Function of an Armorbearer – Chapter 2 – Part 1 – Notes from Margie

Being an armorbearer requires sometimes to think of yourself less in order to serve your
leader. There is no room for rebellion, bitterness, competitiveness or contention. All that
baggage has to be left outside when you walk through the door of servanthood.

The main function of one who is designated as an armorbearer is that of service. There are
11 forms of service that Terry Nance mentions in his book. We’ll cover five this time around.

1. Must provide strength for his leader

Armorbearers can’t be weak mentally, spriritually and physically if he is to provide strength

for his leader. It doesn’t mean that we are to ignore that we’re human and that we don’t have
weaknesses ourselves, but is does mean that we are to help our leader carry the vision that God
has given him. We are not to be an extra burden by not being in agreement with him or on the
same page. We can’t be the ones causing problems in the ministry. Instead, we should be
taking care of the problems.

2. Must have a deep-down sense of respect for his leader, and acceptance for, and tolerance
of, his leader’s personality and his way of ding things.

Pastor J is one of the funniest & smartest individuals I have ever met. He sometimes jokes
around with his staff & makes us laught till we’re in tears. Not to mention that he’ll pull a prank
or two on us to keep us on our toes. However, we all respect him as our leader. He has his own
unique personality that some have tried to understand & others have just stopped trying & just
love him. His way of doing things is sometimes unconventional, but then he wouldn’t be Pastor
J if he did everything like everyone else. He is also a man of God that hears when God speaks to
him. So, when Pastor J speaks, we listen.

3. Must instinctively understand his leader’s thoughts

Wow! It’s interesting that the word instinctively is used. You don’t know exactly what he’s
thinking but you react out of instinct. You learn what your leader’s expectations & needs are.
You know when his mind is burdened about something & so as an armorbearer you pray for
your leader and offer strength.

4. Must walk in agreement with and submission to his leader

Something that I learned quickly when I started working for Pastor J was that I didn’t
always have details as to why he did certain things. I learned to trust his decisions because in
the end, it was always to benefit the ministry. I would think to myself later, “That’s why he did
it!”

5. Must make the advancement of his leader his most important goal
 Terry Nance shares in chapter 2 a time when he asked the Lord, “What about my dreams?”
and God’s response was “Son, you are not to live for the fulfillment of your dreams or vision.
Set it as your goal to achieve your pastor’s dreams and I will make sure that yours are fulfilled.”
As a result, Terry Nance has traveled over to twenty countries & has preached in most of them.
His ministry has been blessed all because he was an armorbearer.

Have you tried to be an armorbearer to your pastor? Don’t miss your opportunity.

6. Must possess endless strength so as to thrust, press and force his way onward without
giving way under harsh treatment.

This is not to say that Pastor J mistreats his staff & that we take his punishment without
complaining. I believe that it means that sometimes we have to work tirelessly in order to
accomplish something. Sometimes assignments require extra time & effort. Sometimes it
requires extra hours-like the recording project.

7. Must follow orders immediately & correctly.

One thing that I learned when I hit my 40’s was that I can’t trust my memory. You’ll always see
me with pen, paper, calendar & my Bible whenever we meet. Anytime an assignment is given,
notes & details are taken down & the assignments are expected to be completed. If an
assignment is not completed because we simply forgot about it, we can give Pastor J the
impression that it wasn’t important to us and it also slows down the whole team.

8. Must be a support to his leader.

This is probably very obvious to us but it doesn’t always happen. As armorbearers, our job is to
uphold, sustain, maintain & defend our leader. Our leaders are human & not super heroes. If
you ever want to become a real leader, one thing to remember is that you’ll have to master the
art of supporting your leader first.

9. Must be an excellent communicator.

Communication is vital in establishing a relationship with a leader. Terry Nance mentions in his
book that it’s the only way to build trust between the pastor & his associates. I don’t normally
bother Pastor J with every single detail in the office but he is aware of what goes on. If it was
up to me, I probably would give him every detail, since women like details.

10. Must have a disposition that will eagerly gain victories for his leader.

A true armorbearer will always strive to represent his pastor well before all men. I can speak
for myself and our music staff that we all strive to make Pastor J look good & if we fail, he
doesn’t normally rub it in our face because he knows that by that time, we’ve already given
ourselves a beating. I feel proud when he’s told that the music ministry runs a tight ship & that
everything runs smoothly. I believe that it’s because we love God & His work & because Pastor
J has our heart & we have his.

11. Must have the ability to minister strength and courage to his leader.

We sometimes think that our leaders are fearless & never get discouraged. But, as humans
they do have their moments of discouragement. When Pastor J brings a new idea to the staff,
choir & orchestra we should be his fan club. We should be ready to take on the challenge
instead of grumbling & stating all the reasons why it won’t work. Being an armorbearer
sometimes is not glamorous, but it does have great rewards.

This time around we’ll talk about the duties of the New Testament armorbearers. God has
established priorities in the life of every Christian that we should follow:

relationship with God

relationship with spouse
relationship with children
employment or work
One of the differences between the armorbearers in the Old Testament & the New
Testament armorbearers was their priorities. Their employment was first on the list. This
doesn’t mean that the responsibilities of the present day armorbearer are less important. The
call is still God given & we must be good stewards with that calling. Some of the duties or
physical role have changed but the attitude of the heart is still the same.

The role of the armorbearer should not be used as a stepping stone to move on to bigger &
better things. I truly believe that when God calls you to a certain place, you are their for a
specific time & season. As armorbearers we must be faithful to that calling. God will exalt you
in due time. 1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourself before God and He will exalt you.” Armorbearers
called by God are there to support their leader and to help fulfill the vision that God has given
him.

In the Old Testament the role of the armorbearer was mainly in combat. That hasn’t
changed in the New Testament. The only difference is the type of combat, as you can see in
the following scripture. “For we restle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places.” Ephesians 6:12 We can see that the most important part of the armorbearer
duties lie in the spirit realm.

As armorbearers we are to watch & pray for our leader and the ministry. All physical tasks of
an armorbearer in the Old Testament apply today in the spirit.

By reading scripture we can identify some of the duties of a New Testament armorbearer as
pointed out by Terry Nance.
A true armorbearer:

Strives to keep his godly priorities in line

Resists seeking to know his leader after the flesh
Remains always humble with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, doing what is pleasing to
Christ, “not with eyeservice as menpleasers”
Serves his leader well, expecting no reward from man, but knowing that Jesus will reward him
one day for his efforts and loyalty
Aids his leader in spiritual combat
Ministers strength to his leader in the spirit
Helps his leader to stand against the wiles of the devil
Knows how to deal with spiritual forces.
The word armorbearer is never used in the New Testament but there are scriptures that
reflect the attitude of the armorbearer. Some of them mentioned are Matthew 18:1-4, John
15:13, Ephesians 6:5,6; Phil. 2:3-9; 1 Thes. 5:12,13; 1 Peter 5:5; 2:20. Take a look at them when
you have the opportunity.

Revelation of an Armorbearer – Chapter 1 – Notes from Margie

One of the first books that all music staff is assigned to read when coming on board is “God’s
Armorbearer” by Terry Nance. It’s a short book but it’s filled with great insights that can help
any christian. I can truly say that one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities that I have
as staff and as a choir member is being an armorbearer to Pastor Rion and Pastor J. I’ve seen
throughout the years how God has blessed me by being obedient to this call. When I was first
hired to work for Pastor J, there were times I wanted to do extra things in the office for him but
thought maybe I would come across as a “mother hen”. I did hold back at first, but then I felt
God prompting me to do them anyway, so dismissed the thoughts of being a “mother hen”
immediately and I have served joyfully ever since.

In today’s society the term armorbearer is not even recognized and its attributes would
probably not even be accepted. Everyone is caught up with their own life. The question
everyone asks is “what’s in it for me?” It doesn’t come natural for human beings to think of
others first.

As christians it is important that we understand the full concept of an armorbearer especially

if we are involved in ministry.

The word armorbearer is listed eighteen times in the Strong’s concordance. All references
are found in the Old Testament. As mentioned in this book, the word is translated from two
Hebrew words. The first being “nasa” or “nacah” (naw-saw’) which means “to lift”. Some
applications are to: accept, advance, bear, bear up, carry or hold up. The second Hebrew word
is “keliy” (kel-ee’) which comes from the root word “kala” (kaw-law’) meaning “to end”. Some
of its applications are to complete, consume, destroy utterly, be done, finish, make clean. Now
that we’ve had our Hebrew lesson, we can see that the duty of an armorbearer was to stand
beside his leader to assist him, to protect him from the enemy and my favorite -to lift him up.
 As part of the music ministry and part of this fellowship, we have been called by God and
given the duty to be an armorbearer to our leaders. Maybe you don’t consider yourself an
armorbearer or maybe not really thought about it. Take a moment and ask yourself these
questions:

1. Am I standing beside my leader?

2. Am I protecting him from any attack?

3. Am I assisting him?

4. Am I lifting him up?

Maybe you have been an armorbearer and you just haven’t put a title on it, but if you’re not
doing these things, don’t be afraid to serve and protect your leader. God sees and rewards
everything that is done for His servants.