Pastor, Lead through Teaching

The Very Nature of Christianity

Teaching is such an indispensable task of the pastor because Christianity—from its beginning—has always been a teaching movement. Our God is a teaching God. He’s a teacher at heart. Torah in the Old Testament means teaching.

The psalms, says Psalm 60, are for our instruction. Moses taught the people. The priests taught the people. When the Son of God himself came in human flesh, he was the consummate teacher, and he discipled his men (the apostles) to be teachers. And when he ascended, he left those teachers in charge of the church as his appointed mouthpiece in the churches.

Workers for Your Joy

David Mathis

Pastor-elder David Mathis expands on the nature and calling of local church leaders as joyful workers for the joy of their people, through the framework of the elder qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

After their death, we have their writings, along with the Old Testament Scriptures, as our material for teaching in the local church. And when the risen Christ sought to put those in charge, or in leadership, in local churches, he chose—amazingly—teachers. Paul calls them pastor-teachers in Ephesians 4:11. And Hebrews 13:7 says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.”

Hebrews could consider their leaders to be those who spoke to them—that is, taught them—because leaders were teachers, and teachers were leaders in the church. Christianity as a teaching movement means that those who are effective in their teaching and those who live lifestyles of character and that are above reproach as Christians, in time, typically become the pastor-elders of the church. So teaching is indispensable in the very nature of what Christianity is.

Teaching is indispensable in the very nature of what Christianity is.

It’s the teachers, then, that Jesus appoints to be those who also govern. These are the two main tasks of pastor-elders: teaching and leading, or governing. But there’s an asymmetry in those two.

The teaching doesn’t flow from the governing. Rather, the source of authority is Christ himself through his apostles. The pastor-elders are those who teach that authority, and Christ appoints that they be the ones who govern. So the governing flows from the teaching, the leading flows from the teaching. Those who teach the church from its authoritative sources are those who lead the church, and we call them pastors.

David Mathis is the author of Workers for Your Joy: The Call of Christ on Christian Leaders.

David Mathis serves as senior teacher and executive editor at desiringGod.org, a pastor at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and an adjunct professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis. He and his wife, Megan, have four children. He is the author of several books, including Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines.

10 Key Bible Verses on Teaching the Bible

September 15, 2022

Scripture has specific instructions for those in the body who are charged with teaching other believers. Read what God has to say to teachers.

7 Tips for Teaching the Bible to Children

Douglas Sean O'Donnell

June 12, 2023

Teaching the Bible to children can be a great challenge, but, if done well, it will be deeply rewarding. By modeling your dedication for God’s Word, you can help children grow in their knowledge of and love for it.