Practical Pastoring

What is Practical Pastoring?

It is a vital workshop for the pastor or other Christian leader who often must work alone. It is based on the apostle Paul’s method of returning to places where he and his apostolic teams had previously ministered, and as he himself put it, “to see how they are” (Acts 16:36), “to strengthen the souls of the disciples,” “to encourage them to continue in the faith,”“to appoint elders for them,” “to commend them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:22-23), encouraging the leaders to “be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock… to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). He commended them to the Lord, specifically exhorting them to follow his own example, “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive. When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all” (Acts 20:35-36).

The Practical Pastoring tool is a fill-in-the-blank workbook that walks the minister through important aspects of church ministry such as: confirming one’s call, care for the minister’s family, establishing daily disciplines, working with a ministry team, relating well with others, making disciples, church finances and member stewardship, pastoral care for members, creating sermons and preaching God’s Word, conducting worship services, baptisms, communion, weddings, and funerals, and congregational discipline.

How do the Putmans utilize this tool? The pastor can use the workbook on his own, but the Putman’s part would be to call attention to each aspect and help him move through those parts that inevitably trip all of us up. Having lived the life of such a pastor and pastor’s wife, they are able to share from their own experiences. Having succeeded (and, at times, failed), they can walk through their ministry life alongside them, and at times, stand with them when the work of ministry gets tough.

The Method

● Provide:

  • Personal Encouragement through Common Friendship
  • Counsel for the Roles of Minister and Minister’s Spouse
  • Training through the Workshop, Practical Pastoring
  • Minimal and Available Assets:
    • Lending Library
    • Supplies / Equipment on Loan
    • Individual Personnel for Assistance
    • Teams for Assistance

● Evaluate Local Church Ministry

● Exhort the Ministry Vision

● Build a Network for Association with Other Ministers, Churches, and Ministries

One aspect of ministry is inherently impossible to do on one’s own; it is the establishment of and the maintaining of one’s ministry vision. One’s ministry vision lies outside of oneself; it is the ultimate call of God to serve others, and though we can receive the call of God, we always see it through our own eyes, and as such, we cannot see all its aspects at once; we need others to help us see it from a fuller perspective. This will be our greatest help to the minister and his family, but we cannot do it if the minister does not open himself up, agree to be helped, and to make the necessary commitment to pursue God’s great call on his (and their) life.