clcgh.org Building The Capacity Of Christian Leaders, Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry, Redirecting Straying Christians To The Sound Knowledge Of Christ
Pastors lead God’s churches as servants so they are servant-leaders. As part of their sacred duties, pastors preach and teach the Word of God to equip believers under their care for the work of ministry.
Pastors, therefore, are given one specific and unique message to communicate. It is a message about the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel, the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Other messages are mere additions.
However, today, many pastors do not abide in the doctrine of Christ; they preach and teach about anything people like. This is unfortunate. As pastors, anytime we prepare a message to preach or teach, we must first ask ourselves if we can present it to Jesus Christ.
We must ask ourselves if Jesus Christ will be pleased to hear such a message. Again, we must ask ourselves if Jesus Christ will preach such a message.
A message from the pulpit to Christians must be considered as a message from Christ Jesus because true ministers speak by the Spirit of Christ, who is in and upon them.
And a message from a pastor to Christians must be regarded as a message to Christ’s Body because Christians are the Body of Christ. Christ is in us, and we are in Him. This means a message from Christ goes to Christ as the Church is one with Christ.
Christianity is all about Jesus Christ. It is from Christ and for Christ. It is of Christ and in Christ. Christianity is on Christ and with Christ. It is under Christ. It begins with Christ, ends with Christ and rests with Christ in God the Father.
Jesus Christ is the greatest theme for preaching and teaching to the Church. He is knowable, learnable and livable even though He is immeasurable, unfathomable and incalculable.
His depth, height and width are incomprehensible. Christ is worthy to be studied, learned and worshipped because He is peerless, ageless, timeless, endless, limitless, sinless and faultless. Christ is undying, unfailing and unchanging and He is God.
He is the One pastors are prepared, trained and sent to preach and teach about to make Him known to others. But a pastor cannot make Christ known to others if he does not know Him. Every other thing a servant of Christ may study, know and teach is a mere addition.
Any Christian leader, who does not, cannot or will not preach or teach about the birth, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and second coming of Jesus Christ does not know Him.
By James Quansah
