer for the flock.
- The administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
- To preserve the truth or doctrine of the gospel, and to defend it against all opposition.
- To labour for the conversion of souls unto God.
- To be ready, willing, and able, to comfort, relieve, and refresh, those who are tempted, tossed, wearied with fears and sorrows, in times of trial and desertion.
- Sharing with all members of the church in their trials and troubles, whether internal or external.
- Care of the poor and visitation of the sick.
- Responsibility over the rule of the church.
- Responsibility over the communion of churches.
- To lead a humble and exemplary life.
It can be seen that the view of ministry advocated here coincides with that of John Owen, although enunciated in a different way. A true appreciation of the duties of the pastor will cause him to cry out, “Who is sufficient for these things (2 Cor. 2:16)?” We are thrown back on the Lord, who says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).”
III. Contrary Voices
We have quoted much from John Owen, the doyen of Independency. In his days, he noted that there were those who were not following the biblical teaching of ministry, simply because “the multitudes of those who undertake this office are neither in any measure fit for it, nor do either conscientiously attend unto or diligently perform the duties the belong unto it.”14 I would like to be more generous in my estimate of pastors today. I would say that many are suitably qualified to be in office, and therefore gifted enough to carry out the duties of office. However, they have been inadequately trained in seminaries, and exposed to examples of ministry that are less than adequate. In short, they are not lazy, but do not know how to “work hard to the point of exhaustion” in ministry. Some reasons for this state of affairs are as follows.
Ministerial burnout
Firstly, there is the idea floating around that the minister must beware of “ministerial burnout”. I checked out on Google and found 104,000 entries under “ministerial burnout”. They include articles, books and video uploads carrying titles such as “Ministerial Burnout”, “Ten Rules To Avoid Burnouts”, “How to Avoid Burnout In Ministry”, etc. My guess is that all faithful ministers of the gospel have experienced physical fatigue from work, emotional stress due to difficult church situations, and marriage breakdown hazards. There are those who have broken down emotionally and physically to the point of being out of ministry. To such I offer my sympathy. “It takes one to know one”, used in the positive sense. A Chinese idiom says, “It takes a scholar to recognise a scholar.” Ministers of some experience are thankful to God for their preservation and continuance in ministry. We must look to the Lord for wisdom and strength to face the trials of ministry.
The church has to understand what is involved in a faithful ministry. Quoting Owen again, “All churches may do well to consider the weight and burden that lies upon their pastors and teachers in the discharge of their office, that they may be constant in fervent prayers and supplications for them; as also to provide, what lies in them, that they may be without trouble and care about the things of this life.”15 We are told in Hebrews 13:17, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” The point we are making, however is that while not underestimating the reality and danger of ministerial burnout, the danger of failing to work hard in the ministry must also be avoided. There is always the danger of swinging from one extreme to another, and I believe this has happened in some circles. The overmuch exposure to warnings on ministerial burnout has caused many pastors to swing to the opposite extreme of not working hard enough in ministry.
Fear of the “one-man show”
The second cause of lack of hard work in the ministry is the style of worship that is in vogue today. Following the advance of the Charismatic movement from the 1960s was the undermining of the authority of Scripture. It is claimed that the sign gifts of tongues speaking, prophecy and miracles have been revived. The idea of having many persons on the platform to share their gifts is wrongly supported by passages such as 1 Corinthians 14:26, “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” Soon, the style of worship is altered to include dancing in church, hand clapping and hand raising while singing, and the solo presentation of songs. Instead of the piano or the organ, other instruments are introduced. New choruses and gospel songs replace the singing of hymns. Contemporary worship has replaced traditional worship in many churches. Today, even churches that do not advocate dancing, tongue speaking and prophecy, have a pop-band to accompany the singing. The underlying principle adopted is that there should not be a “one-man show” in worship. Many pastors fear being accused of practising the “one-man show”. The fear of men causes them to allow men and women to take part in different aspects of worship service. It is claimed that this is merely the delegation of duties when, in fact, there is a dereliction of duties. The worship service is no longer led by the minister.
Various views of eldership
A third reason for the absence of hard work in ministry is the view of eldership held by many churches. A plurality of elders is advocated. It is argued from the Bible, and practised with a desire to involve as many as possible, with the view of “recognising each other’s gifts”. This, as we have noted, has been the trend in worship, which is now carried over into the eldership. The distinct role of the pastor is eroded by calling the other elders “pastor”. We have seen that 1 Timothy 5:17 mentions only two sorts of elders — ruling elders and teaching elders. The teaching elders are the pastors. In most churches, only one pastor is sufficient to meet the need of the church and to be supported financially by the church. The churches today, however, understand 1 Timothy 5:17 as teaching many sorts of elders, all of whom may be called pastors. There are the “senior pastor” who handles the preaching, the “pastor of missions”, the “pastor of counselling”, the “pastor of worship”, the “pastor of youths”, etc. The choice of the hymns and the management of the worship service is left to the “pastor of worship”, leaving the “senior pastor” to only deliver God’s word. The other tasks such as outreach and pastoral care are left largely to the other “pastors”. The “senior pastor” is left with little to do. We see here, the danger of the Absolute Equality view of eldership, also called the Parity view, propagated by some Reformed Baptists. Although they do not practise contemporary worship, their ideas of “the plurality of elders” and “the diversity of elders” would play up to the pervasive idea of leadership which we describe here. By calling all the elders “pastor”, and delegating tasks to these various “pastors”, the preacher ends up with less duties for himself. If there are two preaching pastors, the task of preaching is effectively halved between them.
Interactive Bible Study
A third reason for the undermining of the pastor’s responsibility is the style of Bible study practised in many churches, which has been given the respectable name of “Interactive Bible Study”. After the Bible passage is read, the persons present in the meeting each contribute his/her view on leading questions put forth by the leader. At the end of the session, the leader summarises what has been learned from the interaction over the Bible passage. If the group is made up of immature Christians who are led by an immature Christian, they would merely be “sharing their mutual ignorance”. Whatever the merit of this approach of studying the Bible, it is not the biblical meaning of “teaching”. In the Bible, the teacher prepares his message to present to the audience. There might be questions asked after, or during, the message, but there is a teacher who teaches (cf. Mark 13:1ff.; Acts 2:37; 28:24-25). An adaption of the Interactive style of Bible Study is the discussion over the message preached in the worship service of the previous Sunday. The pastor is spared the need of preparing a message for the Bible Study.
Inadequate view of worship
A fifth reason is the failure to have two main services on the Lord’s day. This is part-and-parcel of the lack of clarity on the doctrine of worship. The fourth Commandment says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” There is a failure on the part of many churches to see that the day itself is to be kept holy. In the Old Testament, the Sabbath day began with the morning sacrifice and it ended with the evening sacrifice (Num. 28:4, 8). This practice was carried over into the New Testament, as seen in the morning service and the evening service of the Lord’s day (Acts 20:7ff.). There is also the failure to understand that the word “rest” does not mean inactivity. Instead, it is ceasing to do one set of activities which are carried out on the other six days of the week, to engage in another set of activities not normally carried out on the other six days. God has set the pattern for us, by stopping His work of creation to engage in the work of sustaining the creation (Heb. 4:10). We are to spend the Lord’s day well by engaging in acts of piety, necessity, and mercy (Isa. 58:13; Neh. 13:15-22; Matt. 12:3-5, 11-12). When there is only one main service on the Lord’s day, the pastor has only one message to prepare per week. If the Interactive Bible Study approach is adopted, or discussion over the Sunday sermon is done during the mid-week Bible Study, the pastor need not prepare another message. The moot question is, “What about the bigger churches that find it necessary to have more than one service on Sunday?” The extra services are acts of piety, which do not constitute a problem. There should be clearly two main services, however, one to begin the Lord’s day, and the other to end the Lord’s day. Since the same worshippers attend these two services, the messages have to be different.
IV. Conclusion
We have expounded on 1 Timothy 5:17, showing that it teaches the need for all elders to rule well, and for the pastor “to work hard to the point of exhaustion”. The ministry of the word is demanding to the extreme. Although the pastor is answerable to the other elders and to the church, he has no human boss to oversee him in his work. Instead, he is expected to lead the church, making sure that it is kept spiritually healthy and faithful in service to the Lord.
We emphasise that our intention is not to criticise those pastors who fail to truly “labour in word and doctrine”. We are pointing out the various causes of a defective view of ministry which has led to many sincere pastors being paid to do little in the church. Pastors are those who have received the call of God to ministry. They must arise from the lethargy that has been imposed upon them by the many faulty ideas of leadership, worship and ministry that are prevalent today. May God help us in this task. Amen.
References
1. Poh, B. S., 2006. ‘Against Parity: A Response To The “Parity” View Of The Church Eldership’.
2. Poh, B. S., 2013. “A Garden Enclosed: A historical study and evaluation of the form of church
government practised by the Particular Baptists in the 17th and 18th centuries”.
3. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 117.
4. Poh, B. S., 2017. “The Keys of the Kingdom”.
5. Poh, B. S., 2017. “Thoroughgoing Reformation: What It Means To Be Truly Reformed”.
6. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 83
7. The 1689 Confession of Faith, Chap. 26, paragraph 11.
8. Baxter, R., 1974. “The Reformed Pastor”. Bridges, C., 1976. “The Christian Ministry”.
9. Angus, J., 1895. “Baptist Authors and History, 1527-1800”.
10. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 85.
11. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 80.
12. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 81.
13. Poh, B. S., 2017, “The Keys of the Kingdom”, pp. 249-252.
14. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 89.
15. Owen, J. Works, Vol. 16, p. 90.