Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: The Role of a Pastor: As an Authentic Faithful Servant of God" examines how pastors should conduct themselves in the performance of their duties to God and to God's people.A prerequisite for a pastor's service to God is love.Before an individual can render service to God's people he or she must first love God.Without this love it is impossible for an individual to offer faithful, authentic service to God's people.Moreover, it becomes impossible to humbly lead, nurture and care for God's people.The work of a pastor is noble and multi-faceted and often goes unrequited.Accordingly the author uses three metaphors to describe the office of pastor: Pastor as Shepherd, Pastor as Teacher, and Pastor as Servant.1 Kate Bowler, Blessed A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 7.Kate Bowler offers: The prosperity gospel centers on four themes: faith, wealth, health, and victory.It conceives of faith as an activator, a power that unleashes spiritual forces and turns the spoken word into reality.The movement depicts faith as palpably demonstrated in wealth and health.It can be measured in both the wallet (one's personal wealth) and in the body (ones's personal health), making material reality the measure of the success of immaterial faith. 2 The focus has moved away from the ideal, of God rewarding the faithful in the next life, and pumping up parishioners with the expectation of wealth on earth.Hanna Rosin of The Atlantic asserts, "Over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated-one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now.This new prosperity gospel claims tens of millions of adherents; it fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism."3 In many cases, individuals are coaxed into living beyond their means.They are urged, "Instead of saying I'm poor, say I'm rich." 4 Oftentimes, on the strength of these types of statements many faithful followers find themselves deeply in debt and heartache.Instead of the focus of worship being on the Lord Jesus Christ, money has become one of the preeminent pillars in the church.Sermons are replete with reference to money and how the wealth is there for all to access if you have faith.Take for example, Pastor Fernando Garay of Charlottesville, Virginia, who offered 2 Ibid 7 3 Hanna Rosin, "Did Christianity Cause the Crash?"The Atlantic, December 2009, 1. 4 Ibid 3 2. Assess three metaphors used for a pastor to bring these images into sharper focus to reveal the role of a pastor.3. Investigate how these three areas have been perverted, causing many pastors to manifest unchecked greed and misuse of power.
Author: Leo Jones
Institution: Trinity Lutheran Seminary
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2605973295