The heart of a pastor ~ 1 Thessalonians 2.9-13

Please check out today's passage~

Today’s Scripture:
9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. 10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. 11 And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 12 We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 13 Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2.9-13

Good Day~

Somehow I have always pictured Paul as a rough and tumble guy. . . maybe because I know how much physical suffering he endured—stoned, shackled, imprisoned, shipwrecked--he just seemed tough. Yet, he was so tender in his expressed affection for those he brought to saving faith. He loved with abandon.

From the moment God called him, Paul had a pastor’s heart. What is a pastor?
The word itself is derived from the Latin word pastor which means shepherd.
Greek Word for Pastor:

poimen = herdsman, a shepherd

.... one who cares for, feeds, guides, and protects the sheep *
‘Very revealing insights, aren’t they?

Allow me to segue . . . I have been in ministry for more than 14 years now. In the last couple weeks since I announced the name of my recently-launched website, PastorWoman.com, I have had a question or two about the name, which caused me to do the above studying. So, why “PastorWoman”? Because that is what God has called me to do—teach His Word, and shepherd His people in Jesus’ name. . . pastor. I am an old-fashioned girl, a thinker, with conservative Christian values, but I have a calling for ‘such a time as this’ to teach and write about the Gospel—bring people to Christ, and grow them up! As Paul said, ‘so that by all means some may be won’. To be clear, it is not my calling or intention to assume leadership of a church body; instead, I am submissive to the authority of my church and the pastor.

In the corporate setting, I have heard folks say, ‘here comes the pastor woman,’ or ‘have I introduced you to the pastor woman?’ So, when choosing a name for my ministry and website it was a natural—Pastor Woman is who I am—I am a woman who pastors people—who loves them, prays for them, agonizes with them, and teaches them. . . I shepherd them through the Lord’s guidance. The ministry name, “Pastor Woman,” is comprehensive enough to include Bible teaching/Morning Briefings, corporate pastoral care, conference and retreat speaking, prayer requests, and community ministry.

Paul’s words reveal the content of his heart to those to whom he was ministering, and I love that about him—Paul doesn’t leave you guessing, does he? Please take note--Paul, the greatest intellectual mind the world has ever known, was yet so very tender with those he taught. Why? Because he had the heart of a pastor.

This morning at Women of Passion, we discussed spiritual gifts, (1 Corinthians 12), and how exercising our spiritual gifts goes hand in glove with living out our God-given purpose. Paul clearly had the spiritual gifts of leadership, teaching, and exhortation (encouragement), and we are so blessed to be able to view his letters of teaching, correction, and encouragement to the young believers. Thank you, Pastor Paul.

God grant you His grace and peace, my friends~
Christine

In closing, here’s a song to bless your socks off! “Call on Jesus” Nicole Mullen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9u1OAJ41G8&feature=related



*(from a website with a biblically-supported definition of a pastor and the various roles attached to the specific callingàhttp://mintools.com/pastors.htm)