A question and a picture
My question, for consideration and comment by all, is this: What is a pastor’s job? What do you consider to be the responsibilities of a pastor? What does the Bible say his job is? What does that entail? (etc., etc., etc.)
To all of you that believe there are no decent young men left out there. To all my female readership who have cynically believed that the good guys are gone, and the godly, faithful, Christ loving man is an extinct creature, or at least married….I would like you to see this picture:
um………well……
That stinks. I have reached my upload limit for this month. I guess I can’t post the picture. Sorry girls. It was a good post. Honest. 
I’ll try again next month I guess.
(Can you tell I’m enjoying dragging this on a bit further? LOL!
Without further adue…to those of you that think a godly guy is harder and harder to find….I present proof that they are still out there:
These guys are some of my dear friends from the International Ministerial Institute. They are, of course, not perfect. (For you gals waiting for a perfect guy, I’d like to encourage you to be content as a single person.) But these fellas are growing in their walk with God, and I could not think of any group I’d rather go into battle with. (Spiritual battle that is. If we go into physical battle, I think I’d rather have some U.S. Marines. No offense guys.) 
So with the exception of the two married fellows in the picture (and just ignore that weird looking guy on the far left) these are some definite possibilities for the young woman that desires a godly mate. I’m not giving any phone numbers out, I’m just giving out some encouragement. They are out there girls. Just be patient. (And if any of you get married to one of the guys in this picture, I want full credit for making the match.) 
And speaking of comments (were we speaking of comments?) I noticed that no one has said anything about the serious side of this post. So I’ll say it again: What is the job of a pastor? 
(See above for more details.)
About The Author
Preacher Dad
Jarod has been a pastor, construction worker, restaurant manager, ministry administrator, children's story teller, author....in no particular order. At heart he is passionate about the Truth, and has been called to proclaim that Truth from an early age. He is committed to his wife and eight children, and seeks to have a lasting impact upon the future by discipling his family. He blogs at PreacherDad.com on parenting, preparing, and cultural impact.
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bawhaha! You are messed up. Momma and I are all but rolling on the floor laughing!
lol. sorry Jarod. Happens sometimes. *shrug*
And hey…I know several good Christian guys who are free and up for grabs. Just not my type of grab. pfh.
You’re gonna leave us hanging?!? ARG! You got my curiosity going. Good thing “next month” is just 3 days away!
I know that guys are not extinct……they just don’t exist! j/k There are a lot of great guys out there! Sometimes it just seems that good girls GREATLY out-number the good guys : ) Sometimes. ; )
Have a good one! ~Adrian
I’m not forgetting it. Just have to tell the part that’s ringing true in me. The rest may be for later.
I agree with Adrian. “Sometimes it just seems that good girls GREATLY out-number the good guys : )” Yeah… It does seem like that sometimes.
Krissy
REPLY TO YOUR COMMENT:
Yes, I think we are “grown women”…..we might have just had a slight lapse into our childhood! Even if I am considered a “child” for my actions…I wouldn’t trade it for a minute! = Þ <3 Adrian
Jarod, You can post more pictures the same way you post your sermon notes. Just use our webserver to upload the picture file and then link to it.
Its next month now Jarod 🙂 Miss having you around here “Bro”.
Thanks for posting the picture Jarod. You look pretty nice in that suit :o) As for the serious side of your post….I don’t want to sit here and think about it for as long as I know I would before I finally gave an answer :o) Ha. I know that’s bad…sorry bro
That last post was by Krissy by the way :o) When all 3 of us sisters share a site I have to remeber to sign my name to the comments I make. Otherwise Katie or Laura might get the credit for my suave comments ;o)
~ Krissy
Okay…I’ll be brave and tackle the question regarding a pastor. I have not had time to study it lately, mind you so these are coming off the cuff so to speak. From what I know of Scripture and Bible History the job of a Pastor is one of Leadership and Guidance. I could post a whole entry myself on what is involved in leadership but I’ll highlight a few things I think stand out. The most noble character of a leader is that of living out what he says beit in a pastoral role or any other calling. You must be willing to do whatever you are asking of others. If you encourage them to spend time in the word and ministry – you must be doing that yourself. If you say they must forgive always, no exceptions – you must do so yourself. If you say they must be actively involved in making disciples – you must be doing so also. As you follow these things and the other principles we see all through Scripture, and live a life with enough evidence to convict you of being a follower of Christ then you will guide others to the Cross. Then moving on to Guidance – here we see the role of a Shepherd. The above mentioned qualities are necessary for a good shepherd – they ensure the safety of the herd as well as the other shepherds in training, if you will. As the “shepherd” lives, teaches, trains and watches after the flock – he speaks a language for which words are unnecessary. And others will desire to have that shepherd working for him – watching after his flock. So—-in summmary, I feel a Pastor’s duty is this:
To place himself under God’s authority and surrender his life to watching after God’s children by teaching them how to:
– Become a Disciple of Christ through the study of Scripture
– Have a pure religion by taking care of Widows and Orphans as we are charged in the book of James(among other places)
– Train Elders and Deacons to assist him in care of those God has placed in his care
– Live a life of Evangelism (not save it for one night a week!)
Whew! This got long! You didn’t know what you were in for….
Maybe this comment will encourage everyone others to leave thoughts!!!!! I would like to know what you think as well….
Great pic by the way…it encourages a girls heart that there are at least…uh…let me count…. twenty-something young men serious about serving the Lord!
Great picture! Thanks for the encouragement! Though we don’t like to readily admit it, I think most Christian girls struggle at some point with wondering if God’s forgotten us and should we just settle for the next-best-thing. But He hasn’t and DON’T! I, for one, have been brought too far to turn back now.
I’m in the middle of a paint project downstairs. Give me the day to think and I’ll post on the “pastor” questions later. See ya!
Lynn says, “Does the ‘ignore the wierd looking guy…’ comment mean you’re unavailable??
Glad to see you’re together – I was just fixing to post a reminder that it was a new month and we wanted to see that picture!
Lynn says, “I figured it was going to be a picture of Matt!”
Later….
No, it doesn’t mean that.
But if I were to sing my own praises, I’d be out of the running for the godly girls right? They wouldn’t want someone that said “Look at me, I’m the guy for you!” So I have to at least fake the humble part in order to snag the good girls. 
(Just kidding of course. I shouldn’t have to say that, but there are some that wouldn’t get the joke. Present company excluded.)
How do you have present company on the Internet? And btw, Daugher, what is that strange picture? Not the one of “you”, but the one with all the pink and the toes?
Present company on the internet??? At work we would simply say something like…”Jarod logic”.
he he….
hey…do ya’ll have IM? We have a chat room for us brothers and sisters( I litterally mean my brothers and sisters – all nine of us) and one other family that we talk in everyother night or so….always has to be more than one. If ya’ll are interested in joining let me know what your IM’s are and we’ll invite you in. We always have a lot of fun..sometimes have a parent or two in as well just to liven things up!
okay…my spelling and punctuation was bad in the previous comment. I meant to say that we talk every other night and there are never only two people. Always has to be at least three…. and I spelled literally wrong! Oh well….
Okay, Mr.”fake humility to snag the girls”…. The word pastor in scripture literally means a shepherd; to tend a flock, pasture it (lead it to food while providing protection); to rule.
In the OT (if my understanding is correct) there seems to be clear distinctions between the roles of Priest, Prophet, Elder and Pastor. The main one for me being that the position of Priest, Prophet and Elder (judge sitting in the gates) didn’t really have the requirements to a personal relationship with the flock. To truly “pasture” a flock, the man had to know the people personally.
In the NT there are also clear distinctions between Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. (Eph 4:11) An interesting fact: there are those men called only to teach, yet from what I’ve studied (rather hurriedly) this week it seems that a man given the gift of Pastor also receives the gift of Teacher – they are one in the same. An Apostle was only called and sent personally by Christ Himself and a Prophet spoke directly to the people for God. Neither were ordained nor did they have successors. Evangelists fulfill the function of proclaiming the good news more so than fill an office/position. Pastors are the shepherd (protector, feeder, ruler) and teacher of the church. Teachers have the duty of giving progressive instruction concerning God’s redeeming purposes. (Notice again how Pastors and Teachers require a personal relationship with the congregation; to fulfill their calling time must be taken with the people. Some of the Apostles needed a similar relationship to “make disciples” but they were still dependant on the pastors to do the majority of the protecting do to their extensive traveling and evangelizing. Plus, the apostles are no more.) Each of these positions qualify as a Preacher: a proclaimer of truth.
A Pastor must view himself as a shepherd and teacher, maintaining a personal relationship with his “flock.” He needs to actively pursue the spiritual protection and provision of his people and should be alert to Satan’s pursuit of them as well as himself (Eph 20:28-31; 1Pet. 5:8-9). He should lead with gentleness following Christ, the Great Shepherd’s, example. Based on the number of times Paul and other church leaders took young men into training and also wrote back for the churches to “follow” their example, I think it’s necessary for a pastor to train/mentor younger pastors. A Pastor should be capable of and will to counsel (which truly is nothing more than shepherding and teaching one on one…).
(btw, stumbled upon Jer. 23:1-2 -God’s warning to unfaithful pastors. God have mercy on today’s church leaders…)
Well, that’s the basics and I didn’t even get into church government!
You asked about all the pink and toes…
It’s a pic of mine, Lynn and Sarah’s feet from the F/D retreat.