BIBLICAL MINISTRY

Biblical Ministry

Abstract

Counseling can be a large joy. What you are as a counselor, how you look at counseling, and what your motives are going a long way toward the results experienced in counseling. Biblical therapy is a must. It is taught so thoroughly in Scripture that the pastor can't miss seeing the tremendous need of being a good Biblical counselor. It is a “one on one” ministry that makes the difference. I have spent hundreds of hours counseling, and I know that the Holy Spirit works in hearts to bring change as we faithfully share God's Word. The need for pastoral counseling in the local church appears to be growing rapidly. Yet, few pastors have received adequate training in the field of counseling. In addition, there is a dearth of Scriptural based materials that a pastor may study and use in order to have the basic tools for counseling.

Biblical Ministry

Introduction

The biblical notion of ministry is service rendered to God or to people. Ministry in the place of worship has as its goal the edification of persons with a view in the direction of business maturity in Christ. The concept of ministry as service is seen in the words diakoneo and their corresponding nouns. The word hyperetes indicates one who gives willing service to another, e.g., servants of the word, of Christ, and of Paul and Barnabas. The phrase leitourgia and its corresponding verb, leitourgeo, often refer to the priestly service of the OT. They are used figuratively in the NT to show financial "ministry" and the pouring out of Paul's life sacrificially in his ministry. This terminology explains Christian examination in general, but in the postapostolic era it is increasingly applied to the distinctive service of clergy as the Christian counterpart to the OT Levitical ministers.

This is glimpsed in I Clement and in the Apostolic Constitutions. Types of ministry seen in Scripture encompass the service of clerics and Levites in the OT, of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers in the NT, along with the general ministry of elders and the individual mutual ministries of all believers. The period "ministry" thus mentions to the work both of those requested to authority and of the entire body of believers. The principles of ministry are revealed in the servant-leadership of Christ gives guidelines as to the spiritual qualities sought in leaders specify the necessary qualities in greater detail. There is a substantial disparity of view concerning the historical development of ministry in the NT and in the early church.

Many have seen a development from a simple charismatic ministry, workout by every Christian in a one-by-one way, to a coordinated or official ministry restricted to a couple of, finally issuing in the monarchial episcopate in the postapostolic period. The Reformation reversed this tendency to a degree. From time to time in the history of the church and again in latest times diverse groups have emphasized the charismatic aspect of ministry.

Most lately, notions of ministry have been changed by ...