Your Role
I heard it said a long time ago that during his ministry on earth, Jesus fulfilled three primary roles as he birthed the Kingdom of God.
The idea is that throughout scripture, everything Jesus thought, said, or did fulfilled one of three ministerial roles—the roles of Prophet, Pastor, and Priest. To lead as Jesus led, each of these roles must be present in our ministry.
Jesus ministered prophetically when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount. He was speaking out against what was and speaking into what could be. To minister prophetically, whether by word or action, involves speaking God's truth in a situation and establishing the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was an activist who wasn't afraid to speak against injustice, who was prepared to speak up and out for truth and add parameters around the Kingdom of God. The prophetic minister often has a bias towards action and enterprise. A prophet speaks or acts in a situation where the Kingdom of God does not exist.
Secondly, Jesus was a Pastor, and his tenderness bound up the hearts, lives, and hurts of those who were broken. While the term Pastor in our society today is used as a "catch-all" for all ministry functions, the biblical model of a Pastor is someone who cares, who carries, and who loves people. These functions are crucial to ministry today, and in many ways, the credibility of the Church rests in our ability to care for the hurting because "they will know we are Christians by our love." A pastor leads as a servant, invests in people, listens assertively, empathizes as he carries other's burdens, asks the right questions, and fulfills the law of Christ (Eph 6:3).
A great example of Jesus functioning as a priest comes just before his death as he goes before his Father and prays what is now known as his "High Priestly Prayer" (John 17). A Priest blesses, encourages, and empowers while taking spiritual responsibility for a situation or group. In many ways, a priest humbly carries great spiritual authority and influence as his personal relationship with Christ pours onto others. In our insecure world that is looking for appropriate authority and affirmation, the role of the priest is vital for a church, community, and city to have. Without fulfilling this priestly function, the Church is stifled in its influence.
Each of these functions enhances the other, and it has much fruit. For too long, I made the mistake of functioning in just one of these roles. This reduces what Jesus wants to do through us and doesn't help those we lead to fulfill God's plans. The temptation is to function in one of these roles at the expense of the other. For most of those in ministry, the default tends to be the pastoral role. This is perhaps because of the culture of our congregations and because much of our training systems and expectations lean towards this. But, for the Kingdom of God to expand, we need to make sure that we function more frequently in the roles of prophet and priest.
I realize that at different times in ministry, we have to emphasize different roles, but a healthy work week for a minister of the gospel involves balancing these three roles in what we do. If we claim to follow Jesus as our ministry leadership model, we need to ensure that each of these three roles is fulfilled. Wisdom is required to discern which role we need to fulfill in any given situation, and skill is necessary to move quickly into one or another of these roles.
If our goal as ministers of the gospel is to reflect Jesus, we need to ensure that these three roles are present in our lives and ministries.
- Which role are you most comfortable in?
- Which role are you least comfortable with?
- What can you do this week to balance these ministry roles?
The idea is that throughout scripture, everything Jesus thought, said, or did fulfilled one of three ministerial roles—the roles of Prophet, Pastor, and Priest. To lead as Jesus led, each of these roles must be present in our ministry.
Jesus ministered prophetically when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount. He was speaking out against what was and speaking into what could be. To minister prophetically, whether by word or action, involves speaking God's truth in a situation and establishing the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was an activist who wasn't afraid to speak against injustice, who was prepared to speak up and out for truth and add parameters around the Kingdom of God. The prophetic minister often has a bias towards action and enterprise. A prophet speaks or acts in a situation where the Kingdom of God does not exist.
Secondly, Jesus was a Pastor, and his tenderness bound up the hearts, lives, and hurts of those who were broken. While the term Pastor in our society today is used as a "catch-all" for all ministry functions, the biblical model of a Pastor is someone who cares, who carries, and who loves people. These functions are crucial to ministry today, and in many ways, the credibility of the Church rests in our ability to care for the hurting because "they will know we are Christians by our love." A pastor leads as a servant, invests in people, listens assertively, empathizes as he carries other's burdens, asks the right questions, and fulfills the law of Christ (Eph 6:3).
A great example of Jesus functioning as a priest comes just before his death as he goes before his Father and prays what is now known as his "High Priestly Prayer" (John 17). A Priest blesses, encourages, and empowers while taking spiritual responsibility for a situation or group. In many ways, a priest humbly carries great spiritual authority and influence as his personal relationship with Christ pours onto others. In our insecure world that is looking for appropriate authority and affirmation, the role of the priest is vital for a church, community, and city to have. Without fulfilling this priestly function, the Church is stifled in its influence.
Each of these functions enhances the other, and it has much fruit. For too long, I made the mistake of functioning in just one of these roles. This reduces what Jesus wants to do through us and doesn't help those we lead to fulfill God's plans. The temptation is to function in one of these roles at the expense of the other. For most of those in ministry, the default tends to be the pastoral role. This is perhaps because of the culture of our congregations and because much of our training systems and expectations lean towards this. But, for the Kingdom of God to expand, we need to make sure that we function more frequently in the roles of prophet and priest.
I realize that at different times in ministry, we have to emphasize different roles, but a healthy work week for a minister of the gospel involves balancing these three roles in what we do. If we claim to follow Jesus as our ministry leadership model, we need to ensure that each of these three roles is fulfilled. Wisdom is required to discern which role we need to fulfill in any given situation, and skill is necessary to move quickly into one or another of these roles.
If our goal as ministers of the gospel is to reflect Jesus, we need to ensure that these three roles are present in our lives and ministries.
- Which role are you most comfortable in?
- Which role are you least comfortable with?
- What can you do this week to balance these ministry roles?
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