Pastors

 Ephesians 4:11-16 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Each of these have a responsibility for the edifying of the body of Jesus Christ

Apostles – One who is sent out or a messenger

Prophets – Acting as a mouthpiece to deliver direct messages from God to correct or guide

Evangelists – Is a missionary who travels from place to place to spread the Gospel

Pastors – A recognized or appointed person serving a local church or parish

Teachers – Responsible to impart biblical wisdom and the importance of leading by example

This is called the five-fold ministry.  Not one is more important than the other.  They are called to work together to instruct, enlighten, and uplift the Body of Jeus Christ for the Kingdom of God.  Everyone has been called to do one or more of the five-fold ministry. 

Today, we are going to focus on the pastors in today’s church.  In many cases the modern pastoral job description is often unmanageable, requiring leaders to act as CEO, counselor, event planner, spiritual guidance and primary leader of prayer. This "over functioning" frequently leads to extreme responsibility and pressure to perform the functions of the church even though the Body of Jesus Christ should be contributing more, especially in the area of prayer. 

Spiritual attacks on pastors are broadly viewed within Christian theology as intense, targeted spiritual warfare designed to distract, discourage, or derail church leaders. Because pastors lead congregations, the enemy targets them and can cause widespread fallout in the church. 

The pastor and even his family have become the focal point of the church and have become a target of criticism by the church body, others, and even family.  They will attach pastors through anonymous letters, emails, gossip, slander, browbeating and even church insurrection.

Many pastors are forced to build a bubble of protection around them and their families.  It can be very difficult to trust anyone for fear of being attacked.  This is fearing into the future leads to stress and anxiety.  They are forced to withdraw and trust only a few.  

I put this teaching together last week and it is interesting to hear the topic yesterday at church.  It was focused on Proverbs 6:16-19, so I added this to the teaching.

There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests:

1.    haughty eyes, 2.

2.    a lying tongue,

3.    hands that kill the innocent,

4.    a heart that plots evil,

5.    feet that race to do wrong,

6.    a false witness who pours out lies,

7.    a person who sows discord in a family.

Although this applies to everyone, it applies to those who come against leadership in the church as well and especially the pastors.

What Can We Do to Help Church Leadership?

The most effective thing we can do is to pray for our pastors consistently and especially prior to the church service.  The following is a prayer covering that I pray each morning before I go out into this evil world.  It is a very, very effective and a powerful prayer declaration. 

Father God, in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray a hedge of protection covered by the blood of Jesus and Psalm 91.  I cancel all evil assignments against me directly or indirectly.  Thank you God.

I can’t count the number of times I have dodged harmful attacks from Satan directly and indirect attacks that Satan worked through others.

Folks, we must be a praying body of Jesus Christ.  We cannot be part-time prayer warriors because the attacks are full-time.  We have power and authority over evil according to Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  We are called to do what Jesus taught us to do in scriptures. This is not an option.                                Tony 5-28-2026