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Gift
of Leadership. The spiritual gift of "leading" (Rom
12:8) or leadership refers to one who has an unusual gift for graciously
and lovingly leading and guiding others in spiritual things. The
Greek word translated "leading" is PROISTEMI. It has the
sense of caring for others. It means more than just leading others.
This man has a shepherd’s heart for others. This is one of
the qualifications of an elder (1 Timothy 3:5; 1 Timothy 5:17). An
elder can be what we call a pastor. All elders should be pastors
in heart. I would encourage you to seek the opinion of others. Ask
God to lead you.
Ultimate
Test. The most important principle in determining if God wants you to serve
Him as a pastor or missionary is found in the answer to two questions, "Do
you love God with all your heart?" and "Are you seeking an intimate
relationship with God?" God's great passion is that we love Him,
want to know Him, and are seeking an intimate relationship with Him. After His
return to life, Jesus' first question to the Apostle Peter was, "Do you
love me more than anything else?"
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So
when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon,
son of John, do you love Me more than these?” (NASB)
John 21:15 |
That
is the ultimate question for anyone who is thinking about serving
God in any way - pastor, elder, or missionary. Your desire should
not be to become a pastor or a leader. Your desire should be to serve
God. Your desire should be to serve Him in this way because you believe
He wants you to do this. Your desire to do this should be driven
by an inner desire to please your friend, the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion: There
are several previous questions that I would encourage you read. The
first one is entitled, "Should
I become a pastor or a missionary?" The next one is, "Who
are the elders?" These first two are very important. Here
are the others, "What
are the pastor's duties to a church?", "What
is a real church?", "Should
the institutional church exist?", and "How
should I go about teaching my congregation about church leadership?" May
the Lord bless you as you seek to love Him.
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