The Relationship Between Pastors In The Church (1)

GOOD RELATIONSHIP between pastors in a church is very important. If we read the Bible carefully, we will see how the early apostles related to fellow ministers in humility and respect.

They saw themselves as brothers and sisters. They were simple and humble. I just love their attitudes.

I admire, in particular, how Paul related to Timothy, Titus, Onesimus, Philemon and other Brothers he mentored in ministry.

Paul’s investments in the lives of Timothy and Onesimus and how he respected them is amazing.

Often times, Paul humbly referred to them as sons in the Lord, sons in Christ or sons in the faith. At others times, he called them brothers or fellow faithful ministers of the gospel.

Never did Paul refer to them as his pastors (Romans 16:21, 1 Corinthians 16:10, Philemon 1:1, Colossians 4:9.

A president may authoritatively say, “These are my ministers” and his remarks will not be problematic, because he appointed them.

But it is not proper for a ‘senior’ pastor to say the same thing to other pastors under him in a church.

This is because no pastor is another’s. In other words, no ‘senior’ pastor chooses and appoints other ministers of the gospel. Only Jesus Christ appoints labourers in the church (John 15:16). Thus, all ministers are His.

Carefully consider the force of the Lord’s statement in the verse given above. He speaks to proud pastors who have forgotten that they are servants.

Every genuinely called minister chosen and ordained by Jesus Christ knows he is a chief servant. They are servants of Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 4:1). So only Christ has the right to refer to a pastor as his pastor.

In Christ, the deeper a person grows in the grace and knowledge of God, the humbler he becomes. In other words, the higher a minister’s anointing the higher his humility.

A minister cannot be highly anointed and be proud. The higher you stand in anointing the higher you stand in humility because the anointing teaches you that you are nothing without God.

All ministers who draw closer to God lose their self-worth, self-will, pride and all boastfulness.
The more a minister moves closer to Christ, the less his reputation matters to him.

When Paul drew closer to Christ after years of ministry he said he was the least of the Apostles unworthy to be called an apostle.

He would have become boastful if he had called Timothy, Onesimus and the other ministers he mentored as his pastors.

But Paul would not say that. He called them sons in the Lord because God saved them through him; he also called them brothers because they were all servants of one Master, filled with one Spirit and involved in the one ministry of Christ.

Please, you may read Part Two on the website. Thank you.

By James Quansah