A Pastor Must Be a Stephen

Ed Garrett

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781098074944
• eBook ISBN: 9781098074951
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

In a time when the clergy is considered a vocation rather than a calling, the aspiring pastor must take heed to biblical guidelines set for the office. God's Word sets clear qualifications for the ministry. Although not a pastor, the deacon Stephen of the Book of Acts was an exemplar of true pastoral directives.

A Pastor Must Be a Stephen is a study of the characteristics exhibited by Stephen in Acts 6: 8–7: 60. The directives of successful preaching and powerful leadership shown by this man of God must be a trademark of the contemporary pastorate. Stephen's zeal, fervor, and knowledge of biblical truth is indicative of godly fear and responsibility incumbent upon the gospel ministry.

The walk of life of a pastor must be a holy convocation. The life of Stephen is a paradigm of a gospel minister.

Chapter 21

A Pastor Must Leave Results to God

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous character Sherlock Holmes summed up his great detective skills with a single observation: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” Stephen acted in this fashion, destroying Jewish illusions of grandeur, elitism, and rites of passage. The truth that was retained, though improbable to Israeli mindset, was “Jesus is God.”

And today, in the final analysis, Stephen’s influence upon the pastoral office is spiritual, practical, and relevant. Every nuance of his magnum opus is beneficial in some way to the modern pastorate. But the most important aspect of his message is that it was not his sermon at all. It was God’s missive to rebellious people.

If a preacher learns anything from Stephen, it should be “All glory belongs to God!” The exemplar of Stephen is humility coupled with boldness, indictment coupled with praise, and love coupled with truth. His obligation was only to bring the message of God’s grace, Jesus Christ the Messiah, and impending judgment. He had no authority to judge or produce results.

And while pastors are God’s authority to His churches, they have no right to set themselves as prosecutors of the people. When they have preached messages of truth, their subsequent responsibility is to step back and watch the Holy Spirit work, knowing that God has avowed, “So shall the word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

The apostle Paul explained ministerial authority to the Corinthians, saying, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Part of the pastor’s obligation is to realize that God is the true and final authority in any ministry. An old Osage Indian legend in Diedrich Knickerbocker’s History of New York recounts the tale of a boy of fourteen in a hunting expedition:

As he was one day hunting, he saw a white deer come out from a ravine. Crawling near to get a shot, he beheld another and another come forth, until there were seven, all as white as snow. Having crept sufficiently near, he singled one out and fired, but without affect; the deer remained unfrightened. He loaded and fired again and missed. Thus he continued firing and missing unto all his ammunition was expended, and the deer remained without a wound. He returned home despairing of his skill as a marksman, but was consoled by an old Osage hunter. These white deer, said he, have a charmed life, and can only be killed by bullets of a particular kind.

The old Indian cast several bullets for Tonish, but would not suffer him to be present on the occasion, nor inform him of the ingredients and mystic ceremonials. Provided with these balls, Tonish again set out in quest of the white deer, and succeeded in finding them. He tried at first with ordinary balls, but missed as before. A magic ball, however, immediately brought a fine buck to the ground.

The legend portrays a great lesson for pastors. In human attempts, the greatest orators are impotent in producing results. But with the ammunition of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the word is vital and effectual. On the day of Pentecost, the Jerusalem church waited on the promise of the Holy Ghost. Not one of the apostles could have foretold the great outpouring of the Spirit “when suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2–4)

This occurrence could not have been evoked by human effort nor produced life-changing effect by human protocol. After this incident, Peter, an uneducated and unglamorous fisherman, preached a powerful sermon that resulted in three thousand souls coming to salvation. The church was empowered in an incredible way. This empowerment could not have been effected by the distraught and disappointed apostles whose only thought in the upper room was to sit and wait for Jesus’s return. They could not have envisioned the church age that was to ensue and span a period of two thousand years. This great result, however, is typical of the movement of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing the plan of God.

Dependence upon God for results that are effective and lasting should be the goal of the pastor. Manmade results are fickle and unreliable and produce no lasting effect upon their recipients. Aisle-walking and commitment cards are fruitless if the Holy Spirit has not worked a work in the hearts of people. Many names may be added to church rolls; many baptisms may be performed; many “commitments” may be voiced—but without the soul-changing wooing of God’s Spirit, these are vain responses and, as Jude said, clouds without water (Jude 12).

When, however, results are God-breathed instead of manmade, the ultimate effect is revival, both personal and church-wide. Th...

Table of contents

• A Pastor Must Be Saved
• A Pastor Must Exhibit Faith
• A Pastor Must Be Called to the Ministry
• A Pastor Must Exhibit Authority
• A Pastor Must Be in Communion with God
• A Pastor Must Consider the Pulpit Holy Ground
• A Pastor Must Preach Sermons from God
• A Pastor Must See to the Needs of His Flock
• A Pastor Must Lead His Flock in Scriptural Worship
• A Pastor Must Be an Evangelist
• A Pastor Must Be a Stranger to the World
• A Pastor Must Suffer for Christ’s Sake
• A Pastor Must Be Bold
• A Pastor Must Preach Christ Crucified
• A Pastor Must Preach against Sin
• A Pastor Must Combat Worldliness
• A Pastor Must See the Glory of God
• A Pastor Must Be a Man of Prayer
• A Pastor Must Have a Forgiving Spirit
• A Pastor Must Relate to His Audience
• A Pastor Must Leave Results to God