THE PRIMACY OF THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Ministering the Word Comprehensively.
When I first started to learn about Christianity as a new believer, there was this major emphasis on the primacy of preaching. Throughout Bible college it was reinforced that this was the most important and necessary thing, and so every other part of ministry was considered secondary. Once we were even told to do our counseling from the pulpit! But the nature of biblical oversight of God’s people demands much more than preaching. Of course, preaching is emphasized in Scripture in various places, for example, the importance of preaching is mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Paul exhorted Timothy to preach and teach, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:2. Elders must be able to preach and teach, implying both public and private ministry of the Word. Counseling is very much a part of that private ministry as seen in Paul’s ministry, Acts 20:20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,…31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. Colossians 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. Preaching, teaching, and counseling, is the complete package that the elder must be capable of doing as he shepherd’s God’s people.
For many years I preached three times a week, people came to Christ because of preaching, believers were edified, and God was glorified, the church worshipped together. I love preaching! Preaching is heralding forth a message; it is standing in God’s behalf. It builds our faith, it has a sanctifying effect, it displays the gospel, it exalts the Lord in His glory, it leads us into and through worship, it breaks down the barriers of hardened hearts, there’s nothing like preaching that changes the course of one’s heart. Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 7:54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. Preaching moves the heart to respond, that is what preaching, discipleship, and counselling should do, cause people to respond from the heart level. “Indeed, a strong Biblical case could be made that unless preaching penetrates deeply enough to affect the inner life, it is not preaching at all. True Biblical preaching changes people. It did in Bible times, and there is no reason why it will not do so today.”[1] It should affect our faith from the heart level. Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Preaching is the platform for much of what God does through a ministry, but it is not the all-encompassing platform for everything that God does in ministry. And that is what the emphasis of this paper is about, the primacy of the ministry of the Word in every way it is communicated.
Preaching Is a Monologue; Counseling Is a Dialogue
The importance of the Word of God being preached is certainly not at issue here, it is when a sermon ministry is the primary focus, as opposed to the comprehensive ministry of the Word within a ministry. When the primary function of an elder is to only preach or teach, and do administrative work, to only touch base with people, but not really get into their lives, hands on shepherding takes a back seat. “There is nothing to compare with the joy of seeing a life grow in front of you. You don’t get that if all you have is your study and your pulpit.”[2] Elders must dive into the life of the sheep. Preaching is a monologue; counseling is a dialogue. When you sit in front of someone and must grapple with them through life issues, you grow with them in a vastly different way, you’re growing in ministry in a very different way. David Powlison writes, “Talking one to one about what matters in life is the only way you’ll ever really get to know people. And knowing people is the only way you’ll ever learn to preach to them.”………“I’ve often heard “ministry of the Word” equated with “the pulpit.” One sometimes gets an idealized image of the preaching pastor as a man who moves from the contemplation of his study to the proclamation of his pulpit without ever needing the messiness of life to sully his message! This is surely a false ideal of biblical ministry. We need only consider that the majority of our Lord’s ministry was conversational, asking and answering questions, and responding to interruptions.”…. [3]
An elder’s work is much more comprehensive than preaching or teaching. It is shepherding, it is living among the sheep, God’s people, counseling them, struggling with them, discipling them, growing with them. It’s not about preaching, it’s not about teaching, it’s not about counseling, the primary focus is not on any one of these as we communicate God’s word, it is the balance of all three, it’s the primacy of the ministry of the Word. It looks personal like Acts 20 ministry, see, https://christinyoucounseling.com/the-ministry-of-the-word/. Commenting on ministry imbalance John Street states, “Personal ministry…….would be Acts 20, and Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian elders. In that scene he is passing the baton to the leadership of the church, a non-apostolic generation like us. When he addresses them, he’s addressing me. He’s saying, “Here’s what I want you to do in terms of ministry.” He sets his own life up as an example. In Acts 20:20 he says, “I preached publicly and then went from house to house.” He talked about the fact that for three years “I went to each of you, day and night with tears.” I did not have that perspective at all coming out of seminary. My view of the ministry primarily was forty hours a week in the study, some occasional administration, making some evening calls on people, hospital visits, and preaching and teaching on Sunday. That was it. The rest of the time was preparation and isolation and reading all my books. Oh my, ministry seemed so easy from that perspective! Who wouldn’t want that?”[4] [5]
Every elder has particular gifts, some are better at certain things than others because of a particular giftedness, but all should be capable of doing Acts 20 ministry. Is preaching everything? Again, every elder should be able to minister God’s Word in whatever form necessary to reach people, because the Bible does not teach the primacy of preaching, it teaches the primacy of the ministry of the Word. Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” Here we see in the early church the emphasis upon the primacy of the ministry of the Word, not preaching, not teaching, not counseling/discipleship, but ministry of the Word in every format.
The point is that ministering the Word of God is more than preaching, more than teaching, more than counseling/discipleship. It is skillfully communicating the Word of God in such a way, that it brings about change in people’s lives through the combined effort of all these modes of communication. It is intensely and accurately ministering the Word of God in concord with the Holy Spirit’s purpose for which He preserved it in order that believers may become like Christ. It involves “listening to God’s Word and receiving it as the Holy Spirit interprets it, in application to oneself”.[6] It is a combination of ministering God’s Word in every way possible to articulate and apply God’s Word to the heart, and then see it reproduced in the life of believers, so that they may be useful in the local church. Ministry of the Word should be practical, specific, and relevant to life. The end goal of preaching, teaching, discipleship/counseling, should be to glorify God, by communicating God’s Word in such a way that people become more like Christ through the ministry of the Word in any format.
Counseling/Discipleship Is Not Something That’s Fundamentally Different Than Preaching
“Counseling/discipleship is not something that’s fundamentally different than preaching, but fundamentally the same. It’s the Word of God. It’s the Word of God accurately divided. It’s the Word of God accurately divided to people in need of life-giving truth to bring light to the dark places of their life, their world, where they live, how they think, etc. It’s not just something that brings a clever set of techniques, formulas and methods to people so they can change behavior and live with less stress and pressure or make life easier. It is something that is primarily concerned with bringing people face to face with God and what He requires of them in heart (how they think, what they want, what they think they need, desire, must have, etc.) and life (how they flesh out and observe God’s commands).”[7]
“The “preaching-only” mode of ministry neglects personal involvement with the flock. Preaching alone is not the New Testament model. Most men in the ministry call themselves “pastors,” but in reality, they are simply “preachers.” To pastor means to shepherd sheep Psalm 78:70-72. But most men were trained primarily to deliver sermons. It is no wonder that when a real problem arises among the flock, they are quick to ship the sheep to a nearby psychologist or psychiatrist and return to their all-important study of the “dating of the exodus.” [8]
Preaching, discipling, and counseling, all weaved together collectively to fulfill Matthew 28:19, 20, Ephesians 4, as well as Acts 6:4 and Acts 20:17-35 ministry. This is a comprehensive approach to ministry; where the full impact of preaching, discipling, and counseling, come together to help equip the Saints. One is not more important than the other, preaching, discipling, and counseling, are balanced, each has a significant role in the church. Preaching is part of how we worship, discipling is part of how we grow and change together, counseling is growing and changing together through the difficulties of life. Everyone should be engaged in worship, discipleship, and counseling. Paul reminded believers in Rome, Romans 15:14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
Our preaching, teaching, discipling/counseling, should all sound the same, it should complement each another, all are accomplishing Acts 6:4 ministry of the Word. We can’t have worship without the preaching of the Word, we can’t have growth without discipling with the Word, and we can’t have healing through the Word without counseling. Everything must be balanced, and dovetail together to have comprehensive ministry of the Word. All should have equal emphasis in the minds of those who sit in the pew, and those who lead the church. “Counseling, when it comes into its own, will cohere intellectually and structurally with every other form of the church’s ministry: worship, preaching, teaching, discipleship, child rearing, friendship, evangelism, mercy works, missions, and pastoral leadership. Counseling ought to operate within the same worldview and with the same agenda that all ministry for Christ must have.”[9]
When Public Ministry Is the Center of Ministry
Christian growth suffers when personal discipleship or biblical counseling is not equally emphasized. The comprehensive ministry of the Word as shown in Acts 20:17-35 suffers. Marriages as well as many other personal difficulties of life cannot be solved by hearing preaching or indirect discipleship that does not specifically address the exact personal problem that the person is experiencing. “Preaching should be a preventive process and counseling/discipleship a restorative process. Good shepherding requires both.”[10]
Preaching is not everything, discipling is not everything, counselling is not everything, the balance of all three is everything, that’sthe primacy of the ministry of the Word. Each should have equal airtime and access, so that the church knows their ministry has a comprehensive approach of helping them grow in Christ. One part of the ministry should not be emphasized over the other, all are important because all of them are teaching the church how to observe, Matthew 28:20.
“Many pastors don’t make and take time for serious talking with people. In effect, they are counseling people to think that most of us don’t need the give and take of candid, constructive conversation. This absence of engagement, whether intentional or not, communicates that the care and cure of wayward, distractible, battered, immature souls—people like us—can be handled by public ministry and private devotion. The explicit wisdom of both Scripture and church history argues to the contrary.” [11]
How the church teaches her people to observe can be done in all kinds of ways, through preaching, teaching, personal mentoring/discipleship/counseling. The point is that it is God’s truth being communicated accurately for the purpose of shaping the heart and changing the life into the conformity of Christ. It is the process of bringing redeemed people into conformity to the teachings of God’s Word and doing that together through the many avenues of communicating God’s Word, for His glory.
Jesus Model of Shepherding Included Teaching and Instruction
as Well As Modeling.
There was involvement not aloofness or a professional relationship in the lives of Jesus and His disciples. In other words, Jesus did not call them to just listen to His lectures. He did not say get around me once a day for a 60-minute lecture. He modeled life in front of them. They spent time with Him, He showed them, sorrow when Lazarus died, eloquence in social graces, loneliness and tiredness, every conceivable situation. He nurtured, and cultivated them, making them increasingly more like Himself, and He did this living life with them. He took them aside specifically and privately. Matthew 20:17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside……. Jesus lived life with them in the milieu. Mark 3:14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach. He taught them. Mark 10:32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, Jesus’ ministry was much more than the public proclamation of God’s Word, it was the intimate ministry of one-on-one discipleship as well. This kind of ministry was also reproduced by the reformers who did not make a distinction between the public and private ministry of the Word, but emphasized equal and balanced comprehensive ministry of the Word.
Richard Baxter lived from (1615 – 1691) and wrote one of the standards for pastoral ministry called The Reformed Pastor. He wrote, “a minister is not merely a public preacher, but to be known as a counselor for their souls, as the physician is for their bodies, and the lawyer for their estates: so that each man who is in doubts and straits may bring his case to him for resolution.”[12] Richard Baxter was intimately involved with counseling/soul care.
Martin Luther said of pastors, “Men who hold the office of the ministry should have the heart of a mother toward the church; for if they have no such heart, they soon become lazy and disgusted, and suffering, in particular, will find them unwilling… Unless your heart toward the sheep is like that of a mother toward her children – a mother, who walks through fire to save her children- you will not be fit to be a preacher. Labor, work, un-thankfulness, hatred, envy, and all kinds of sufferings will meet you in this office. If then, the mother heart, the great love, is not there to drive the preachers, the sheep will be poorly served.” [13] Luther believed in personal, intimate, private ministry of the Word.
John Calvin in his commentary on the book of Acts writes, “Publicly, and throughout every house. This is the second point, that he [the Apostle Paul] did not only teach all men in the congregation, but also everyone privately, as every man’s necessity did require. For Christ hath not appointed pastors upon this condition, that they may only teach the Church in general in the open pulpit; but that they may take charge of every particular sheep, that they may bring back to the sheepfold those which wander and go astray, that they may strengthen those which are discouraged and weak, that they may cure the sick, that they may lift up and set on foot the feeble (Ezekiel 34:4), for common doctrine will oftentimes wax cold, unless it be holpen [helped] with private admonitions.” “Wherefore, the negligence of those men is inexcusable, who, having made one sermon, as if they had done their task, live all the rest of their time idly; as if their voice were shut up within the church walls, seeing that so soon as they be departed thence, they be dumb.” [14]
There’s a difference between a preacher and a pastor as Baxter, Luther, and Calvin point out. You can hear it in the voice of Paul’s intense soul care emphasis in the following verses. Galatians 4:19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.
From the pulpit and teaching/discipleship ministry, to the individual that needs someone to come along side of them in counseling, those who hear preaching should not be able to distinguish between what is privately counseled, and what they hear preached or taught publicly each week in the other forms of church ministry, it should blend together. It should all be publicly and equally emphasized as the Word ministered comprehensively.
“We are in great debt to the Reformation pastors for their example of holding to the teaching of the Scriptures. They encourage us to follow Christ in the major aspects of pastoring. One thing is sure. They were more than preachers. After reviewing of the great Reformation giants, whether one needs encouragement or a change of heart going forward, this final quote by Dr. Ray Van Neste, can help any minister solidify a righteous and dependent determination regarding soul care. “Young Theologs, if your main activity is discussing theology but it does not result in a deep love and concern for people, you are no heir of the Reformation, regardless of your theological positions. Pastors and those who desire to be pastors, if your idea of pastoral ministry is limited to the pulpit, then you are no heir of the Reformation regardless of the length or theological weight of your sermons. The Reformers, mirroring Christ and the apostles, were deeply involved in the lives of their people, aware that they would be called to account for the oversight of their souls Hebrews 13:17. A passion for souls requires the knowledge of specific souls and involvement in the messiness of their everyday lives.” (The Care of Souls,” Themelios, Vol 39, #1p.63) [15]
Helping Gods People Learn How To Live And Connect
With Their Theology
This was the target of the Reformers concern, helping Gods people learn how to live and connect with their theology by every means of communication. Applying truth to their everyday lives. We need theological study because what is not properly understood cannot be properly applied. Comprehensive ministry of the Word puts handles on theology, so that theology becomes a practical outflow of one’s life. “As explained by John Frame, this is the task of theology: The only term I know that is broad enough to cover all forms of biblical teaching and all the decisions that people make in their lives is the term application. To apply Scripture is to use Scripture to meet a human need, to answer a human question, to make a human decision. Questions about the text of Scripture, translations, interpretation, ethics, Christian growth—all these are fair game for theology. To show (by word or deed) how Scripture resolves all these kinds of questions is to apply it. So, I offer my definition of theology: theology is the application of Scripture, by persons, to every area of life.”[16]
That is how we should go about ministering the Word of God comprehensively, our preaching, teaching, and discipling/counseling ministry, should provide clarity to our theology, and result in application to everyday life. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Ministering God’s Word in application format, by all means of communication, so that our theology grips people in such a way, that they will desire to grow and change by becoming more like Christ, that’s the result of comprehensive ministry. That’s why we must have equal emphasis upon preaching, teaching, and discipleship/counseling. This is the primacy of the ministry of the Word for God’s glory. God’s glory being the centerpiece in the primacy of the ministry of the Word. For God’s glory let’s emphasize and model the primacy of the ministry of the Word.
[1] Preaching To The Heart, Jay E. Adams, Timeless Texts, Stanley, NC
[2]A Nouthetic Philosophy of Ministry: Interview with Steve Viars, David Powlison, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Spring 2002, # 3, vol 20, The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. For a definition of the word Nouthetic, read Competent to Counsel, By Jay E. Adams
[3] Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community, David Powlison. New Growth Press.
[4] Article Exegete the Bible; Exegete the Person: An Interview with John Street, David Powlison The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Winter 1998, # 2, vol 16, The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, Powlison, David
Download and read here. https://faithconnector.s3.amazonaws.com/nlcwh/files/counseling_toolbox/definition/exegeting_the_person.pdf
[5] I found the article Exegete the Bible; Exegete the Person: An Interview with John Street in my research, I did not read this article prior to writing this paper. Friends of mine who are in ministry have been talking about this for many years in the same exact ways. This article in no way diminishes the role of preaching, I am simply trying to articulate a balance in ministry as Paul modeled in Acts chapter 20, which is discussed in this article, and here, https://christinyoucounseling.com/the-ministry-of-the-word/
[6] Knowing God, J.I. Packer, InterVarsity Press 1973
[7]The Biblical Basis For Biblical Counseling/discipleship, Dr. Bill Hill, Lesson. Chicagoland Biblical Counseling Conference 2004
[8] This quote is from an unknown source in my computer files, probably some notes I have had from past NANC meetings.
[9] Cure of Souls by David Powlison, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Spring 2007, # 2, vol 25, The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation
[10] Why Is Counseling/discipleship Training Important For Your Church?, John D. Street, pg. 7, NANC Seminar, 1999
[11] The Pastor as Counselor By David Powlison
[12] The Reformed Pastor, The Oversight Of The Flock, Richard Baxter
[13] What Luther Says: A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian, ed. Ewald M. Plass
[14] Commentary on the book of Acts, John Calvin Volume 2, Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Acts 20:20, https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom37/calcom37.viii.iii.html
[15] More than Preachers: The Solas and Soul-Care, of the Reformers, Stuart Scott, The Journal of Biblical Soul Care Fall 2017 | Volume 1 | Number 1 masters.edu/jbsc
[16] Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief, John M Frame, P&R Publishing. Chapter 1; David K. Clark, To Know and Love God: Method for Theology (Wheaton: Crossway, 2003)