Jenifer Seleina Salaton

Pastoral Theology
6/29/2022
1. AS A STUDENT OF PASTORAL THEOLOGY EVALUATE YOURSELF BY THE
FOLLOWING QUALIFICATION STANDARDS REQUIRED OF A SHEPHERD OF GOD'S
FLOCK. EXPLAIN HOW YOU ARE PERFORMING IN THESE AREAS AND HOW YOU
PURPOSE TO CONTINUE TO DO BETTER IN THEM.

a) Moral and Ethical goodness.

Ministerial ethics begins with a call to ministerial integrity, which can be defined as
“completeness” or “wholeness.” Jesus captures the gospel sense of integrity with the command,
“Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). In the English text “perfect” comes
from the Greek word teleios which means “complete.” This teaching concludes Jesus’
authoritative interpretation of the Law (“You have heard that it was said. . .. But I say to you”)
which in turn interprets the Sermon’s theme, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Integrity in the
gospel sense entails being completed or formed by the Word of God which comes to us in Jesus
Christ. Jesus’ conclusion to the Sermon suggests that such integrity is the embodiment of
wisdom:4 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise
man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears
these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on
sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it
fell—and great was its fall! With this understanding, I try to remain within the confines of what
is morally and ethically good.

b) Godliness of character - "Of blameless reputation" (1 Tim. 3:2).

No other vocation is so demanding. A surgeon may know how to replace a heart, yet never
discover how to defeat the evil inclinations in his own heart. A builder may know how to
construct a house, but never understand how to build a home. A judge may know how to render a
verdict in a court of law, yet never know how to live his own life. A football coach may be
efficient in building a successful team yet fail to build his own life. A pharmacist may know how
to provide healing medicines for patients, yet never find healing and forgiveness for his sins. A
scientist may learn all about the physical universe, but never gain the strength and wisdom to
realize the condition of his own life. Such paradoxes are everywhere around us. Each of these
can fulfill their tasks regardless of their character.

But it cannot be so with the preacher. His life must be consistent with his preaching. He must
demonstrate the truth that he proclaims. Truth is not just something one believes, but it is
something that one does!

Peter describes in vivid terms the glories and inexhaustible riches of God’s redemptive purposes.
Then he declares that God’s purposes are so incredible that even the prophets searched diligently
to understand what had been revealed to them (1:10-12).

The prophets did not fully comprehend what the Messiah and redemption was all about. But we
understand. We have received the full revelation of God through Jesus Christ. We must not
preach these unsearchable riches of redemption in a careless & calloused way. The demand on
the preacher is simple: “Be holy, because I am holy…you are to conduct yourselves in fear
during the time of your temporary residence” (1:16-17). Godly character not only matters, it is
the indispensable quality that is demanded of the preacher.

c) Growth in grace

I allow myself to grow in grace by doing the following:

i. Devoting myself to teaching.

Though the truths of Scripture are simple enough for a child to understand, they are also deep
enough that they can be studied for a lifetime without running out of new insights. God’s grace is
fully available to us from the moment of salvation, but it takes time to examine our whole lives
in light of His whole truth. Devoting ourselves to listening to Scriptural teaching allows us to
apply our knowledge of God and our experience of his grace to each and every aspect of our
lives.

ii. Devoting myself to the life of your church.

Gathering together in a fellowship of believers is an important part of living as a Christian,

giving us a foretaste of the day that we will all gather together around God’s throne, singing his
praises (Revelation 7:9). Hebrews 10:24-25 says: “And let us consider how to stir up one another
to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Being together with other
believers gives us the chance to live out the many “one another” verses in the Bible that we
simply can’t live out individually. We are meant to be in community as we “grow in the grace
and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

d) Openness to leadership of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit plays an essential role in taking the raw materials of gospel potential and turning
them into the sweet fruit of gospel impact. We see this throughout the Scriptures but perhaps
nowhere more clearly than in the life of Peter, especially in Acts 2.

Remember the way Peter had been devastated by the events of Jesus’ death: his Master killed,
his honor destroyed, his courage and spirit crushed. Even after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter needed
Jesus’ special attention and encouragement to imagine leading Christ’s flock (John 21). How
could this man and his group of ragged friends ever hope to pursue the global scope of the Great
Commission (Matt. 28:19-20)

Yet by the end of Acts 2, they are well on their way! And the reason is clear: The Holy Spirit
had landed.

e) A cultivated devotional life.

I wake up at 5:30. Yeah, that hurts most mornings, but my son gets up, too. He also brings me
my coffee, so that helps.

I give myself a minute to wake up. Gretchen Saffles (founder of Well-Watered Women) has this
helpful little saying: "Word before world." I try to have as little "world" as possible before I open
up God's Word. But I also need my brain to be functioning in order to make the best of my
reading time. (Here's a place I think I could take some time to pray, asking God to prepare my
heart & open my eyes to His Truth.)

Next, I get started on my Bible reading. (I found a plan that has been working for me that I'll link
down in the tools section.) I started out with just plain old reading the Bible, no extras. But I was
finding that my comprehension wasn't what I wanted it to be. So, I started listening on the
YouVersion app as I read along. This was helpful, but I still felt like I could still be getting more.
So, I started listening, reading, & writing in a journal.

After I finish up my reading & journaling, I move on to either a Bible study book or I read
another spiritual growth book.

If I still have time I pray here. But like I said, this is the part where I need to cultivate better
habits. I'm thinking that it's better to have a plan instead of winging it like I tend to do. And
while candidly pouring your heart out to God is part of it, I also think I need to be more
methodical about this. I'd love to hear about your prayer life in the comments; I know we can all
learn from each other here.

f) Feeding upon the Word

This is how I make sure that I feed upon the word:

i. Store the Word of God in Our Heart.

In general, the command to feed on the word is a call to fill the heart and mind with truth. As
Paul will say to the Colossians, we are to have hearts richly filled with the Word of God. And so
the general instruction for Scripture is to store the word of God in our heart. Whatever it takes,
however you do it, whenever you can make time, nothing rewards the Christian like storing the
Word of God in our heart.

ii. Meditate on the Word of God.

Meditation is a word often misunderstood and misapplied. But biblically, it is the idea of filling
the mind with the words of truth. It is closely related to memorizing and storing God’s Word in
the heart, but it takes those stored words uses them as a means of worshiping, praying, and
praising God. Indeed, Psalm 119 is a 176-verse, 22-stanza, acrostic meditation on God’s Word.
And not surprisingly, it uses the word repeatedly.

g) Developing a disciplined prayer life.

This is how I have managed to develop a disciplined prayer life.

i. Deciding to prioritize prayer

Sometimes, we fail to discipline ourselves in prayer simply because we put it off. It does not
seem like an immediately urgent issue, and so we decide that, even though we might be working
on our prayer, it is not our main concern. When you consciously decide you are going to
prioritize prayer, you will give yourself the space in your life to make a real difference.

ii. Finding a prayer partner

Lots of people have gym buddies or running partners. If you are trying to improve your spiritual
discipline, it can be immensely helpful to have someone hold you accountable. Choose a prayer
partner, and set up a schedule for checking in, praying together, and doing things like going to
adoration. Both you and your prayer partner will benefit by holding each other accountable.

iii. Asking God to help me

If you truly want to improve your prayer, ask for grace from God to grow. Pray for an outpouring
of the Holy Spirit in your prayer life. God always desires to draw us closer to himself in prayer
— and he will answer you when you ask him for help.

2. HOW WOULD YOU AS A PASTOR OFFER PASTORAL CARE TO THE YOUTH IN YOUR
CHURCH. SIGHT SOME KEY AREAS THAT YOU WOULD GIVE GREATER PRIORITY TO
HELP PROMOTE SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

 Honor the spirituality of youth

 Appreciate and validate youth as persons of sacred worth with legitimate spiritual needs
and responses.
 Understand young persons as participants in ministry, not objects of ministry.
 Shake off stereotypes of youth as irreligious, rebellious and difficult.
 Don’t make young people be like you before they can be like Jesus.
 Don’t guess at young people’s needs. Solicit input and feedback from teens themselves,
not just parents and adults’ leaders. Invite them to suggest ways the church can help them
grow in faith.
 Appreciate that youth ministry is more than youth group. Encourage youth to be involved
in all aspects of church life.
 Advocate for youth.
 Equip parents to nurture their children’s faith
 Know that parental influence is the primary factor determining the religious commitment
of youth, even for older teens.
 Support faith formation in the parents of youth. Getting parents involved and serious
about their own faith is the best way to get youth involved and serious.
 Start a study group for parents of teens aimed at helping them understand how to nurture
their teenagers’ spirituality.
 Provide resources for practicing and discussing faith at home — for praying together as a
family, for observing Christian holidays, and conversing about faith issues.
 Consider an intergenerational format for Christian education that has youth and parents
study together.
 Provide support groups and resources on family concerns and child-raising issues.
 Teach parents the importance of just hanging out with their kids.