The Minister
Moderated by Nicholas Smith
Welcome to the minister section of XPastor.org! The minister's primary role is direct ministry with the people, acting as a Shepherd by feeding, nurturing and protecting the flock. Individuals are the number one focus of the minister function. Jesus is our quintessential example of this role; if there was one thing he was guilty of, he loved to be with the people.
In this section we will share ideas, articles and answers to the role of being a Minister our in Lord's church. If you have anything to contribute to this section you are more then welcome to email me questions, articles or thoughts.
While most XP's slice of the pie is business, I hope that this page will be a blessing and encouragement to you.
Nicholas
Articles on the Minister
- The People Factor by Nicholas Smith
- "Crash Dummies: An anonymous article on being fired"
- Pressures on the Pastor by David Fletcher
- Scott Barfoot's research project on "Leader-follower Trust." XPastor fosters solid research on church ministry.
- Making a New Beginning with Your Peopleby Don Bubna
- When Is It Time to Make a Change? by Don Bubna
- Maximizing the Opportunity to Interact with People by Don Bubna
- A Healthy Farewell by Don Bubna
- Pressures on the Pastor by David Fletcher
- Case-Studies of Policy and Vision Implementation by the Executive Pastors 355 pages, David Fletcher's well-read Dissertation on the XP
- Matt Weaver on "Searching for Treasure in the Wilderness," about peacemaking in the local church. See also Peacemaker Ministries.
- Dr. Dan Wallace's critique on "Misquoting Jesus," a book on textual criticism that is a bestseller!
- Dan Southern, President of the American Tract Society, writes for XPastor on Leadership on Evangelism
Post a question about the Minister Function in The XP-Forum
Nicholas Smith
Executive Assistant Pastor of Bethany
Baptist Church, Lindenwold, New Jersey
Bethany Baptist was featured in an XPastor case study, "A Church and XP for Urban Life: Bethany Baptist Church and Nicholas Smith, a 20 Year Transition." Bethany has over 16,500 members.
Defining the Minister
The Minister conducts weddings & funerals, counsels and disciples members, teaches a class or small group. Some of these activities are done so that the Sr. Pastor is free to pursue other ministries.
The Minister may coordinate cases of church discipline with the governing board and may fill the pulpit when the Sr. Pastor is away. The Minister sees the Sr. Pastor as the spiritual leader, communicates with the Sr. Pastor about church ministry and often serves the Sr. Pastor by “taking things off Sr. Pastor's plate.”
Many XPs don't do a great amount of direct ministry. On the XP-Indicator, many XPs are below the baseline. Why is this for so? Direct ministry is generally in just one area, one slice of the church. Many Assistant and Associate Pastors spend huge amounts of time in “one slice,” such as counseling or teaching.
The XP generally doesn't have enough time to devote to one slice of church life. The XP is reviewing the entire ministry, a shepherd of the entire congregation.
5 Key Themes
- Counsel & disciple
- Perform weddings & funerals
- Preach
- Serve the Sr. Pastor & see the Sr. Pastor as the spiritual leader
- Teach a class or small group
5 Attitudes & Abilities
- Accepting and loving
- Helping people be whole and healthy
- “I care for you!”
- Neither conservative nor liberal
- “Sure, I have time to serve you”
