{"id":30191,"date":"2023-08-17T13:58:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T19:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=30191"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:02:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:02:46","slug":"how-can-pastoral-ministry-be-small-group-based-team-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/how-can-pastoral-ministry-be-small-group-based-team-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can Pastoral Ministry Be Small-Group Based Team Ministry?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The church<\/a> has been my world. It has been my primary social circle, the highlight event of my week, and the most rewarding place to labor. Church has been my safe sanctuary from a declining culture. No longer.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”Church has been my safe sanctuary from a declining culture. No longer. \u2013 Loren Gjesdal” via=”no”]<\/p>\n

Paul tells the Ephesian church that the leadership gifts of the Spirit<\/a> are given by God for \u201cthe equipping of the saints for the work of service\u2026.\u201d (Eph 4:12). The church is to be much more than a place of sanctuary, it is to be a place of training.<\/p>\n

This means that as a church leader, I don\u2019t come just to enjoy the fellowship of the saints or even to meet their needs, but rather I come to help each one be prepared to effectively engage the exterior world every day of the week. This requires not just a culture change within my heart but a change of perspective in the whole church, from leadership to laity, from the pulpit to the pew.<\/p>\n

Transitioning from an Inward Focused Sanctuary to an Outward Focused Training Center<\/h3>\n

Greg Ogden describes in his book Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God<\/a>,<\/em> that transitioning a church from an inward focused sanctuary to an outward focused training center involves moving to small-group based, team ministry that is missional\u2014dedicated to \u201ccompassionate service and evangelism.”[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

This requires each church member to change their perspective about themselves. They are no longer to be passive recipients of the ministry of a chosen few but rather \u201cvital channels through who God mediates His life to other members of the body of Christ and to the world.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In this everybody-in culture, the pastor<\/a> and church leaders<\/a> are no longer the ones who do all the ministry, but rather become \u201cplayer-coaches\u201d that equip each member to use the gifts God has given them effectively. In his book Shepherding the Church<\/a><\/em>, Joseph Stowell puts the new attitude this way: \u201c\u2026as His body we all play a different part in the function. Scripture knows of no place for loners, wall-flowers, bench-sitters, or marginalized participants in the body of Christ.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Communicating to the Culture Outside the Church<\/h3>\n

To be an effective player-coach, I need to not just transform the cultural expectations within the church, but also understand and be able to communicate<\/a> to the culture outside the church.\u00a0 We live in a pluralistic culture \u201cgrounded in a deep-rooted relativism.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0The result is that within and without the church there is \u201cpressure to treat religion as a hobby,\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0to see all religions (or no religion) as roughly the same, and any claims to truth as matters of personal opinion.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”To be an effective player-coach, I need to not just transform the cultural expectations within the church, but also understand and be able to communicate to the culture outside the church. \u2013 Loren Gjesdal” via=”no”]<\/p>\n

To communicate absolute truth and exclusivity (i.e. John 14:6) in this environment requires apologetic tools, a willingness to endure rejection, and perseverance in living lives so well \u201cthat the culture can no longer ignore the truth claims of our belief system.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0I am training each member, as Jesus put it, to let their \u201c\u2026light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven\u201d (Mat 5:16).<\/p>\n

Seeing Ourselves as Ministers and Living Out Transformed Lives<\/h3>\n

Thinking of the church as community and family is Biblical and essential. It should be a place of nurture and encouragement, but it is to be so much more. I have had to come to grips with the culture of the church ingrained in my own heart that inhibits member maturation as well as cultural impact. I need to leave the comforting cocoon of the church walls and engage the culture I have avoided, as does the rest of the church.<\/p>\n

To engage effectively we will each need to see ourselves as ministers and live out transformed lives in full view of our friends, neighbors and co-workers. We will need to teach, train, support, and encourage each other along the way.\u00a0 We will need to do it together\u2014all of God\u2019s children sharing their Father\u2019s heart and joining Him in His work.<\/p>\n

To learn more about pastoral ministry within the Equipping Model of Ministry, consider taking the upcoming Artios course PAM 301 Pastoral Ministry:<\/p>\n

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