What is Pastoral Counseling?

Pastor, a profession, is a person who is responsible for leading and caring for other Christians in the Protestant church in general. The wording in the original text of the Bible is meant by the shepherd. Treatment and support are the primary duties of a pastor. The priest heals and defends his companions with loyalty to their faith.

[mù sh]

Pastor, a profession, is in general Christ

Main difference

The difference between a priest and a priest belongs to Christianity (broad)

First, this person must be a Christian who has been baptized.

In China, you usually need to be at least 18 years old. Second, the person must meet in the church for one year, attend a Mu Dao class for 3 months, and talk through it. If the parent wants the newborn to be baptized, the pastor can also baptize it.

If a believer is called by God to become a priest, he needs to apply to the seminary for theological study. High school graduates can apply for provincial seminaries; high school students can enter directly

1. Now we are talking about the pastoral office that the Lord has set up to manage the church. Because although only the Lord should exercise managerial rule in the church, which is above all else, and only his words should have the right to exercise such managerial rule, yet he neither physically lives among us, proclaiming his will to us, As we have mentioned, he is using the position of pastor to serve as his representative, and this is not to transfer to him his power and honor, but to do his work by their tongues, Just as a technician uses tools to do his work. I have mentioned a few points and I need to repeat them here. It is true that he can do these tasks himself, without having to borrow people or tools, or even by angels; but there are many reasons why he would prefer to do them.

First, he used this method to show his love for us, because he chose some people from the world to serve as his ambassadors, to explain his mysterious will, and even to represent him. In this way, he repeatedly called us his temple, and it was not meaningless, because he even used human mouths to answer people, as if answering from his sanctuary.

Secondly, this is the most beautiful and beneficial way to make us humble, because then he tells us to be obedient to his words, although these words are preached by people like ourselves, and sometimes even by people below us. If he spoke from heaven himself, it would not be surprising that his holy man was immediately obeyed, respected, and accepted. For who can not be intimidated by the power of the Lord's presence? Who has seen the infinite dignity of the Lord without falling to the ground immediately? Who has seen the glory of the Lord without being astonished? But when a despised mortal preaches to us in the name of God, if we are willing to be taught by his servants, that is, pastors who are no better than ourselves, this is the most sufficient expression of our devotion and respect for God. Already. Therefore, he also placed the treasure of his heavenly wisdom in fragile pottery (2 Corinthians 4: 7), in order to further prove that we value this wisdom. In addition, there is no other way to promote brotherhood more than interrelated unity. That is, a person is made a pastor and teaches others, and those who are commanded to be disciples receive the same from his mouth. reason. Because if everyone is self-sufficient and doesn't need help from others, then human nature is so proud that everyone can't help but despise others and be despised by others. Therefore, in order to unite his church, the Lord used one of the methods by which he foresees the best unity of believers, by entrusting the doctrine of eternal life and salvation to some people and passing them on to others. Paul had this in mind when he wrote to the Ephesians. He said, "There is only one body and only one Holy Spirit. As you are called, there is one hope, one Lord, one faith, one God, and all people. The Father is above all, permeates them, and dwells among them. Each of us is blessed with the gift that Christ has given to each one. So the Scripture says, 'He rises In the high heavens, he ransacked the enemy and rewarded everyone with gifts. (As for ascending, is nt it descending first? The descending one is ascending to the heavens to fill everything. He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, priests, and teachers to fulfill the saints, fulfill their duties, and build the body of Christ; until all of us are united in the truth and know God The son can grow up to be full of Christ's body, so that we are no longer little children, caught in human tricks, and deceptive spells, shaken by all the winds of heathenism, and fluttering, and follow each Such heresy. But speak honest words with love, grow in everything, even with the head Christ; the whole body is joined together by him, according to each of the functional section one hundred, according to the function of each body, help each other, they called the body grows and builds himself "in love (Eph. 4: 4-16).

2. In this passage Paul shows that the ministry that God uses to govern the church is the main sustaining unity of believers. He also stated that the church cannot be fully secure unless it maintains itself in the way God has prescribed to keep it. He said, "Christ ascended to heaven to fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). His approach is as follows: He grants his gifts to the church through the pastors appointed by him and receiving talents, and he even works on them through the power of the Holy Spirit, showing that he is with it so that it is not in vain. Fruit. This is how the saints are restored; so is the body of Christ; this is how we grow in all things, connected to the Head of Christ, and united with each other. This is how we all are one in Christ, as long as it is a prophetic prophecy Prevailing among us, as long as we accept the apostles, don't underestimate the Cause given to us. Therefore, those who want to abandon or degrade this pastoral and religious affairs are trying to destroy the church organization or even completely destroy the church. Because the light and heat of the sun, and diet, are necessary for the nutrition and maintenance of worldly life, they are not as good as the apostles and ministers, and they are necessary to preserve the church in the world.

3. So, as I mentioned, God often praises us for the dignity of the pastor, so that we can show the highest respect for it. When he commanded the prophet to call and say, "How good is this man's footsteps, who has good news and tells peace" (Isa 52: 7), when he calls the apostle "the light of the world" and "the salt of the world" (Matthew 5 : 13-14), he made it clear that he raised a master for the world and gave them a special grace. He said, "Everyone who obeys you obeys me" (Luke 10:16), and this makes the pastor's office so prominent. But the most noteworthy is a passage in Paul's 2 Corinthians which discusses this topic openly. He said that there is nothing more beautiful or glorious than the preaching of the gospel in the church, because this is the preaching of the Holy Spirit, righteousness, and eternal life (2 Corinthians 3: 6 and below). These verses and similar verses are for the preservation of the ministry appointed by the Lord to continue to manage the church, so that it will not be despised and will eventually be abandoned. How important is the ministry, not only was the Lord proclaimed it with words, but it was also illustrated with examples. When he was willing to make Cornelius clearer in the light of truth, he sent angels from heaven to Cornelius. When he was willing to tell Paul to know him and join him in the church, he did not speak to him with his own voice, but sent him to a man to receive the doctrine of salvation and sanctifying baptism. If the angel who is the angel of God does not announce God s will by himself, but sends one person to announce it, and if he is the only master of the believer, he will deliberately mention him to heaven on the third level, and receive an inexplicable revelation there. Paul, entrusted to a person to teach, then, who dares to despise the pastoral service and regard it as unimportant? The importance and usefulness of this pastoral service is something God has readily shown.

4. For those who were set up by Christ to govern the church, according to Paul, the first is the "Apostles", the second is the "Prophets", the third is the "evangelists", the fourth is the "Pastors", and finally It is the "teacher" (Eph. 4:11). Of these, only the last two have regular positions in the church; the rest were raised by the Lord at the beginning of his kingdom, or at special times, due to the needs of the times. The nature of the apostle's office can be demonstrated by a command from the Lord: "Go and preach the gospel to all peoples" (Mark 16:15). There are no restrictions on this. The whole world is assigned to them, so that they can obey Christ all over the world; that they may spread the gospel everywhere to build His kingdom among the peoples. Therefore, when Paul wanted to prove his apostleship, he declared that he had not only won a certain city for Christ, but preached the gospel everywhere, and he did not build a church on the basis of others, but instead built the church on Pass the place of the main name. Therefore, "apostles" are missionaries who want to transform the world from disobedience to obedience to God and to establish the kingdom of God universally by preaching the gospel. They may also be called the church's first engineers, appointed to the world by the Lord to lay the foundation of the church. Paul did not call the name "prophet" to anyone who explained God's will, but only to those who received special revelation from God. Today the prophets are either absent or insignificant. "Gospel preachers", as far as I know, are less honorable than the apostles, but they do the same after the apostles. That is, such as Luke, Timothy, Titus, and others; the seventy disciples that Christ established at the time of the apostle are also such people (Luke 10: 1). According to this interpretation that I consider to be fully consistent with the text and meaning of the apostle Paul, these three positions are not regular positions established in the church, but only for the church planting period, or at least Established from the time of Moses to Christ. However, I do not deny that even after that period, God sometimes raised apostles or evangelists, and this is also true in our modern times. Because we need such people today to restore the church from the disobedience of the Antichrist. However, I would like to call this a very special office because it is not counted in regular church organizations. But "priests" and "teachers" are integral to the church. The difference between the two of them, as far as I know, is this: the teacher is not responsible for carrying out the discipline, performing the sacraments, or giving counsel, but only explaining the Bible to keep the believers in good faith; Including it all.

Priest

V. We have now determined what office is appointed to manage the church temporarily and what office is permanently established for the church. If we consider the evangelism to be like the apostles, we have two positions that fit each other. Our pastor is like the former apostle, and our teacher is like the ancient prophet. The office of the prophet is more honorable than the office of the teacher because of the gift of special revelation, but the office of the teacher has the same nature and the same purpose. Therefore, the twelve individuals chosen by the Lord to rank first and preach the gospel to others in terms of grade and honor. Because, according to the literal meaning, all pastors can be called apostles, because they are sent by the Lord and his messengers, but they are responsible for making the world know those who have never heard of the new truth before propaganda. Since its mission is very important, for the twelve apostles and Paul who will be added later, a special title must be used to separate them from others. Paul himself, of course, added this name to Andonicus and Tunisia, saying "they are famous among the apostles" (Romans 16: 7); but when he spoke strictly, he only told us This name is not used outside the apostle of the first rank. This is also common usage in the Bible. But the minister's office is the same as that of the apostles, but they are governing the individual churches that are committed to them. Regarding the nature of their duties, we will now explain them further.

6. When our Lord sent the apostles, as we mentioned earlier, he appointed them to preach the gospel and baptized the believers for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 28:19). He commanded them before, and according to his example, gave the divine symbols of his body and blood to believers (Luke 22:19). Behold, this sacred, inviolable eternal law is added to those who profess to be apostles; this law commands them to preach the gospel and perform sacraments. Therefore, we conclude that those who neglect these two duties cannot pretend to have the character of an apostle. So, what do we say about the pastor? The following words of Paul refer not only to himself, but also to all those who share the same office. He said, "People should regard us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4: 1). He also said: "Supervision must adhere to the truth taught, so as to persuade people of pure teaching and to refute those who argue" (Titus 1: 7, 9). From these and common similar passages, we can infer that preaching the gospel and performing sacraments are the two main duties of a pastor. Lessons are not limited to public speaking, but also include private exhortations. So Paul said to the Ephesians: "I have nothing to avoid that which is good for you, or in front of everyone, or in each family's house, I teach you, and I prove to Jews and Greeks Repent to God and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. "He later said," I shed tears day and night, and advise you each "(Acts 20:20, 21, 31). But I don't intend to enumerate all the benefits of a good pastor, but I want to show what the pastor's position contains; that is, the pastor governs the church not for salary, but for Use the doctrine of Christ to teach true devotion, to perform sacraments, and to practice discipline. Because the Lord has warned watchmen in the church that if they are negligent and perishable, they will pursue their sins (Ezek. 3:17, 18). Paul's words about himself also apply to them. He said, "If I don't preach the gospel, it is woeful," because "this responsibility is entrusted to me" (1 Corinthians 9:16, 17). In the end, every apostle who does what the apostles do to the people of the world should also do to the trusted flock.

7. Although we assign individual churches to pastors, we do not deny that the pastor who manages a church can also assist other churches, that is, if there is a dispute, he can resolve it on the spot, or if he has a problem, he can enter advice. But in order to maintain the tranquility of the church, it is necessary to clearly define the responsibilities of each person, so that everyone will not be in chaos, run around and crowded together; and those who care more about their own convenience than they care about the shepherd of the church Leave the church at will for no reason. Such a rule should generally be followed as much as possible, so that everyone can share their own responsibilities and not intrude into the scope of others. This is not a fabrication of man, but a system established by God himself. Because it is written that Paul and Barnabas chosen the elders in the churches of Lystra, Ekonim, and Antioch; (Acts 14:21, 23), and Paul himself directed Titus in Establish elders in every city "(Titus 1: 5). In other Epistles, he also mentions "the supervision of Philippi," (Philippians 1: 1) and the supervision of Colosse, Agib (Col. 4:17). Another famous passage from Paul to the "elders of the church of Ephesus" is preserved for Luke (Acts 20:17 and below). Therefore, whoever is in charge of governing a church should know that he is bound by this law because of God's calling; this is not to say that he is fixed in his post and cannot leave in a normal way, that is, Or his departure is beneficial to everyone; rather, a person called to a place must not leave that place or abandon his office for his own convenience and benefit. If it is good for him to change positions, he should not act in private, but be guided by the authority of the church.

8. I call everything that governs the church supervising, elders, pastors, teachers, without distinction, but following biblical usage. These names all mean the same thing. The Bible calls this "supervision" to all those who minister. So when Paul commanded Titus to "set up elders in each city", he immediately added "because the supervision must be blameless" (Titus 1: 5, 7). In another epistle he paid tribute to the supervisors of a church (Philippians 1: 1). The book of Acts records that he sent people to invite the elders of the church in Ephesus, and when he spoke to them, he called them "supervisors" (Acts 20:17, 18). We must note here that we only mention the ministry of ministry; in Ephesians 4 we quoted, Paul did not mention any other ministry. However, in Romans and 1 Corinthians, he mentioned other positions, such as "exercising miracles", "blessed with healing", "speaking in tongues", "governing things", " Helping others "(1 Cor. 12:28). Of these positions, I don't need to mention anything that is temporarily unrelated to our current topic. But two jobs are permanent "governance" and "helping people." The "governers", as far as I know, are the elders selected from the congregation, who together with the supervisors exercise persuasion and discipline. Because of the command to Paul, "He who governs must be diligent," and we cannot explain anything else (Romans 12: 8). Therefore, every church has a council from the beginning, including those who are pious and holy, and have the right to correct evil, as we will discuss soon. Experience shows that this law does not belong to that era alone. Therefore, the role of governance is necessary in every era.

9. Helping the poor is entrusted to the "deacon." However, Romans mentions two functions of this office. Paul said, "He who gives alms, be honest, and be merciful," (Romans 12: 8). Here he talked about the public office of the church, naturally there are two positions in the deacon. Paul's former sentence probably refers to the deacon who cares for the economy; the latter sentence refers to the deacon who helps the poor and the sick, the widows as mentioned in Timothy (1 Timothy 5: 9-10). Because women cannot perform other public duties, they have to help the poor as much as possible. If we admit itand rightly admit itthe deacon has two kinds, one for distributing the church's wealth to the poor and the other for the poor themselves. Although the original text of the deacon (diakonia) originally had a broad meaning, the deacon was specifically given to those who were appointed by the church to serve the poor and became the church to manage the poor's wealth; the origin of this office was to establish , And missions are explained in Acts. Because "the Greeks spoke Greeks, complained to the Hebrews, because their widows were ignored in daily provision" (Acts 6: 1-3), so the apostles affirmed that they could not both preach and preach And the two duties of taking care of meals, said to the congregation, "Brothers, choose from among you seven people who have a good reputation, are filled with the Holy Spirit, and are full of wisdom, and we will send them to manage this matter." What is the character of the deacon, and what is the character of our deacon to meet the original example?

10. Since all the affairs of the church should be done in an orderly manner (1 Corinthians 14:40), then there is nothing more than the diligent observance of the rules by the church's administrative agencies; because in this On the one hand, there is greater danger than confusion on the other. In order for impatient and troublemakers not to take up teaching and management positions, there is a clear stipulation that no one can serve in the church without being called. So the true pastor must first be called in accordance with the rules, and then he must be called, that is, to hold and carry out the position entrusted to him. This can be seen in Paul. When he wanted to prove his apostleship, he always offered his calling and his loyalty in the exercise of his office. Since such a distinguished and noble servant of Christ does not dare to arbitrarily gain authority in the church to be heard, he must point out God's calling and his own loyalty to office. So if anyone does not have these two at all Character, but want to own this honor, how extreme reckless! We have already talked about the importance of due diligence, and we will only discuss one question in the future.

Eleven, this topic can be divided into four categories to discuss: (a) pastoral qualifications; (b) how to choose a pastor; (c) who chooses a pastor; (d) what etiquette should be given Pastoral teaching. I will only talk about outward callings that belong to the public office of the church, not secret calls that every pastor personally feels before God and is unknown to the church. However, this secret vocation is an honest testimony of our own heart; we accept our duty not because of ambition or greed, or other wrongful motives, but because of the sincere fear of God and the establishment of the church. Expect. I have implied that this is what we each have to prove to God our office. However, in the view of the church, whoever has a conscience in service, as long as his injustice is not obvious, he is legally called. Usually we also say that someone is called to pastor because they show that they are qualified to pastor; that is because learning, piety, and other talents are a preparation for good pastoralism. Those who were ordained for the Lord to fill such an important position, He gave them the talent to perform it beforehand, so that they would not be unprepared to minister. Therefore, when Paul discussed the various church positions in the Book of Dagrindo, he first enumerated the gifts that those who filled them should have (1 Corinthians 12: 7 and below). Now that this is the first of the four items listed above, let's discuss it now.

12. The qualifications for those elected as supervisors have been generally proposed by Paul in two letters (1 Tim. 3: 1 below; Titus 1: 7 below). What he said summed it up: unless people are sound in reason and holy in life, and their powers are not corrupted by their faults, or their positions are ashamed, they are not worthy of election as supervisors. This law also applies to deacons and governing matters. The church must always be careful not to choose the pastor who is incapable, in other words, to choose the pastor who has the ability to perform his duties. So when Christ sent His apostles, He provided them with the tools and power necessary for their success (Luke 21:15, 24:49; Acts 1: 8). After explaining a character of good, pure supervision, Paul persuaded Timothy not to appoint someone else, to avoid tarnishing himself (1 Timothy 5:22). Regarding how to elect the pastoral term, I do not mean in terms of the method of electing, but in terms of existing awe. For example, according to Luke, when elders are elected, believers fast and pray (Acts 14:23). Because since they know that they are carrying on a very important task, they dare not do anything unless they have the greatest devotion and seriousness. Especially sincerely pray for God's wisdom and discernment.

13. The third item we have mentioned is who should elect pastoralism. Regarding this item, we cannot draw any laws from the example of the apostle appointment, because that is different from the usual selection of pastors. Since they hold very special positions, in order to make this position distinctive, those who serve in this position need to be called and appointed by the Lord Jesus himself. Therefore the apostles were not appointed by man, but by the command of God and Christ. So when they were going to choose one to replace Judah, they were afraid to appoint one, but nominated two so that the Lord could indicate by the lot who was his chosen substitute (Acts 1:23). We should also understand what Paul said that he was ordained not as an apostle, not by man, but by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father (Gal. 1: 1). The first clause "not due to man" applies not only to him, but to all devout pastors; because no one can legally perform this function unless he is first called by God. The other clause applies only to Paul. So when he was proud of it, he not only thought of himself as a true and legitimate pastor, but also presented evidence of his apostleship. Because some of the Galatians wanted to devalue Paul's authority as an ordinary disciple sent by the chief apostle, he proved the dignity of his preaching and broke through the tricks that would hurt him For the sake of this, we cannot fail to show that he is not weaker than the other apostles in any way. Therefore he affirmed that he was not chosen by human judgment like ordinary supervision, but by the Lord's own appearance and his own mouth.

14. But supervision must be established and appointed by a person before it can be counted as a legitimate election. This will not be denied by sober people, and it is also established by a lot of evidence. Nor does this contradict Paul's words that he was "apostolic, not because of man, not by man" (Gal. 1: 1), because he did not say in the verse that he was an ordinary elect. Just to say that he himself had the privilege of an apostle. Although the Lord personally assigned Paul as an apostle, there was a church call that followed, because Luke wrote: "When they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said," Make Barnabas and Me Saul, do the work I called them to do "(Acts 13: 2). After the Holy Spirit has confirmed that they were ordained, what's the point of adding this kind of distribution and laymanship? Wouldn't it be to keep the canon of appointed pastors? Therefore, God's approval of the church's order is no more obvious than this, that is, after announcing that he had ordained Paul as an apostle of the Gentiles, he threw and directed him to orchestrate the church. The same is true of choosing Matthias (Acts 1:23). Because the apostleship was so important, they did not dare to choose one by their own judgment to fill their numbers, so they first listed two and chose one by shaking; so that this election would be won by heaven Approval, taking into account the order of the church.

15. Here, we should ask whether the pastor should be elected by the whole church, or by other pastors and elders in charge of discipline, or should it be appointed by one's authority? Those who claim to attribute this authority to one person quote Paul's words to Titus: "For this reason I leave you in Crete, and set up elders in the cities as I commanded" (Titus 1: 5), and What he said to Timothy: "Let people lay hands, do not rush" (1 Timothy 5:22). However, if they thought that Timothy was in Ephesus, or Titus was in Crete, they could do whatever they wanted, then they were very wrong. Because they govern the congregation, they only lead others with good and useful counsel, and do not act arbitrarily. But in order to make people think that this statement is my fabrication, I will give a similar example to prove it. Because Luke recorded the elders of the orthodox church of Paul and Barnabas, but at the same time he clearly stated that the method of ordaining the elders was to be voted by the congregation, because the word he used there meant exactly that (Acts 14:23) ). So the two apostles were the ones who ordained them, but the whole congregation, according to the customs of Greek elections, raised their hands to indicate who they had elected. Roman historians often say that the consuls convened a meeting to appoint a new magistrate, but he presided over the elections only with his consent. We do not believe that Paul gave Timothy and Titus more power than he owns; instead, we saw that he had established oversight and had always been elected by the congregation. Therefore, the above verses should be interpreted in the same way, so as not to violate the public sovereignty and freedom of the church. Therefore, Jupurian was right: "In accordance with the authority of God, a priest should be publicly elected before the people, and should be qualified and appropriate by the people." The Lord ordered the Levitical priests to be sealed. Before they stand, they must be brought before the people. Matthias was listed among the apostles, and the seven deacons were appointed without the presence and permission of the congregation. "These examples show that unless the congregation agrees, the pastor should not be ordained, so that elections that have been tested by others can be considered fair and legal." Therefore, those qualifications are equivalent and have been agreed and recognized by the public And those who have been ordained have legitimate pastors in accordance with God's word; but other pastors should preside over elections, so as not to cause improper actions due to volatile, conspiracy, or confusion.

16. The last item mentioned by the Pastor is the etiquette of teaching. When the apostles were ministers, it seemed that no ceremonies were used other than lay hands. I believe this etiquette follows the custom of the Hebrew people, that is, they sacrifice their hands to God whenever they want to consecrate. For example, when Jacob wanted to bless Ephraim and Manasseh, he put his hands on their heads (Gen. 48:14). Our Lord Jesus also used this practice when praying for children (Matt. 19:15). The law instructed the Jews to lay their hands on the sacrifice they offered, probably for the same purpose. It can be seen that the laying on of the apostles meant that they dedicated God to those who were ordained for the priesthood. They also used this gift to those who gave them the tangible gift of the Holy Spirit. In any case, they used this solemn etiquette whenever someone was called to minister. They ordained the pastor and teacher, and so did the deacon. Although there is no obvious stipulation on the lay ceremony, but it has been adopted by the apostles, it has the power to teach us. This ritual is indeed very useful, on the one hand, to commend the congregation for the dignity of the priesthood, and on the other, to let the person who knows that he is no longer the master, but has dedicated himself to serve God and the church. Moreover, if this ritual could restore its true origin, it would not be a sign of meaninglessness. Because the Spirit of God established in the church can neither be considered in vain, then this is not useless out of his ritual, as long as it is not abused by superstition. Finally, it should be stated that the ordination of pastoral rites is not held by the entire congregation, but only for the ordained pastors. Whether this ceremony is held by more than one priest or only by one priest is inconclusive. When the seven deacons were ordained, Paul and Barnabas, and a few others were held by the majority (Acts 6: 6, 13: 3). But Paul said that he himself laid his hands on Timothy, but did not mention that anyone else laid hands with him. "I remind you of this, so that you may prosper the gift that God has given me by laying your hands on you" (2 Timothy 1: 6). He said in another epistle: "The laying hands of the elders" (1 Timothy 4:14). I don't think he refers to a group of elders, but to the laying of the hands; as if he was saying, you Be careful, lest you put in vain the grace that you have received for elders.