Month: September 2025

29
Sep
2025

Pastoral Leadership

“I am the Good Shepherd” (Jn 10:11)

“Shepherd the flock of God . . .” (I Pet 5:2)

Pastors are shepherds. 

And shepherds lead sheep.

Some people debate whether the New Testament speaks of pastoral gifting at all.  They argue that the word “pastor” refers only to an office and not to a spiritual gift.  Others disagree and say that the New Testament speaks of pastoral gifting.  Sometimes people argue their points as if the two positions are mutually exclusive.  They are not.  In Ephesians 4, the pastor-teacher seems to be an office that is a gift (Eph 4:8, 11-12), and in I Peter 5:2, Peter tells the elders that their function is to shepherd the flock.  Shepherding is central to the function of the office of pastor/elder, and the moment you say that the office has a function, you make the office something that is better held by someone with gifting to do the function.   Some pastors are more naturally gifted at shepherding than others.  

This is common sense.  You’ve probably observed it yourself.  It is true of virtually every function that exists.  All believers are to evangelize, but some are more gifted at it than others.  All believers are to serve people, but some are more gifted at it than others.  All church treasurers are to handle the finances with integrity and skill, but some are more gifted at it than others.  All cooks are to make tasty meals, but some are more gifted at it than others.  Ten different people may hold the office of high school teacher, but they are not all equally gifted teachers.  We could go on.

Functions involve gifting, and the office of pastor has a Biblical function.

What this means is that even the people who argue that the word “pastor” refers only to an office must admit differing levels of gifting at carrying out that office.  And the moment you do so, you are referring to a pastoral gift. 

Thus, a man may have the spiritual gift of wisdom, prophecy, or evangelism and fill the office of pastor, while someone else may have a shepherding gift and not fill the office of pastor.  The office and the gift may have similarities, but they are not identical. 

Now because our purpose is to discuss spiritual gifts, I want to focus on the gifting and not the office, but I understand that the office requires the man to do what the gifting is good at. 

With that out of the way, let’s talk.

Pastoral leadership is leadership.  But it is a different type of leadership.  Pastors are shepherds.  Shepherding is a combination of servant leadership and spiritual care. 

Pastoral leadership does not focus so much on leading tasks or organizations but on leading souls.  Shepherds lead hearts.  Shepherds want to see you walk with God.  They take great joy in seeing God’s people grow in Christ. 

Shepherds provide spiritual care and spiritual direction for the sheep.  This may entail encouragement when you are discouraged, rebuke when you are stubborn in sin, clarity when you are confused, and a push when you need to stretch your faith.

Because shepherds focus on hearts, they want to get to know you.  They lead through relationship.  Shepherds build up and equip the church in Christ.  They come alongside you and spur you on and encourage you in your walk with Jesus.

Shepherding is an investment in the lives of others and, consequently, takes time.  Because of the nature of shepherding, shepherds can shepherd only so many people.  The more people in the flock, the greater the need for multiple shepherds.

Importance of Shepherding Gifts

Shepherds are the builders of the church.  They build men.  They build women.  They build the hearts of the people to maturity in Christ.

Strengths of Shepherding Gifts

  • care for the church
  • care for souls
  • focus on spiritual growth
  • relational
  • see the spiritual realities of life
  • care about God’s Word
  • patience
  • comfortable being alone with God

Weaknesses of Shepherding Gifts

  • can have difficulty with evangelism.  Shepherds are focused on the sheep.
  • can have difficulty with church planting and entrepreneurial tasks
  • can burn out trying to shepherd too many people
  • can feel lonely

Examples of People with Shepherding Gifts

John, Peter, Timothy, Richard Baxter, Francis Chan

Good Roles for Shepherds

pastor, husband, parent, mentor, discipler

Posted by mdemchsak in Leadership, Spiritual Gifts, 0 comments
24
Sep
2025

Entrepreneurial Leadership

“I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation” (Rom 15:20)

Some people call this gifting “apostolic gifting.”  I will avoid that term because sometimes people hear it and think you are describing a person with the same authority as the apostles.  Instead, I will say simply that this gift is a starter gift.  These people provide the leadership to start works in the spiritual world.  These people plant churches and start ministries.  They are generally task-focused, can operate well alone, and enjoy the challenge of starting something new.  These are the people who push the church to great heights.  They see a vision and inspire the church to accomplish that vision.  They are good networkers and connect with many people. 

Importance

These are the catalysts of the church.  These people expand the reach of the church and push the church to greater steps of faith.

Strengths

  • usually have faith
  • pray
  • can see a big vision
  • can mobilize people
  • are focused
  • can take criticism and move on
  • are zealous to see God’s kingdom advance
  • get things done
  • inspire others
  • are bold

Weaknesses

  • can struggle with deeper relationships
  • sometimes prioritize the job over the people
  • can be or seem uncaring
  • are sometimes impetuous
  • can be workaholics
  • can be proud
  • can compromise doctrine or ethics to get things done
  • sometimes rely on their energy and skills instead of on God
  • can ignore constructive criticism
  • can have difficulty being alone with God

Examples of People with the Spiritual Gift of Entrepreneurial Leadership

Caleb, Nehemiah, Peter, Paul, George Mueller, Hudson Taylor, Jonathan Goforth, George Verwer,

Good Roles for People with this Gift

church planter, pioneer missionary, leader of an organization focused especially on expansion of the kingdom, starting a new work of some kind: school, hospital, mission agency, ministry

Posted by mdemchsak in Leadership, Spiritual Gifts, 0 comments
15
Sep
2025

Leadership

Leadership is the gifting I have had the greatest struggle to describe.  Two reasons account for this difficulty.

First, leadership comes in different varieties.  A church planter and a pastor are both leaders, but they are quite different beasts.  Paul is not John.  Both have leadership giftings, but they have very different strengths and weaknesses.

Second, Paul mentions the gift of leadership in Romans 12, but in Eph 4, he mentions as leaders the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers.  So is Paul using different terms to refer to the same thing?  And if so, which term in Ephesians most corresponds to the gift of leadership in Romans?  Or is Romans a broad umbrella that includes different types of leaders?  Or is Ephesians merely a list of offices not related to spiritual gifts at all?  These are some of the questions I have asked in trying to figure out exactly what Paul means by leadership.

Given these questions, here is how I plan on approaching the gift of leadership.

I believe it more likely that Paul’s use of the term “leadership” in Rom 12:8 is a reference to pastoral leadership than to more entrepreneurial leadership.  Here is why:

Paul uses the same term in I Th 5:12 and I Tim 5:17 to refer to the elders of a church, and Biblically elders, overseers, and pastors are all different words for the same office.  In addition, the word for “lead” can equally be translated “care for” (see BAGD) and care is a central component of pastoral leadership, but it can often be a weakness of entrepreneurial leaders. 

These two facts are not conclusive, for entrepreneurial leaders can still be elders, and church planters still need to care for the flock, but, nonetheless, Paul’s use of the word and the alternate meaning of the word make me lean in the direction of saying that Paul has in mind a more pastoral function than a function that begins new works. 

However, because my leaning is not certain, I will describe both of these leadership types with the proviso that I believe the pastoral one is the more likely of the two.  Thus, in the next couple weeks, I will post blogs on entrepreneurial leadership and pastoral leadership.

Posted by mdemchsak, 0 comments
08
Sep
2025

Giving

“. . . it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

God so loved the world that He gave.  Giving is God’s nature.  He loves to give. 

People with the spiritual gift of giving have discovered how much God loves to give, and they show the rest of the church what that looks like. 

Givers have learned the secret of letting go of material goods.  Their money and possessions do not have a stronghold over their hearts, and they willingly and sacrificially give to meet the needs of others and to advance the kingdom of God.  They see giving as a blessing and joy instead of a duty.  They give from the heart.  They give sacrificially and joyfully.  They love to give.  They want to give.  They do not see their money as theirs.  They see it as God’s money, for Him to do with as He pleases.

We usually think of givers as being wealthy.  That is not necessarily true.  The widow who gave all she had may not have given a great amount, but she gave more than the wealthy who gave greater amounts.  A poor person can have this gift, and when he does he will give you what he can, and it may cost him more than you see.

The gift of giving is not restricted to money.  Givers will give you clothes, a dining table, their car, and more.  They see a need and look at what they have that can meet that need and are willing to give it up. 

The Importance of Givers

Givers are those who sacrifice for the church.  They are the inspiration for selflessness and the people who fund and resource God’s work. 

Strengths of Givers

  • full of joy
  • generous
  • free from the pull of material goods
  • care about the needs of others

Weaknesses of Givers

  • can enable others in unhealthy behaviors
  • sometimes desire to please men instead of God
  • sometimes lack healthy boundaries

Examples of People with this Gift

the widow who gave her mite, Barnabbas, R.G. Letourneau, C.S. Lewis, Millard Fuller

Good Roles for People with this Gift

benevolence ministry, support for missionaries, mission organizations, churches, and other Christian ministries

Posted by mdemchsak in Giving, Spiritual Gifts, 0 comments
05
Sep
2025

Exhortation/Encouragement

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (I Thes 5:11)

The Greek word translated “exhortation” in the list of spiritual gifts can mean encouragement, comfort, or consolation.  It is the same word Jesus uses when He calls the Holy Spirit the comforter.  People with this gift lift you up when you feel down.  People with this gift spur you on to love and good deeds.  Everyone likes to be around them because they make you feel as if you matter and as if God will use you.  These people are encouragers and are often saying things like “I appreciate your heart for people” or “Your serving has been a great blessing to others” or “You can do that.  God is with you” or “I’ve heard your testimony, and it is powerful” or a thousand other statements like these.

These people will call you just to see how you are doing.  They will show up at your house uninvited because they were passing by and were thinking about you and just wanted to let you know they were thinking about you.  They use words to build you up.  Those words may take the form of face-to-face conversation, phone calls, emails, notes, or any other medium. 

But encouragers are not restricted to words.  When you are going through a hard time, they will send you a gift card to a restaurant or maybe even take you there themselves just because they want to encourage you.  They may throw you a surprise party just to let you know that you mean something to them. 

These people say with Caleb, “With God we can take the land.”  People with this gift have much faith, a positive attitude, and a love for others.  Encouragers are not necessarily leaders (though they can be).  They love to come alongside you and spur you on and encourage you.

But the spiritual gift of encouragement is more than a positive attitude.  It is more than making people feel good about themselves.  The purpose of this gift is to strengthen people’s faith and help them walk more closely with Jesus.  When you see words or deeds that make people feel good but never help them grow spiritually, you are not looking at the spiritual gift of encouragement. 

The Importance of Encouragement

Encouragers are the morale boosters and the faith spurrers of the church. 

This gift combats discouragement and depression and calls the church to take steps of faith and to trust that God will work.

Strengths of Encouragers

  • strong faith
  • joy
  • a positive attitude
  • a love for people
  • speaking spiritual words of encouragement
  • lifting people up
  • often good listeners
  • full of hope
  • can motivate others

Weaknesses of Encouragers

  • sometimes neglect confrontation or hard conversations
  • can be oblivious to real pain
  • can be too optimistic
  • can be people pleasers

Examples of People with this Gift

Deborah, Boaz, Jonathan, Barnabbas

Good Roles for People with this Gift

spouse, parent, friend, mentor, coach, counselor, visiting the sick

Posted by mdemchsak in Spiritual Gifts, 0 comments