Calling a Pastor and the Pastor’s Calling
Last Sunday we marked a high point in the life of our church. We celebrated the testimony of God’s grace to fourteen men and women as they came forward to be baptized in accordance with Jesus’s command in Matthew 28:19–20. The New Testament teaches that baptism is where a person publicly testifies to faith in Christ and where God’s people affirm the credibility of that person’s faith. Baptism is “faith going public”: our public affirmation of a person’s public profession of faith.
Today we mark another high point in the life of our church—we are celebrating the ordination of Max Kozak to service as an elder of Cities Church. So the sermon is going to look a little different than normal. There will be two parts: In the first part, I’m to explain what ordination is and look at what 2Tim tells us how to identify the kind of men we should call to pastoral ministry.
The second part will be very short: I’m going remind us of our responsibility to receive and supporting leaders and then remind Max of his responsibilities on behalf of our congregation. At the end of part two, I’ll invite Max and the elders forward and we will pray for Max as he enters this season of ministry as an elder at Cities Church.
Part 1: Context: What is ordination? [Ordination and who we ordain]
Part 2: Charge: What are our responsibilities? What are Max’s responsibilities? [Our responsibilities and Max’s]
Part 1: What is Ordination?
Ordination is just a “churchy” word for “set apart” or “affirm” or “appoint.” We could call an ordination a “setting apart service” or an “affirmation service” or an “appointment service”—but just calling it an “ordination” is a bit less clunky. The New Testament witnesses to a variety of gifts being poured out by the Holy Spirit upon God’s people. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 12, Paul writes that certain gifts are given to the church
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Ordination is just the church’s public recognition of God’s setting apart a person to ministry for the church. The Scriptures teach us that divine authority flows upward from the members of the local church to its chosen leaders.
Those leaders must meet the qualifications laid out in Scripture (1Tim 3.1–13; Titus 1), experience the internal, personal sense of God’s calling into service of the saints, and have that calling affirmed by the members of the local body.
We see examples of ordination in the church’s appointing of Paul and Barnabas to gospel ministry among the Gentiles in Acts 13 or of the appointment of Timothy to ministry among the Ephesians in 1Tim 4. Ordination developed as a way of acknowledging the continuation of Jesus’s mission through his church. In it we celebrate the fact that Jesus is still pouring out on our congregation gifts to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
It is important to emphasize that ordination is not to a superior ministry than what is given to other Christians. In 1 Cor 12, Paul tells us that gifts of the Spirit are manifested in every believer for the good of the church. Gifts are apportioned “to each one individually as he [the Spirit] wills” (12.11) and every gift is essential to the health and proper functioning of the local church.
Over several centuries, the church fell into a serious misrepresentation of pastoral calling. Ordination became a way of establishing the spiritual superiority of pastors over congregants. In fact, by the sixteenth century, the Roman church believed that only pastors could be called by the Spirit of Christ to ministry in the world. Ordinary believers could not consider their trade or profession a holy calling. The Protestant Reformation, however, corrected that error, by returning the church to biblical faithfulness. Martin Luther wrote:
[pastors] are neither different from other Christians nor superior to them, except that they are charged with the administration of the Word of God and the sacraments.
So, ordination is not the bestowal of some sacred or special status above that of the ordinary Christian. An elder’s calling is not higher, it is humbler. An elder’s service is not superior, it is supportive. Elders are not to be put on some pedestal of spiritual superiority. Elders are super-servants, not super-saints. Elders are workers for our joy in Christ (2 Cor 1.24). Elders are laborers for our holiness and maturity (Col 1.28). Elders exist to equip us for the work of ministry (Eph 4.12). Elders are guardians of gospel purity (1 Tim 6.20; 2 Tim 1:14). Elders are brother-pastors (Rev 1.9); Elders are under-shepherds to the chief shepherd, himself (1 Pet 5.2–4). Ordination signifies that an elder is set apart as a servant to the servants of God.
A friend of mine is shopping for a ring, right now. I’m sure you can imagine what that is for ☺ Have you ever noticed what a jeweler does to show off the beauty and brilliance of a diamond? He places it over a dark background and shines a bright light on it. The dark background, by contrast, highlights the diamond’s sparkle. That’s where our text in 2Timothy comes in. Paul uses verses 3.1–9 as a foil. The counterfeit spirituality of the false teachers is the dark background that highlights the beauty and brilliance of a servant to the servants of God.
In chapter 3, verse 1, Paul is telling Timothy what to expect: “Accept what I am about to tell you, that there will be times of difficulty in the last days.”
When Paul says “in the last days,” he is not referring to some distant time in the future. The apostles, beginning with Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2.17) recognized that the death and resurrection of Jesus had ushered in a new era (Heb 1.1–2).
This new era—or the last days—is the in-breaking of the kingdom of God, when the message of the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus would go to all nations (1Cor 10.11; 1Pet 1.20; 1Jn 2.18). It is a time that is distinctively characterized by the indwelling Spirit of God in the people of God, the church. But it is also a time when the forces of evil will align themselves against God and his redeemed people. Paul reminds Timothy that the last days will also be characterized by those who manipulate the truth for their own selfish ends. What Timothy is seeing now in the church is not just temporary but will continue in the until the return of Jesus at the end of time.
We know that Paul is talking about false teachers because the people described in 3.1–9 “creep into households” (v6) on account of their leadership or influence. Paul also compares them in v8 to two well-known “opposition leaders” in Egypt who tried to show that they could produce the same results as the God of Israel. False teachers might not appear, on the face of things, to be false. Their success and charisma might make it seem like their message is true. But Paul urges Timothy to look more closely at their lives.
What are these men like? Paul uses seventeen adjectives to describe them:
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
Pastor Joe preached on this text when we walked through 2 Tim in 2020. I’d encourage you to go back there to dive a bit deeper. For now, just notice that the thread that ties this list together is selfishness. While it may not be immediately apparent, the selfish leader makes himself, God. And, in so doing, he makes all other things means to his own gratification—even people. That’s what Paul means by verses 6–7.
For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth
False teachers target and leverage vulnerable people—especially those whose faith is not grounded. They take advantage of those who are enslaved to patterns of sin, or who are mired in self-pity, or who hoping for some fresh insight to change their life while reluctant to obey the gospel they have received.
Thus, a warning sign of a false teacher is someone who targets and gains a following primarily among people who are eager for new teaching but fickle in Christian obedience. A counterfeit leader needs people to affirm and praise his excellencies because he is, in fact, a lover of self and swollen with conceit.
Paul compares these spiritual counterfeits to men in Israel’s history—Jannes and Jambres.
In the same way that Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith (3.8)
Jannes and Jambres are the names that Jewish tradition and the early church gave to the two showy magicians who served in Pharaoh’s court at the time of the Exodus. Though Exodus 7–9 itself does not name them, the people of Israel came to associate the two magicians with the ideas of ‘opposition’ and ‘rebellion’ (their names are rough translations of these two terms).
Paul brings them in as illustrations of the counterfeit teachers in Ephesus—crowd-pleasing, attention-seeking men who claimed to have great power but who stood in direct opposition to the God of Israel. In the same way that Jannes and Jambres stood before Pharaoh and opposed Moses, so also these false teachers (v8) “also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.”
And Paul reminds Timothy that the fate of the false teachers in Ephesus will be the same as that of the magicians in Egypt (Ex 8.18-19). Verse 9, “they will not advance to much, for their folly will be manifest to all, as it was of those men.”
The counterfeit spirituality of the false teachers provides a contrast to the kind of leader Timothy should be. Look at verse 10:
2 Tim. 3.10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
Paul contrasts the false teachers with his own ministry—a ministry that Timothy knows well. Nearly twenty years earlier, Timothy had watched Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel at Lystra, when Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city and left for dead (Acts 14.8–23). When Paul returned to Lystra two years later, Timothy joined him (Acts 16.1). Over the next decade and a half, they preached the gospel, appointed elders, planted churches, pastored the church in Ephesus, and sent letters to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, and to their friend Philemon. Perhaps no one knew the gospel Paul preached better than Timothy.
What is this gospel? That Jesus is real (Gal 1.1). That because of his perfect life and substitutionary death we can be reconciled to God (Col 1.22). That in Jesus we find forgiveness of our sin and rebellion and rescue from the wrath that we deserved (Col 1.14). That by faith we are united to Jesus in a new life that will not be defeated by death (Rom 6.3–6). That with Jesus, we are safe from our adversary and from all his works and ways (2 Thess 3.3). That the deepest needs and desires of our hearts are met in Jesus, because we were made for him (Eph 1.3). That Jesus will carry all our burdens and comfort all our sorrows (Phil 4.6). That because we belong to Jesus, he will give us everything that we need (Phil 4.11). That because Jesus reigns, we can live as slaves to none and servants of all (Gal 5.13). That one day soon, Jesus himself will usher us into the fullness of joy at his right hand (1 Cor 11.12). That to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil 1.21).
And what kind of life does the gospel result in? Perhaps no one knew better than Timothy the character the Spirit of Christ produced in Paul.
Timothy saw that Paul lived in dependence on God. Perhaps the place Timothy saw that most clearly was in Paul’s constant dependence upon God in prayer. In every letter, Paul expressed to the churches his constant prayers on their behalf before God. Their joy and progress in the faith depended on God’s work, not his. And so he prayed that God would strengthen the Ephesians “to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and height and depth and to know the love of Christ, that surpasses knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Timothy saw Paul knew the joy of living in holiness. The power for holiness came in living in light of God’s good design. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, while God designed us for satisfaction, for joy, for intimacy, and for pleasure, we often take shortcuts and make good things into gods. Holiness meant restoring goods to the right order by acknowledging God as the giver of all good things.
Timothy saw that Paul made the Scriptures his treasure. Paul’s reminder to Timothy in 3:16 underscores this reality. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The Scriptures don’t simply tell us about God. They are God’s words. Paul’s competence as a pastor, Paul’s usefulness as a servant of God came through making Scripture his treasure.
Timothy saw that Paul gave others God. Paul made it his aim to point others to Christ. Where others made much of themselves, Paul made it his aim for people to see past him to Christ. He constantly labored for others to see that his sufficiency came from Christ, not from himself.
During the Civil War, the Confederacy attempted to destroy the economy of the North by counterfeiting US currency. In 1865, the Treasury Department created the Secret Service to identify and destroy forgeries. To this day, if you ask the Secret Service how to spot a counterfeit bill, they’ll tell you that you don’t discover a forgery by studying counterfeits, you identify counterfeits by studying the genuine article. The way to guard against counterfeit spirituality isn’t to study false teachers. It is to look at their opposite. That’s why Paul exhorts Timothy to remember his gospel and to imitate his way of life.
And that is why the church is selective in whom it ordains as servants to the servants of God. Men who love Jesus and love others. Men who not only know the gospel, but whose lives manifestly display it. Men whose internal subjective calling to gospel ministry, through prayer and fasting, has been affirmed by those who know their life and doctrine.
And we believe, together, this is what characterizes our brother Max Kozak.
Part 2: Our Responsibilities and Max’s
And so now, as a pastor and fellow covenant member, I am calling you, the members of Cities Church, to two things:
First, pray for him.
As an elder, Paul’s repeated request to the churches is “pray for us” (2Cor 1.11; Col 4.3; 1Thess 5.25; 2Th. 3.1; Heb 13.18). Your praying is what God will use to bless others through Max’s proclamation of the gospel (2Cor 1:11). Your praying is what God will use to open doors for Max’s gospel ministry in the most difficult places and with the most difficult people (Col 4.3). It is what God will use to expand the gospel’s reach, quicken its acceptance, and deliver Max from evil and wicked men (2Thess 3.1–2). Your praying is what God will use to preserve him in faith, deepen his sanctification, guard him from sin, give him joy in service, and multiply the blessing he is to you and others (1Thess 5.23-25; Heb 3.18). The Lord Jesus has given us the gift of elders like this man. And he has designed for his work through Max to be accomplished through your prayers. Brothers and sisters, pray for Max.
Second, heed his counsel and follow his instruction.
The calling to eldership is a sober responsibility. It is for those whose qualifications have been examined and whose call has been tested. The members of this body have affirmed God’s calling and found Max fit to serve in the ministry of word and prayer. Your solemn responsibility is to test his teaching and counsel in light of the Scriptures and to follow it. You shouldn’t accept counsel from him that is contrary to Scripture, but you shouldn’t reject counsel from him that you simply don’t like. Remember that he is an under-shepherd to Christ, called to keep watch over your souls as one who will have to give an account (Heb 13.17). He is to feed, correct, defend, protect, heal, and comfort. Be willing to listen with patience, even when it hurts. Believe the best, don’t assume the worst. Let him serve with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Brothers and sisters, heed Max’s counsel and follow his instruction.
Pastoral Charge
Max, this congregation has affirmed you as one called and empowered by the Holy Spirit for service to the church.
As a friend, brother, congregant, and fellow pastor, I charge you with four things:
First: Brother, depend on God.
You are an amazingly competent person. You can fix broken cars, and broken pipes, and broken bodies. You can play multiple instruments and speak multiple languages. You can help me understand the nuance of a preposition in our elder affirmation of faith (and English is my first language). You can write and speak with clarity and precision. But we need and want something better and greater than a competent pastor. We need you to be dependent on God. Show that dependence by being a man of prayer. Pray for us like we see Paul pray for the churches – regularly, sensitively, specifically, urgently. Don’t serve from your own strength. Don’t counsel from your own experience. Don’t love us with your own love. Lean on God to be the source of every work of faith and every labor of love. Max, depend on God.
Second: Brother, be holy.
As our elders say to one another, we don’t care about your giftedness, we care about your holiness. A life of humble service is a sweet blessing, but it is also often difficult, thankless, and marked with a peculiar suffering. Our adversary despises the gospel and he hates those who labor to mature others in it. He will tempt you with ingratitude, self-pity, bitterness, impurity, and a thousand shortcuts to comfort and pleasure. He aims to hollow you out like the teachers of 2Tim 3 to live with an appearance of godliness that actually has the opposite effect. We need you to be holy. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. You must make it your aim every day to live in vital union with Christ. The hope for that holiness is drawing near to Jesus, being shaped by his priorities, discipled by his word, led by his Spirit, serving in his strength. Max, be holy.
Third: Brother, be a man of the Word.
Like Timothy, you have had the great blessing of instruction in the Scriptures from an early age. You have studied them, memorized them, prayed them, and applied them. You have witnessed men and women persevere in indescribable hardship because of their reliance on God-breathed Scripture. Brother, these are God’s words. We need you to know them. Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it. Don’t undervalue their profit for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. As one called to service to the church, the Scriptures are what make you competent, equipped for every good work. Max, be a man of the Word.
Lastly: Brother, give us Jesus.
We are going to be needy. We are going to lose jobs, spouses, and children. We are going to be disheartened and uncertain and lonely and lost. We are going to get sick and face death. You will sit with us as we face suffering of every kind. In those moments, we need you to give us Jesus. We need his fullness. Jesus needs to not only be the source of your ministry, but the substance of it. Point us to his moral beauty, his perfect wisdom, his unfailing love, his unrelenting justice, his fatherly tenderness. Paul’s sober exhortation to preach the word means just that. Give us a great big picture of a great big God in every season and in every situation with complete patience and teaching. Max, give us Jesus. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory, forever. Amen.
Father, we say with the apostle Paul, “who is sufficient for these things?” But you have said “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore we will boast all the more gladly of our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon us. For the sake of Christ, then, we will be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when we are weak, then we are strong.