A Matter of Obedience, Part 2

Years ago a church I pastored had a “Statement of Commitment” that explained in concise terms the seriousness of our responsibilities—and the holiness of our roles—as Christian leaders. I want to share it with you.

As you read the words, take the opportunity to reaffirm your commitment to the Lord and to His work. Let me urge you to read it aloud, if you’re able to do that right now.

• I recognize that the Lord, my God, is responsible for my appointment to this place of leadership. I will therefore be His representative, listening to His Word, and obeying His voice as I fulfill my responsibilities.
• Over all other suggestions and advice, I will seek to hear the counsel of Almighty God (as it is revealed in the Scriptures) in every major decision connected with my involvement in this ministry.
• I will take refuge in and rely on the Spirit of God rather than my own flesh and skill or that of any other person. I will make every effort to carry out the leadership of this position under the full control of the Holy Spirit.
• With my whole heart, I will fear the Lord Jesus Christ, my God, and acknowledge Him as the sovereign Head of this church . . . deserving of my unreserved faithfulness, submission, diligence, and commitment. I will honor His name.
• Realizing the strong tendency to compromise with this commitment, I openly declare my dependency on God and my need for others in His family. As a servant of the Lord of the body, His church, I will guard against every temptation from the enemies of godly leadership—

authoritarianism    greed    hypocrisy    rationalization
exclusiveness        sensuality    pride    unaccountability

—and I will fulfill my responsibilities for the greater glory and praise of my Master, Jesus Christ, whom I love and willingly obey.

Does this represent your commitment as a pastor? If it does, I join you in saying, “Amen!” I am sold out to the work of the ministry—whether lonely or surrounded by friends, misunderstood or affirmed, exhausted or energized, resented or respected, all alone with my books in the study or holding forth with my Bible in the pulpit, under the gun or relaxed in the sun. God has called me to lead and that’s exactly what I must do, like it or not, in season or out of season. For me, there are no other options.

It’s a matter of obedience.

—Chuck

Comments

[Ken Ritchie]

Thanks Pastor,

I printed the commitment statement and put it in the front of my notebook that holds my weekly sermon outline. What a great reminder to have before we get up to proclaim the word of God.
My prayer is always that God would help me stay out of His way as the word works on the hearts of the congregation. This statement is a great way of preparing our hearts.

[Albert C. Perkins]

Grace to you. It has been a blessing to read this and all the previous articles. For some reason it is hard to be accountable to others. For example I help the Senior Pastor in ministry (teaching and preaching) but I am accountable to no one. I been praying for 8 to 10 months to find a person to whom I can be accountable but there is none. I have ask publicly for help in that area but no one aproach me and say I want to help you. I don't know what to do. At times I feel very wrong because of this important detail. I will apreciate any guideline to build a team around me that hold me accountable on my conduct, teaching and preaching.
Pray for me.

Albert