First Student night of the month was great! We had a powerful time of worship led by Carlos then we had a special guest speaker to continue our conversation on the 5 gifts given to the church in Ephesians, that special guest was our Next Steps Pastor, Jaran Hall!
Jaran’s Notes
Gifts according to the Word
Romans 12:3-8
1 Corinthians 12:1-12
Ephesians 4:7-16
Two commonalities in all these gifts; Love and Grace. All gifts should be rooted/grounded in love; love for Jesus/ love for the Body. All gifts are given to us by the Grace of God; His ability not ours. In Ephesians Paul focuses on the preeminence of Christ, making Him known. Paul highlights 5 gifts Jesus gave to the Church to do ministry on earth/ help Body mature; Apostle/Prophet/Evangelist/Pastor/ Teacher.
Let’s look at Pastoral gift tonight. Greek for pastor ‘poimen’ “one who tends to sheep, cares for flocks”. But this word pastor is only used in Ephesians. Other words used are: shepherd/elder/overseer. Pastoral gift is not simply leader for a local church. As one of the five-fold, the pastoral gift is for the whole Body. Elder / ‘presbuteros’ – refers to ministry of leadership in the Body. Normally a mature believer; may be one of the five fold or an overseer ‘episkopos’ in a local/regional context.
The pastoral gift in the Westernized Church gets the most attention. Why? A pastoral gift is by definition shepherd-like; desires to see people cared for, we all should want that. This gift cares deeply for the soul, leading people out of brokenness to wholeness. A pastoral gift wants to know about every sheep; however, this can create blind spots. This gift can be misunderstood/misapplied; trying to do everything, be everyone’s superhero, meet every need personally. Many times neglecting themselves, their families while equipping no one. The Body desperately needs this gift, but it’s not THE only gift just A gift!
1 Peter 5:2-3 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
Pastoral gift cares for sheep; feeding, healing wounds (Good traits when healthy BUT destructive when it leads to people pleasing/validation). That’s one of the reasons we need all five gifts in Ephesians. This gift is vital… The Apostolic gift looks forward, Prophetic gift upward, evangelist gift outward. A pastoral gift looks inward asking “How are you? Tell me about it?”
Characteristics of Pastoral Gift
*Pastoral gift is in real time, in the moment. *Pastoral gift leads to good choices. *Pastoral gift cares deeply for people’s feelings/emotions.
*Pastoral gift is empathetic.
*Pastoral gift sees relational cracks/division. *Pastoral gift welcomes/nurtures.
*Pastoral gift listens, alot.
If the Pastoral gift is not present
*People have a difficult time healing.
*People may not feel a part.
*People have a hard time healing from deep wounds.
*Isolation can become an issue
Adventures in Student Ministry 