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Andrews University

College of Arts and Sciences

Philosophy of Pastoral Ministry

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Course RELT 485

By Boone Menhardt

January 2017
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THEOLOGY OF MINISTRY

God has called each of His children to be involved in ministry in some capacity. There are, however,

those whom He has called to have a full-time career as a minister.1 It is my belief that a pastor should have a

their own personal understanding, or philosophy, of how to effectively serve. This philosophy of ministry

should include a theology of ministry that has a foundation in Biblical teaching such as ecclesiology,

discipleship, soteriology, and spiritual leadership. They should also look back on their past experiences to better

understand what types of leadership skills they have obtained.

ECCLESIOLOGY

In his book The Church Before Christianity, Wes Howard-Brook explains that the roles of the early

church and present church have changed. Howard-Brook states that the Bible rarely talks about the church

meeting for a sermon or prayer. Rather, we often find Jesus going off by alone or with a few friends to pray.2

Now, of course, things are much different. Christians seem to gather more in groups and because of this, it is

important for a pastor to be able to understand certain aspects of church management. The Seventh-day

Adventist Ministers Handbook lists four reshaped principles for church leadership; visualize, organize,

deputize, and supervise.3

To visualize is to understand what is and what ought to be. A church leader should do his or her best to know

where the church has been and exactly where the church is going. This includes areas such as member growth,

missions, and finances. They should also be able to establish goals for the church.4

To organize is to plan for the work ahead. A pastor should find programs and services that will allow the church

to meet its goals. A leader should also ensure the church has the proper resources and personnel to allow for

these goals to happen.5

1 "Calling." Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook. Silver Spring, MD: Association, 1997. 17. Print.
2 Howard-Brook, Wes. "Singing a New Song." The Church before Christianity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001.
37. Print.
3 "Church Leadership." Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook. Silver Spring, MD: Association, 1997.
115. Print.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
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To deputize is to delegate. Leaders often get burned out because they want to do all the work for themselves. I

witnessed this first hand while working under a pastor at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church. This

particular pastor created many new ministries and programs but never asked for help. This appeared to happen

because they were afraid that what they were planning wouldnt turn out right if they let another person do it. A

spiritual leader should understand that their first priority is the growth of a church member, and an active

member will stay in the church.6

To supervise is to be able to give assistance when it is needed. It is very important to let your church members

be involved and do work themselves and a leader must be careful not to micromanage. However, there are times

when a member will need the pastors help to accomplish a certain task. There are also times when a pastor

should recognize a members success and rejoice with them.7

DISCIPLESHIP

Probably the greatest example of effective discipleship is that of Jesus Christ. His method to bring others to

know and love God was much different than one would find at any mega church. Jesus seemed to desire to be in

close contact with the people he was mentoring. Ellen White states, Christs method alone will give true

success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His

sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. The He bade them, Follow Me.8 I

believe that this description for how Christ ministered to others is a great reference for discipleship within the

church.

A pastor should not distance himself from his or her members, as many pastors with large churches tend

to do. I once worked at a church where members only saw the pastor from the podium. During my time there, I

sensed a lack of community within the church and I believe it was partly due to the fact that most of the

members had never had any interactions with the head pastor. Ellen White tells explains, It is highly important

6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 White, Ellen Gould Harmon. The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Pub. Association, 1942.
143. Print.
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that a pastor mingle much with his people, and thus become acquainted with the different phases of human

nature.9 (Gospel workers p. 191)

SALVATION

I believe that it is very important for a minister to understand the role of salvation in a persons life. Christs

sacrifice is the reason why we have hope in the future. This should be the center of the ministers message

because it is the message of the gospel. Ellen White tells us that many people will not know about Christs

salvation because to them it wasnt revealed.10 Her words get stronger when she states, When God sends to

men warnings so important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the midst of heaven,

he requires every person endowed with reasoning powers to heed the message.11 It is extremely important for a

pastor to understand and preach the message of salvation.

SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

The Seventh-day Adventist Ministers Handbook tells us that Pastors may be many things, but one thing they

must be: spiritual leaders.12 A spiritual leader is one who is called by God. Often people seem to be reluctant to

accepting this call, but this calling should be seen not as a burden but as a privilege. 1 Timothy 3 tells us

Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Ellen White affirms this when she says that one of the

greatest works a person can do is to point others to God.13 Because this is a great work, there are things that

need to be done in preparation of the task at hand.

In preparation, it is absolutely essential that one should have a personal relationship with Christ. You cannot

bring until you have been brought. To give to others what you yourself do not have is an impossible and

frustrating task.14 This is why it is important to intentionally spend time with God and work to create a personal

9 White, Ellen G. Gospel Workers. N.p.: n.p., 1892. 191. Print.

10 White, Ellen Gould Harmon. "The Scriptures a Safeguard." Spirit of Prophecy. Vol. 4. Loma Linda, CA:
Peace, 1998. 412. Print.
11 Ibid. 413.
12 "Church Leadership." Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook. Silver Spring, MD: Association, 1997.
113. Print.
13 White, Ellen G. Gospel Workers. N.p.: n.p., 1892. 18. Print.
14 "Calling." Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook. Silver Spring, MD: Association, 1997. 18. Print.
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relationship with Him. Once one has committed to a life of private spirituality, one can be publically spiritual

and if called to do so, be a leader for the church.

Ellen White provides another reason for being grounded in the word of God. She explains that Satan has set up

many traps for Gods people and if we are not securely fastened in what God says, we may fall. White states,

Temptations often appear irresistible because through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible the tempted

one cannot readily remember Gods promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. (SOP 418). If one is

to lead a church, one should be well equipped to handle any temptations that may arise.

I personally believe that the very best example of spiritual leadership comes directly from Christs

earthly ministry. He was revolutionary in his leadership style and chose a path of servant hood and not of greed

or ambition.15 Titus 2:7 tells us to be an example by doing what is good. Christ embodied this mentality by

spending time with people and helping them in any way possible. I personally know several ministers who are

so worried about having a position that they completely forget to apply Christs method of servant hood. They

desire the spotlight and the praise that comes with it. We, as leaders, need to follow Christs example and lead

through serving.

EXPERIENCE IN MINISTRY

Even though I have been connected with ministry since I was in high school, I have never really been involved

in pastoral ministry. The most exposure I have had to pastoral ministry has come from my father who is

currently an associate pastor. Because of this connection and the environment of my home while growing up, I

was easily drawn towards ministry but I never had the desire to become a person who would stand in front of a

crowd and preach. Instead, I searched out opportunities that would allow me to serve those around me while not

being bathed in the spotlight.

This desire led me to work at FLAG Camp, a summer day camp whose mission was to teach kids about

God in an enjoyable way. My experience at FLAG Camp taught me the skill of positivity. I learned very quickly

15 Sanders, J. Oswald. "The Master's Master Principle." Spiritual Leadership. Chicago: Moody, 1967. 23-24.
Print.
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that the most effective way to inspire both the campers and other staff members was to bring a genuine and

upbeat enthusiasm to the work at hand. I found that other people can and will get excited about a certain project

just by being around a person who is genuinely excited. God has given me the ability to make situations

enjoyable and interesting. Even when things would come up last minute and upset others, I could help the

collective morale with my positivity.

In high school, I was also involved heavily in our campus ministries program. While there I better

learned how to plan for a praise team. I had an incredible mentor who not only was a master of music theory,

but also of applying music to worship. I was very impressed with how well he could create an atmosphere of

worship that was meaningful to both the traditional and contemporary church member. Even though I know I

still have a lot to learn when it comes to leading worship, I learned a lot form this man.

My junior year of college I became a resident advisor in the mens residence hall. This job taught me

how to become a more empathetic person. It allowed me to interact with many different young men and

understand both the positive and negative things that they were going through. I was able to step into their

shoes and gain their trust and ultimately gain their trust. I found that this skill to be a valuable one when

making personal relationships. I am able to gain others trust simply because they can see that I genuinely care

about them.

I took a year off of college to work at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church. While there, I served

as the Family and Childrens Ministry Intern. As any stereotypical internship goes, a lot of what I did seemed to

be manual labor. I found myself setting up and tearing down many programs and productions. There were times,

however, where I would be in charge of a certain program such as childrens church. This is where I was

reminded that ministry is ever changing. It seemed that something would always come up that would change

either how we did something or who was involved. This helped me to develop the skill of adaptability. I learned

quickly to stay productive even while adapting to changing demands.

This experience at Kettering also allowed me to help mentor youth. I was able to be the organizer and

leader of the Kettering Youth Praise Band, which helped me learn how to be a developer of others potential. I
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found out that I was good at helping others see their accomplishments. This enabled them to gain satisfaction

and understand that they are valuable and that their contributions matter.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

1 Corinthians 12 tells us that the Holy Spirit distributes many different spiritual gifts. The key to

understanding these gifts is the acknowledgment that spiritual gifts are used to uplift the body of Christ and to

equip the church for ministry. This means that one could have special talents such as management or public

speaking. But if they are not used for the betterment of the church and for ministry, they cannot be considered

spiritual gifts. This is what Paul tells us in Romans 4. He explains that each member of the body of Christ has

spiritual gifts, which while different, are used for the glory of God.

I took The New Spiritual Gifts Inventory created by Roy Naden. This was an assessment to help one

better understand their personal spiritual gifts. It was broken up into five different spiritual gift clusters;

teacher, shepherd/evangelist, helper, counselor, and leader. These clusters are designed to help a person better

understand the general area in which one can find ministries to best serve God.

My results placed me in the helper and leader clusters. I must admit, I was surprised that I scored high in

the leader cluster. I am not sure if I agree very much with that particular result, but I also havent had a lot of

experience as a leader of programs or events. Perhaps with more experience my results would make more sense.

I did, however, agree with being placed as a helper. I find myself searching for ways to help others. I really like

getting involved with many different ministries, even to the point where it could be a problem. Sometimes I am

involved in so many different activities and ministries that I have no time to plan for them or even give my time.

I just want to help and be a part of them.

TEMPERAMENT AND PERSONALITY

Along with the spiritual gifts assessment, I took a temperament self-analysis evaluation. This particular

evaluation was called Understanding Your Temperament and was conducted with a Christian viewpoint. It is

important to understand ones temperament if one wants to be an effective minister. One should understand not

only their strengths, but also their weaknesses and how to improve upon them.
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The assessment broke gave four categories of temperament; phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, and

melancholic. Each temperament has its strengths and its weaknesses and therefore each temperament is

essential in ministry. Many times one temperament type will compliment another and this could possibly lead to

successful ministry.

I found that I scored highest in the temperament scale of phlegmatic. Those in the phlegmatic category

are the calmest and easygoing of the four temperament groups. They also are extremely tactful and have a

strong dislike for conflict. Because of this they are often seen as peacemakers. They excel at making new

friends and are usually very rational. However, they can be seen as being lazy because of how slowly and

deliberately they move. They also usually are not goal-oriented and can be undisciplined.

Even though I scored highest in the phlegmatic category I still have attributes in others. For instance, I

am optimistic and sociable like a sanguine, I am practical and uncomfortable with emotion like a choleric, and I

am cautious and independent like a melancholic. Despite these differences, I do agree with the results of the

assessment and find myself relate most with the temperament of the phlegmatic persons.

I also took a personality test to help me better understand how I can become an effective spiritual leader.

The specific test I took was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which describes 16 different personality types and

helps one find which personality type they most closely resemble. My personality type was described as being

ESFP, which stands for Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving. These definitions explain how I direct

and receive energy, take in information, decide and come to conclusions, and approach the outside world.

Those in the ESFP personality group are lovers of life and of people. They are very social and can find

joy in almost anything. They tend to be realistic, observant, practical, specific, and active. They typically learn

more from doing than from written instructions and tend to do well in school when they can relate their learning

to practical matters or if they can interact with people while doing so. They are generally seen as being flexible,

spontaneous, and bring the element of fun to their work.

I was shocked by how much I resonated with my result. I find that most of the ESFP characteristics

describe me very well. What struck me most was my distaste for traditional schooling. I really cannot function
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well with written instructions and tend to perform best when what I am learning can be applied practically to

life or what I am interested in. The only thing that I found that I disagree with would be the statement that ESFP

personality types prefer to work in groups. I enjoy working on teams when they are good teams, but there are

many times when I think that I can do a higher quality job if I work alone. That is not to say that I am not

sociable, I think that I am an outgoing person, I just often prefer to work alone. Another aspect I tend to disagree

with is the notion that ESFPs like to have the spotlight. In reality, I am a very shy person while in front of a

crowd and do not desire to be the center of attention. I would much rather be working behind the scenes.

GROWTH NEEDS

A very important aspect of an effective leader is not only being able to understand his or her strengths

but also where one needs growth. I have found that while I excel at building personal relationships with others, I

tend to be much less effective in organizational roles. For instance, I have had several opportunities that allowed

me to work with youth in the church. It was very easy for me to get to know them and connect with them on a

personal level and even help them see their potential. When I am at a youth group game night or outing, I feel as

though my strengths in building personal relationships are being effectively used. However, when it would

come time for me to plan a program I always seemed to come up short. I would get something done, but I never

felt it was as good as it could be. I know that this is something that I may never be amazing at, but I do think

that with practice and by surrounding myself with people who are skilled in organization and implementation, I

can and will improve.

I also think an aspect of leadership in which I require personal growth is that of inspiration. Effective

leaders are often known for how well they can inspire a group of people to work toward a common goal.

Because they are able to paint a beautiful picture of what they are envisioning people buy into their ideas and

get excited about the project. This is not something that I am very skilled at doing. I find myself being much

more of a rational thinker and it is very hard for me to articulate my thoughts in such a way as to inspire others.

I am not sure how one can get better at this skill or even if it is a necessary one for effective ministry. But

perhaps with much practice and prayer I can improve on this particular skill.
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LEADERSHIP GOALS

I have been told on many occasions that successful people have goals and work to achieve those goals. I

must admit, I am not the most goal-oriented person. Despite this, I do have several long-term goals that I would

like to accomplish in ministry.

First, I want to become humbler. I need to learn to put my pride aside and surround myself with others

who can be successful where I am weak. I believe that nearly every effective leader has been able to understand

that where they happen to be weak there are others who are strong. Instead of pushing aside these people, they

turn to them and are not afraid to ask for help when they need it. I do realize that there are many things that I am

not strong in. For instance, if I have to play the part of an organizer, I will try my hardest to be the best one I can

be. I will plan the very best program that I am capable of doing, but I know that I this is not my strength and

another person who enjoys planning and organizing would do much better. In doing this, and with Gods help, I

will be able to be a more effective minister.

Second, I want to become a mentor of youth and young adults. Even with my little experience I can see

that there are many young people who are very willing, ready, and capable of being leaders in the ministry. I do

not think our church has done the best job of preparing them to become Christian leaders both in the church and

the secular work environment. I do not have an answer on how to fix this problem and I may never have it. But

I am willing to do my part if God wills it so.

Lastly, I want to make sure that I am a caring father for my family. After hearing so many horror stories

about how pastors kids have left the church and fallen away from God, I realized just how great of a man my

father is. He always made sure to spend time with both his wife and his kids. No matter how tired he was, he

was always willing to go outside with me and play catch. It may not sound like a big thing, but he made sure I

knew that he loved me and cared about me. I can honestly say that I am still in the church because of him, and I

want to live the same godly life for my family as he did for his.
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WORKS CITED

"Calling." Seventh-day Adventist Minister's Handbook. Silver Spring, MD: Association, 1997. 17. Print.

Howard-Brook, Wes. "Singing a New Song." The Church before Christianity. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001.
37. Print.
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Sanders, J. Oswald. "The Master's Master Principle." Spiritual Leadership. Chicago: Moody, 1967. 23-
24. Print.

White, Ellen G. Gospel Workers. N.p.: n.p., 1892. 191. Print.

White, Ellen Gould Harmon. The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Pub. Association,
1942. 143. Print.

White, Ellen Gould Harmon. "The Scriptures a Safeguard." Spirit of Prophecy. Vol. 4. Loma Linda, CA:
Peace, 1998. 468. Print.