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| Our new vocational pastor : Frans Brits |
Dear congregation,
We are met together in the Name
of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit to induct Frans
Brits into the vocational ministry of the Eastside Baptist Church, which is a part of the body of Christ here on earth.
God’s design for the church is
that she, under the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ her Great
Shepherd, should be led by
under-shepherds, alternatively called pastors, elders or overseers.
The calling to be a pastor is both of God and the church, and in
that order. The inward call from God comes first to the individual by the Holy Spirit, and thereafter
the call is confirmed by the church as she recognizes the gifts and calling. Abraham,
Moses, Jacob, Joseph, Samuel David
etc. were all called by God and they were recognized as such in Israel. The 12 disciples were personally called by Jesus to be
apostles, and the apostle Paul was
personally called to the apostolic ministry at a later time (Acts 9) and by and by the church
recognized that calling with the help of a kind brother called Barnabas.(Acts 9:27-30).
God gives leadership gifts to the church (Eph. 4:11). We believe that Frans Brits has been called of God to the pastoral ministry. He has previously testified to the inward call from God to this service. Prior to his ordination as
an elder in 2014, He went through a two year internship period as an apprentice elder. Following this, God has
opened up a door for him by granting his
family permanent residence in our country! Now he was free to pursue the
work and burden that has been laid upon him by the Lord. Whilst he was working as an acoustic
technician, it was consistently clear to his employers that this would be a
temporary arrangement. Frans Brits was trained as
a theologian at the University of Pretoria. Now he is being trained in the work of a pastor in the context of the local church.
Somebody once asked an old pastor: “How long does it take to train a pastor?”
He said, “A life-time”!
Frans has a good working
knowledge of Scripture, and as an ordained elder he has consistently shown a heart hunger and thirst after
God. He has thus been duly examined over a sustained period. In
October 2016 you, the church, were asked
to confirm his calling to the vocational or fulltime
pastoral ministry of our church.
Having done all this we are now
ready to present him to you once
again for that purpose.
Since he has been previously
ordained as an elder in 2014, we shall
not go through the set procedure of elder ordination again. Today we shall simply confirm that, which we have
said already in 2014 when the
other elders had laid their hands
on him on your behalf.
We have two duties this morning :
(i) To
instruct and remind the church concerning how
we ought to relate to our new pastor,accepting him
and his ministry with all our
heart. In this we are called to pray for ourselves as we take on this
responsibility to support him and his
family in prayer and materially, and in
helping him to do the work of a pastor, by adding our spiritual gifts to his
pastoral leadership gift.
(ii)
To instruct and remind our new vocational pastor concerning the
biblical mandate, as required by God of being a faithful shepherd to our souls. To that end we will ask him two
questions, which he will have to
respond to.
With all that in mind we would like to consider these words from Hebrews
13:7-17 as we think of our responsibilities to our
pastor, and his
corresponding responsibility to us:
7 Remember
your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of
their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange
teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by
foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from
which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those
animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a
sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered
outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13
Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.
14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that
is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good
and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. 17 Obey
your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as
those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with
groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
1.
Our duty to
Pastor Brits
Since this text relates primarily to
the congregation that receives
the ministry from their pastor, we shall
start there:
(i) Remember that he is
one of your leaders, called and
appointed by Christ.
(ii) Consider that
if he is truly called of God, and
if his life is an example to
you, then consider him as a
mentor - imitate him.
(iii) Remember that one of
his duties is to speak the Word of God
to you. Listen to him, and weigh his words carefully, when he
speaks God’s Word to you. In obeying him you obey Christ. At the heart
of this passage, and sandwiched between verses 7 and 17 is a reminder of the centrality of Christ. The primary ministry responsibility that your pastor has
is to preach the Word of the unchanging
Christ (v.8) to you. In this world you will always be tempted by strange and diverse teachings. You will
always be tempted to let your hearts not be
strengthened by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, but by thinking that you can inherit the kingdom of God by a system of works and a system of self –righteousness, thinking
that you are a Christian by what you do and don’t do, rather than living your life completely by an obedient faith and trust in the Lord Jesus
alone . A true shepherd will always lead you to Jesus!
(iv) Remember that he
is appointed by God to watch over your
souls. He must give an account to God for your soul. Help him to be a faithful
shepherd. Allow him to speak to you in the Name of Jesus.
(v) Don’t make life
difficult for him. His calling will
bring enough challenges. You will gain nothing from an elder whom you always resist. “…Be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with
humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble.” [1 Peter 5:5] If you disagree with him, and if you believe that he is wrong, act in the spirit of Matthew
18:15ff.
2.
Pastor
Brits’ corresponding duty to us
This same passage, although it
speaks directly to church members about
their relationship with their pastor, also implies the pastor’s corresponding
duties to his flock.
(i)
He
must lead us after
the example of our Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
(ii)
His
life must be of such a nature that we want to
imitate him, even as he imitates Christ. It is not sinful to imitate
someone, provided that this person himself or herself imitates Christ. [1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Phil.3:17; 1 Thess. 1:6]. I thank God for the faithful pastors, Don Watson and Peter
Radmanovich that took hold of me in my
early Christian pilgrimage at the
Walvis Bay Baptist church. They showed
me the love of Jesus, and I gladly
submitted to them and followed them at that time.
(iii) He must be a true and faithful messenger of the Word of God to us. One of his chief
duties is to speak the Word of God to
us [13:7]. This means that he must possess the Word of God in his own heart. In
this regard,listen to Martin Luther’s
advice to preachers:
"At night
always carry in your heart something from Holy Scriptures to bed with you,
meditate upon it like a ruminant animal, and go softly to sleep; but this must
not be too much, rather a little that may be well pondered and understood, that
you may find a remnant of it in your mind when you rise in the morning. And in
all study of the Holy Scriptures one must always despair of one's own ability
and labors but only pray God with fear and humility for understanding. Therefore,
when you approach the Bible,
a. You must lift up your eyes and heart to
Christ in heaven and in a brief supplication implore his grace;
b. You must do this often during your reading
in order that you may think and say: Lord, grant that I may rightly understand
this, but even more that I may perform it.
c. You must, above all things, guard against
desiring to study the Scriptures only in order to know and understand them …for
I believe that you are not such stupid scholars as to seek honor, gain, or glory
thereby, nor even to be able to teach others.
d. You must seek
absolutely nothing but the glory of God, in such spirit that your one thought
is: Behold, dearest Lord Jesus, if this study be not to thy glory, let me not
understand a syllable of it; but grant unto me, a poor sinner, as much as in
thy sight shall be to thy glory."
As
one reflects upon what Luther says, we can only conclude, it is no wonder that
God used men like that.
(iv)
He must be a shepherd of our souls. He must remember the words of Peter in the Bible: “Shepherd the flock of God that is among
you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would
have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in
your charge, but being an example to the
flock” [2 Pet. 5:2,3]. Pastor, love your congregation with the love
of Jesus, not only in word, but in deed.
That love is not soppy- sentimental, but in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
(v)
He
must lead us in such a way that we will easily submit to his leadership. He must lead us by his joy,
which he derives from his relationship
with the Lord Jesus. His ministry
must not be characterized by groaning.
That would be of no advantage to us.
The presiding elder shall then say to the elder candidate :
Forasmuch as we believe
that you are acting in obedience to the call of God, it may seem needless my brother, to ask for any further
assurance of your faith and sincerity of
purpose, but in order that you may
yourself better realize the solemn trust
you have undertaken, and that this congregation may better understand your mind
and will, we ask you now to answer the questions which in the Name of
Christ and His church, we address to you:
1.
Do you believe in
one God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and do you confess anew
Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord?
Answer: I do!
2.
Do you promise to
execute your charge with all faithfulness; to preach and teach the word of God
from the Holy Scriptures; to lead the congregation in worship and to administer
the ordinances; to tend the flock of Christ
and to do the work of an evangelist ?
Answer: This I
will endeavor to do, the Lord being my helper.
The presiding elder shall then say to the congregation :
Do you, the members of this
church acknowledge and receive Frans Brits
as a pastor of this church,
promising him all due honour and support
in the Lord?
Will you
please signify this by standing ?
Prayer of induction with all
the other elders laying on their
hands.
Induction formula
Frans
Brits, as you have been called by the Holy Spirit to this ministry, and as
the Holy Spirit has spoken to us
and has said: “Set him apart for the ministry to which I have called him “ (Acts 13:2)
I declare you
now to be duly inducted and appointed as
a pastor of this church.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon
you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face towards you and give you
peace. Amen.” (Numbers 6:24)
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