So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
For the last few months, we’ve been considering what it means to be a saint. We’ve looked at the lives of many different saints and heard some inspiring stories. We’ve been reminded that all believers in Christ are made saints by His death and resurrection. While it may seem strange at first to consider yourself a saint, that’s precisely what God has made you in Jesus!
In Ephesians 4, Paul tells the church that the role of the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors is the “equip the saints for service”. This task is significant. Paul does not say that it is their goal to “do ministry on behalf of” or “take care of all the important duties in the church”, but rather to “equip the saints” to serve.
The very nature of their task, as pastors, is to disciple and equip others to serve. They serve by equipping others to serve.
For 10 weeks Pastor Seabaugh was on sabbatical and it was clear that during his time here at Bethel he’s been equipping others to serve. Just look at how many people stood up and served! Think about how many people got up and led worship or served in other roles. This was a great opportunity for our pastor to take some time to serve the body of Christ across the country by writing curriculum, but it was also a blessing for us to see others rise up and serve the church.
The role of a minister is not simply to do everything for everyone but to “equip” others to serve as well. Pray that we would be eager to learn to serve others as Christ has served us!
Amen!