Baptist ministry and pastoring, the way in

I have long been disturned by men who seem to get into the ministry or pastorates by-passing the well-tried, usual pathway. Here as I understand it and practised it is the Baptist way.

[@johnking1736]

Yes some good principles that have some connection with the practices of the Early Church.
But it is important to put the use of the term "Pastor" into a biblical context.
In Eph 4 it is presented as one of five ministries: Apostles (possibly missionaries, ie "sent ones") prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Paul says these are all necessary to produce maturity in the membersof the church. When matched up against this, the Baptist culture of one man band or Pastor and Elders, seems deficient. At a stretch, Pastors are usually styled as pastor-teachers, and there is a little (very little) textual evidence for that interpretation. But my experience has been of some good teachers who are rather poor pastors and some good pastors who are indifferent teachers, which suggests that they would do better to stay within their gifting, and seqarch carefully and prayerfully for those whom Jesus has give those other roles to. And then of course to do the same in search of evangelists, prophets and apostles. To do less is to deny those gifted by Jesus with those ministries, the opportuunity to serve, to the detriment of the church.

[@davidyoungwrexham]

In the video I deliberately used the word 'pastor' with the meaning it usually carries in Baptist churches; I agree with what you write about its somewhat different original use in the Bible.

[@johnking1736]

@@davidyoungwrexham I guessed that was so. I wrote what and how I did because I feel that we need to loosen our grip on our culture (the weights that so easily encumber us), and make every effort to model our churches on New Testament teaching. The lack of a prophetic, evangelistic, and apostolic ministries (The genuine kind, not often much in evidence ) when they are shown, along with the other ministries, to be necessary for the health of God's people. Do you agree?