After the recent death of John R. W. Stott, one of the most famous pastors and theologians of our time, Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary republished an interview he conducted with Stott in 1987. The following is a small portion of that interview where Stott gives a word specifically to pastors. I believe it to be extremely wise counsel. Many scrutinize and criticize a pastor for what he does or doesn’t do. Perhaps the drift and issues we see in the church today can be directly tied to the fact that we (pastors) have become more like CEOs and administrators than shepherds and theologians.
We Belong in a Study, Not an Office
Mohler: You are probably as well known in America as in England. Furthermore, you know America — its churches and its preachers. What would be your word to the Servants of the Word on this side of the Atlantic?
Stott: I think my main word to American preachers is, as Stephen Olford has often said, that we belong in a study, not in an office. The symbol of our ministry is a Bible — not a telephone. We are ministers of the Word, not administrators, and we need to relearn the question of priority in every generation.
The Apostles were in danger of being diverted from the ministry to which they had been called by Jesus — the ministry of Word and prayer. They were almost diverted into a social ministry for squabbling widows.
Now both are important, and both are ministries, but the Apostles had been called to the ministry of the Word and not the ministry of tables. They had to delegate the ministry of the tables to other servants. We are not Apostles, but there is the work of teaching that has come to us in the unfolding of the apostolic message of the New Testament. This is our priority as pastors and preachers.
Jesus preached to the crowds, to the group, and to the individual. He had the masses, the disciples, and individuals coming to Him. He preached to crowds, taught the disciples, and counseled individuals. We must also have this focus. It is all in the ministry of the Word.
The full interview can be found here.
