Pastor Dix Winston, Crosspoint Community Church, Centennial, CO, suggested to me that a GES FG Pastor’s fellowship on Zoom should be considered. He edited this blog and added some excellent comments.
I agree with DIX (who I call 509 since his name is three Roman numerals equaling that number).
The idea is that the pastors would meet once a month for encouragement and fellowship and a second time monthly for edification. The second session would offer teaching time and Q & A from teachers like Ken Yates, John Niemela, Steve Elkins, Philippe Sterling, Tony Badger, Steve Thurman, and me.
Pastor is not an office in the NT. It is a spiritual gift linked to teaching.
What we call pastors today are often considered to be teaching elders. Sometimes they are not considered elders at all, but are simply men hired by a local church to preach and teach.
The job of the pastor is a difficult one for a number of reasons.
First, Marshall Shelley says that some people in churches are what he calls “well-intentioned dragons (Bethany House, 1994). These dragons can make it very hard for the pastor to do his job.
Second, most pastors serve in churches of seventy-five or fewer people. But small churches lack sufficient members to pay a healthy salary. Many pastors have financial struggles. I spoke at one church where the pastor had to drive a school bus in order to help make ends meet. I spoke at another church where the pastor had to deliver newspapers to hotels, motels, and convenience stores at 4:30 in the morning. Lots of pastors are bi-vocational.
Third, preaching and teaching God’s Word is hard work (Jas 3:1). The average congregant has no idea how hard and how much time goes into the weekly teaching. It is a holy commission few pastors take lightly.
Fourth, pastors are sometimes treated by the members of the congregation as though they are super-spiritual and set apart. The result is that many pastors are lonely and don’t have a lot of close friends in their churches. Nor is it uncommon for those claiming to be friends to end up betraying them.
Fifth, doctrine is a big concern in many churches. Doctrine can divide people. If a church clearly proclaims God’s Word, then many visitors will be turned off and won’t return. There is pressure upon pastors to avoid saying things that might bother someone. While pastors are taught that they are to teach God’s Word boldly and clearly, they are often under pressure to be more inclusive and ecumenical, even if that means distorting the teaching of the Bible.
This is especially true for Free Grace pastors. Since most visitors come from Lordship Salvation or works salvation backgrounds, they will likely leave if they hear solid FG teaching.
I was an elder in a Bible church that decided to institute membership. We decided that new people who wished to join would be interviewed by two elders to review their testimony, doctrinal convictions, and desires for ministry. The first week after this decision was made, another elder and I interviewed a couple who said they believed in Lordship Salvation. They were nice people. But they did not understand or believe the message of John 3:16. When the entire elder board met, everyone but me voted to accept this couple into membership, even though they disagreed with our view on the message of everlasting life. The board’s reasoning? “If we do not accept them for membership, they will leave. But if they stay, they will be exposed to Free Grace teaching and will likely come around in time.”
The Focused Free Grace Pastor’s Fellowship seeks to encourage, educate, and equip pastors to shepherd and feed those given to their care.
If you are a Free Grace pastor and would like to join a GES Free Grace pastor’s fellowship, please email Pastor Dix Winston at dix.winston@crosspointco.org. And if you know of a pastor who might be interested, please give him Dix’s email address.
A common question many have asked is, “What if there is not a Focused Free Grace church near me?” Dix also suggested we begin planting Focused Free Grace home churches. GES wants to help you start a Focused Free Grace church in your town. We are not ready yet but hope to launch this initiative in the next year. If you are interested, please contact Dix and let him know.
