A Church's Responsibility to Their Pastors - Chuck Vuolo

As you can imagine,
it is an unspeakable joy

for my wife Diana and myself

to arrive at this day,

when our son can be officially recognized

as a shepherd

in a church of the blood-
bought people of God.

It is also a sobering reality

in light of what we have heard.

And mine is to bring a charge to you,

the congregation of Grace Community Church

as to your responsibilities

in receiving a pastor to be among you

and as the Scriptures say,

to be over you in the Lord.

And I want to bring to
you from God's Word,

six areas of responsibility

given to you by the Lord

as you receive a new pastor.

And I'll get right to it.

The first one is this:

Recognize him according to the gifts

and graces God has given.

Someone has said,

"Only God can make a minister.

Only God can make a pastor."

And that's true isn't it.

Because only God can furnish a man

with the graces of character

and the gifts of leadership and preaching

that are needed to
shepherd the flock of God.

Only God can make a pastor.

Now that doesn't mean
that there are not people

who run into the pastorate

not having been called and sent by God.

There are men who do that.

In our day, sadly, there are even
women who do that, wrongly.

Why do they go?

In some cases, they go to try to live up

to the misguided expectations of others.

Perhaps a father who says,

"My son is going to be a pastor."

In other cases, a man
likes to study theology

and he thinks, "Well,
that would be a nice job.

Being holed up in a room,

reading theological books all day.

I think that'll be a nice gig!"

Others are very sociable,
and they would say:

"You know, I like
to socialize with people

and being a pastor I get
to socialize with people.

I think I'd like to be a pastor."

More culpably, sadly, there are people

who like to exercise control and power

over other people.

And they enter the ministry
for that wrong reason.

And others, because of a large ego,

they like to be front and center

and be the center of attention.

There are people, there are men,

sadly even women,

who seek to run into pastoral ministry

without having been
called and sent by God.

But only God can equip, and call,

and send a true shepherd.

And your job, church at Laredo,

therefore is not to make a man a pastor.

You can't do that.

It is to recognize the man and men

that God raises up among you

to be in that calling.

And that's what you are doing today.

You are recognizing,

based on the qualifications given by God

in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9,

you are recognizing a man

whom you believe God has give you

to shepherd your souls.

Your work is the work of recognition.

And may I say, that I heartily concur

with what is being done today.

If I might say some personal words

as the father of this young man,

I have marveled at the grace of God

that has brought him to this day.

I never groomed my son to be a pastor,

because it was my conviction

that I don't make men pastors.

I never even imagined it.

Quite frankly, for many years -

and his brother and sister are here

and can testify to it -

Jeremy was our fun-loving,

people-loving jock.

Much more likely to have
a soccer ball on his foot

than a book in his hand.

But it's been amazing to watch

what God has done.

Beginning midway through college,

when he decided to
plant his flag for Christ.

Started a fellowship of
Christian athletes on campus,

and from there on after,

every Sunday night at eight o'clock,

he would be teaching his
fellow college students

from the Bible.

And then there was the first
professional contract in Finland

where he had a premature mantel

of leadership responsibilities
thrust upon him;

where he was looked to teach and lead

a rather immature group of saints.

And we did a lot of Skype-ing,

across the Atlantic that year.

But it was then that I
began to see in him

a shepherd's heart.

He would review with me a letter

that he was writing to
someone twice his age

giving counsel.

And as I read that thing I said:

"I could not do any better than that!"

The truth-content,

and the love and grace in that letter!

And I began to see...

I began to say to myself:

"If I know anything of what a pastor is,

of what a shepherd's heart is,

I'm beginning to see it in my son."

And then, two years spent

in the Conway's home

and in the church in San Antonio

for which my wife and I

are tremendously grateful

for the influence, Tim and Ruby,

of your home, your lives,

the influence of the church.

It has been hugely challenging

and formative in our son's life.

And we are forever grateful

for God's usefulness of you in his life,

bringing him to this day.

So, church of Laredo.

You can't make a pastor;

now or in the future.

But you are called to recognize

those whom God has gifted and called.

And you're doing that today.

The second thing that
is your responsibility

is to receive him as a loving gift

of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ.

I turn briefly (or just listen)
to Ephesians 4:9-11.

You are to receive him

as a loving gift of your glorified Savior.

In Ephesians 4:9-11 we read:

"Now this expression, 'He ascended',

what does it mean except that He also

had descended into the
lower parts of the earth?

He who descended is Himself also

He who ascended far above all the heavens,

so that He might fill all things."

And notice verse 11

"And He gave some as apostles,

and some as prophets,

and some as evangelists, and some as..."

as the Greek would likely
have it, "pastor-teachers."

Jesus descended to live a perfect life

that we could not live, and died a death

in our place that we deserved to die!

And then He was raised from the dead,

He was ascended to the Father,

and He's glorified at
the Father's right hand

and from that place of glorification,

He has given gifts to His Church.

Rather, He has given men
as gifts to His Church!

He gave apostles and prophets.

Earlier in that letter it says

the church is built upon the foundation

of the apostles and New Testament prophets.

He gave evangelists.

Christians disagree as to
what an evangelist is.

I would take it to mean those who

take the gospel into virgin territory.

But he gave pastor-teachers.

And church at Laredo.

The point for you is this:

Jesus Christ, your
ascended, glorified Lord,

is giving you a gift today!

It's a gift of His love!

It's a token of His grace and favor!

Little flock in Laredo,

Jesus has His eye on you.

He has not forgotten you!

He loves you

and is giving you a gift.

Someone has said:

"Pastors are not needed

for the being of the Church,

but for its well-being."

And I think that's true.

Acts 14:23 says,

"When they had appointed elders

for them in every church..."

The idea was they were already churches

before they had elders.

Elders are not needed for
the being of the church,

but for its well-being.

If the church is to flourish

and grow internally and spiritually,

if it is to expand numerically
and evangelistically,

it needs shepherds.

Jesus loves you.

He has His eye on you.

He is giving you a gift,
today, of a pastor.

Receive him as a gift

of Christ's love for you.

Thirdly, you are to respect him

for the sake of his
diligent labor among you.

And for that I turn you
to 1 Thessalonians 5,

just two verses.

Either turn there or just listen.

"But we request of you, brethren,

that you appreciate those who

diligently labor among you

and have charge over you in the Lord

and give you instruction..."

Now listen to this,

"and that you esteem
them very highly in love

because of their work."

Now let's unpack briefly,

some of those words.

The word "appreciate" is
actually the word "to know",

but it's understood in
the Hebraistic sense

of having regard for, cherishing,

paying attention to.

The word "esteem":

consider, think, account,

it means to have deliberate

and careful judgment.

"Esteem very highly."

That's the word used in
Ephesians 3:20 when it says:

"God is able to do super abundantly

beyond what we ask or think."

You are to super abundantly esteem him,

but for his work, his diligent labor.

And that word "labor" means

wearisome effort, intense labor,

it actually comes from a verb that means

to beat the breast in grief.

He is to be a hard diligent worker,

sometimes to weariness of body and soul.

And he admonishes you,

he puts in your mind truth

that leads you back into the way.

You put all this together

and this is what you get:

You are to know, pay attention to,

have regard for the laborious work

that your pastor is doing among you.

What does that mean practically?

Take some time to think

about the many hours he takes

to study the Word of God,

in order to teach it

and preach it and counsel it

accurately and profitably for your soul.

Give attention to the hours he spends

in prayer over your souls.

Men in the ministry are to give

more time to prayer like the apostles:

"We will give ourselves to prayer

and the ministry of the Word."

And he's gonna be laboring hours

in prayer over you individually.

And think about those hours

he's spending in prayer for your needs,

for your souls, for your struggles,

for your hurts, for your sins.

Take stock of the hours he will spend,

and does spend,

sitting down with you as families;

giving you a spiritual check-up.

Checking up in how you're doing

in your devotional life.

How are things in the marriage?
How is your family life?

How are you training your children?

How are you using your gifts

for the edification of the church?

How can you be a better witness

to the lost ones around you?

And consider also the many hours

that he spends counseling you one on one;

listening patiently, and
then seeking to give

thoughtful, wise, and biblical advice.

Think of the times that you

or a loved one has a crisis,

and maybe lands in the hospital.

Who is likely to be the first one

at your bedside to pray,

to comfort, to minister?

It's likely going to be your pastor.

And as you think about these things,

God is saying to you as a church:

"Super-highly esteem him

for that diligent work

that he is doing among you."

And may I make a logical
deduction from this?

As you super-highly esteem him,

will you look for ways
to express that to him?

I've been a pastor for a lot of years,

and one of the things
I've noticed over the years

is people tend to
appreciate their pastors,

but rarely tell them.

You ask a man:

Do you appreciate your pastor?

"Oh, our pastor is wonderful!

He feeds us so well on the Word of God,

He's such a patient,
loving counselor to us!"

Have you ever told him that?

"Well, I think there was
a time a few years ago.

I might have mentioned something."

You know men, it doesn't work in marriage

to be like the proverbial guy who

said to his wife,

"Look, I told her I loved
her when I married her,

and if I change my mind,
I'll let her know."

Now that doesn't work
in marriage, does it?

You can hardly tell your wife

enough times in the day, "I love you!"

Assuming it's sincere.

People of God,

express your appreciation

for your pastor and his labor.

"Oh, but I don't want
him to get a big head!"

Let me tell you, God knows how

to keep a man's head small. Okay?

God knows wonderfully

how to balance encouragement

with humbling.

You leave that to God!

And you just seek to encourage him,

and there are many ways to do that.

And church at Laredo,

from what I know of you,

I need to just commend you,

because you have expressed

your esteem and respect in so many ways.

Material gifts,

household furnishings for his apartment,

money for books, books;

you've already done much of that.

You know the highest way

that you can show respect for your pastor

however is to allow the Word of God

that he teaches, preaches, and counsels

to take root in your life,

and to let him see the fruit

being born in your life

from what he's laboring in.

That's the greatest way
to show him respect!

Here's a fourth thing:

Rejoice his heart by your obedience,

and some of you know
where I'm going with that.

Hebrews 13:17

Rejoice his heart by your obedience.

The writer to the Hebrews says:

"Obey your leaders, submit to them.

they keep watch over your souls

as those who will give an account.

Let them do that with joy,

and not with grief,

for that would be unprofitable for you."

We live in a moral universe,

and God reigns over this universe,

He is the absolute authority

and King of this universe!

By nature, we are in rebellion

against His authority however.

The Bible says,

"we've all turned to our own way."

But when we've become rightly related

to God through faith in Jesus Christ,

we become a submissive people.

Submission becomes a watch-word

for the child of God.

We submit ultimately to God,

but one of the ways we show
our submission to God

is by submitting to the human authorities

that God has put over us.

Wives, be submissive to husbands.

Children, obey parents.

We are to obey the governing authorities.

Employees are to obey employers.

And God has called His redeemed people

to put themselves into local assemblies,

churches, where there are elders,

pastors, overseers,

who are over them in the Lord.

And this text of Scripture
calls us to obey them.

Literally "to be persuaded" by them.

And to submit to them,

literally "to give way to,
to yield" to them.

And let me point to a two-fold
responsibility that this gives us.

On the one hand,

obey your leaders, submit to them...

Brothers and sisters
in the church of Laredo,

when your pastor labors
in the Word of God,

to tell you what biblical words mean

what biblical sentences mean, in context,

near and far, consistent
with systematic theology,

the doctrine fitting in with the
other doctrines of the Bible,

consistent with biblical theology,

consistent with the whole sweep

and totality of God's revelation;

when he is getting out of God's Word

what is pretty clear the Holy Spirit

put into God's Word,

and he's giving it to you accurately,

brothers and sisters, obey it!

Do what it says!

Believe what it says!

Think the way you're supposed to think!

In doing so, you won't so much be

obeying a fallible man,

but you'll be obeying God

and that will be to the
blessing of your soul!

It will also bring him joy!

Remember what the elder Apostle John said?

"I have no greater joy than this,

than to hear of my children

walking in the truth."

And a true shepherd has no greater joy

than to hear of his spiritual children

walking in the truth.

Rejoice his heart by obeying,

not what he says, but what God says!

And there will be a wonderful circle

of celebration and joy.

You will be blessed for
doing what God says,

and he will have joy

for seeing the people under his care

walking in the truth.

But I need to qualify that

for the balance of truth.

I had an old Amish bishop
or minister once say to me:

"For every mile of road,

there's two miles of ditch."

And I'm always concerned
about balancing truth.

The main duty people have got is:

obey your leaders when they bring you

the Word of God,

but I need to say this
for the balance of truth.

All human authority is limited.

All human authority has boundaries.

Only God has absolute authority.

And you are to obey your pastor,

as long as he is bringing to you

the Word of God.

But when he goes outside of the bounds

of the Word of God;

when he misaligns himself
with God and His Word,

may I say that you are to

conscientiously and respectfully disobey.

We see that in the Scriptures,

when the Hebrew midwives were commanded

to kill the Hebrew baby boys.

Exodus 1:17 says, "They feared God

and did not do as the king of Egypt

had commanded them,"

but let the boys live.

They defied the human authority

and God blessed them for it.

In the New Testament, the apostles

are told by Jesus, "Go and preach!"

The human authorities come and say,

"Stop teaching in this name!"

And they were put on the horns
of a dilemma, weren't they?

If you got two horses

and they're going in opposite directions,

you better jump on one,
and let the other go.

If the boat is moving,

departing from the dock,

you can't stay on the dock

and jump on the ship at the same time.

You gotta make a choice.

And they said, "Whether it is right

in the sight of God to listen to you

human authorities or to God,

you be the judge.

We cannot stop speaking

the things we've seen and heard."

And a chapter later, they said:

"We must obey God, rather than men."

I have passion for this

because for nearly eleven years,

I have worked among one
of the most legalistic groups

claiming to be Christians

anywhere on planet earth:

the Old Order Amish.

And I have seen what man-made rules

and traditions do to

sear the conscience of people

and keep them from
understanding the Gospel.

And so I sound this as a balancing note.

And friend, it's no small matter.

It's a matter of Lordship.

Who will be Lord?

There's only one Person

who has the right to be

the Lord of your conscience,

your soul, and your life.

Romans 14:9 tells us:

"For to this end, Christ died

and lived again that He might be Lord

both of the dead and the living.

But you, why do you judge your brother?"

It's the context of Christian
liberty of conscience

where it's not a moral issue.

Christian, don't judge one another.

Let Christ be the Lord of
your brother's conscience.

You never want to sacrifice
the Lordship of Christ

over your conscience.

Now, am I saying that because I think

there's any realistic danger

that my son, your pastor,
will lord it over you?

I don't have that concern in the least.

And as I know, the
pastors represented here,

they are not those who lord it over.

They are humble servant-leaders.

But some of you have been
under abusive leadership.

And you need to be warned.

Human authority is to be obeyed,

only insofar as it obeys God and His Word.

So, submit to your pastor.

When he's bringing you the Word of God

publicly or privately, do what it says!

Submit, but make sure he's giving you

the Word of God, not his own opinions

because he has no warrant from heaven

for giving you anything other than

what God says in His Word.

Fifthly of six: Imitate him
insofar as he imitates Christ!

Now you notice they all
start with "R" don't they?

And if you like alliteration
as I do, you can say:

"Resemble him as he resembles Christ!"

In Hebrews 13:7, we are told:

"Remember those who lead you,

who spoke the Word of God to you

and considering the result of their conduct,

imitate their faith."

I'm thankful that my
son has practiced that.

He has learned a lot of faith

at Grace Community Church in San Antonio,

the kind of faith we've
heard powerfully proclaimed.

And he's walking in
the path of that faith,

and I'm grateful - grateful to God;

grateful for the human
instruments that He uses.

Paul said, "Imitate me
as I imitate Christ."

And Paul said to Timothy,

"Don't let them despise your youthfulness,

but set the believers an example

in speech, conduct,
love, faith, and purity."

Examples are meant to be imitated.

Now make no mistake about it,

Jesus is our exemplar.

He is our example par excellence.

But Jesus has gone to Heaven,

and Jesus has given us human role-models

that we are intended to imitate.

That's one of the things pastors do.

Peter said, "Don't lord it over."

To elders, "Don't lord it over

those committed to your charge,

but be examples to them."

You see, the reason overseers

in 1 Timothy 3 must be -

and there's a little Greek
participle of necessity -

"An overseer must be (dot dot dot)!"

The reason they must be
those things is because

all the people of God
ought to be those things.

We all ought to be above reproach.

We all ought to manage
our households well.

We all ought to be gentle and considerate

and have our children under control

with all dignity.

We all ought to have good reputations.

Pastors must be those things,

because all people
ought to be those things.

Here's another reason
to study your pastor,

to know him, to consider him

not only that you might esteem him,

but that you might imitate him

in so far as he is imitating Christ.

And then finally, remunerate him

according to his merit.

Remunerate him - that means pay him -

according to his merit.

1 Timothy 5:17 says,

"The elders that rule well are to be

considered worthy of double honor,

especially those who work hard

at preaching and teaching.

For the Scripture says,
'You shall not muzzle

the ox while he is threshing' ."

Here's a biblical basis
for paying pastors.

Now that doesn't mean that
all pastors need to be paid.

You have some from San Antonio
who are bi-vocational,

they're not paid by the church.

But the Bible says there are some men

who work especially hard
in preaching and teaching,

who ought to be given double honor.

In the context of that chapter,

it means monetary pay.

Widows were to be honored

in the sense that they were

to be put on the roles of the church.

They were to be financially supported.

And the statement about the ox

really seals it, doesn't it.

Don't muzzle the poor beast,

he's treading out the grain.

Take the muzzle off, let him
nibble on some grain.

Well, God cares about animals.

The righteous man has regard
for the life of the beast.

But He cares far more about

those who labor in
His spiritual vineyard.

There's a place for paying pastors.

So.

And here again, church of Laredo,

I commend you.

You have taken good care
of your pastor so far,

according to the means
that God has given you.

Beyond the salary you have given him,

you have given him household furnishings,

money for books, books,

extra-monetary gifts,

bonuses, loaning him a car

when his car is in repair in the shop.

And here's something very creative.

More than once, somebody
at the church in Laredo has,

at a social event,

stolen his keys,

taken his car out to the gas station,

filled it with gas, brought it back,

put the keys back in the same place.

Leaving him wondering:

"I thought it was half empty.

How did it get filled?"

Many have been the expressions of love

that you have given
to my son, your pastor.

We as parents are
deeply grateful for that,

but above all, God is going
to bless you for that.

Because in doing it -

since he is a gift of
the glorified Christ to you -

to do it for him, you're
doing it for Christ.

Have you noticed that Jesus

takes very personally, first of all,

the things done against His people.

"Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?" [Acts 9:4]

He also takes very personally the things

that are done for His people.

"Insofar as you have done it
to the least of these My brethren,

you've done it unto Me." [Matthew 25:40]

In taking care of your shepherd,
your under-shepherd,

you're doing it for Christ.

And the Lord Jesus will bless you for it.

So, people of God in Laredo,

but also in San Antonio, Corpus, Austin,

or whatever church you represent,

take these things to heart.

Look to the Lord Jesus for the grace

to carry out these
privileges and responsibilities.

Recognize the men among you

who display the gifts and graces

that fit them to be a pastor.

Receive him as a loving gift
of the glorified Christ.

Respect him for the sake of
his diligent labor among you.

Rejoice his heart by obeying the truth

that he brings to you,
publicly and privately.

Imitate, or resemble him,

insofar as he imitates Christ.

And take care of him materially,

as he sows spiritually among you.

Take care of his material needs.

That is God's pattern.

Well, may God richly bless you

with growth in grace internally,

with additions of souls
saved from the community,

and may your loving,

victorious Lord Jesus Christ,

in the days ahead,

give you additional elders -

because plurality is His norm -

and even deacons. Amen.