We move now to the fourth of the primary spiritual gifts. These are special abilities God provides for we who are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We each have supernaturally received at least one gift and probably more. God decides which gifts go to which individual based on his all-knowing wisdom. The gifts are given for our use to minister to the Body of Christ and will also assist us in the many other roles we fill as men.
Although there are several lists of gifts in Scripture, we begin with the five primary gifts God provides to edify the Body of Christ. The Apostle Paul lists them for us in Ephesians 4:11. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,”
We are using the visual image of a hand to help us remember these five primary gifts and their purposes. We have discussed the Apostle and represented this gift by the thumb. The Apostle is one who is sent to start new things. We moved then to the Prophet, represented by the pointer finger since the prophet needs to be “in your face”. It is his role to speak the hard truth, regardless the fall out. He keeps the body in line. The Evangelist stands tall to be seen by those who need the message of salvation and is represented by the tallest finger.
The last two on the list of primary gifts are closest to my heart because these are two of the gifts God has offered to me. Today we discuss the gift of Pastor. We are all aware that this title is given to represent a role that is filled by an individual who gives leadership to a local body. I have the role of Pastor. People who fill this role have a variety of giftedness and are called on to fill the purpose of all five of these as they administer this responsibility. Some are stronger in one or two of these areas than others. Our discussion will not look at the role of Pastor, but at the gift. You do not need to have the role to be able to utilize the gift.
The primary attribute of the gift of Pastor is a heart that has a passion to care for people. This gift is often compared to a shepherd who watches over sheep to assure no harm comes to them and their basic needs are met. If you have a strong desire to comfort and protect people in the body of Christ, you have the gift of Pastor. This man is one who can nurture someone in difficulty. He may not be able to solve the problem but offers comfort and hope in the middle of the struggle.
One caution for those with this gift. This person often leans so far toward offering grace to people that he misses the opportunity to declare difficult truth. This is not a neglect of the Word, but a desire to not increase their burden. It is important for someone who has the pastoral gift to assure they have some Prophets around them to challenge them.
The gift of Pastor is great for dads. To be able to support your children with obvious care and concern for their physical, emotional, and spiritual lives is a strong model of the character of Christ. Also, the Pastor can serve as a peacemaker and support in the work environment. This person is a loyal friend in their personal relationships and often finds people coming to him for advice.
In our hand illustration, the Pastor is represented by the ring finger. This is where we display our symbol of our love and compassion for our wives.