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| The Priest follows the Son of God, Jesus Christ |
TO WHOM IS THE PRIEST CALLED TO MINISTER? THE CONGREGATION
All the reins of the world
rest within God’s able Hands. It is He Who ordains who the priest is to meet
and to whom the ordinee ministers.
God is sovereignly able to care for those
priests are called to minister to.
Yet our Gracious God chooses to use priests
as shepherds to help Him lead His flock.
That makes the people priests minister to
important in their lives, and worthy of the best service they can give.
CHURCH GOVERNANCE
Every priest will be faced
with the need for some form of church governance.
To priests fall the duties of
preaching, teaching, baptizing, administering the sacraments and celebrating
the Eucharist, visiting church members, evangelization and missionary work.
Some priests ordain others to the Priesthood.
Priests are called on to teach others the principles of Jesus Christ enshrined
within the gospels.
Priests obtain the Word of God in several
ways: in their homes or institutes of care, from their parents or guardians, in
Sunday school and in the priestly seminary.
One of the best ways to learn the Word of God
is through daily personal study of the Scriptures. Priests fulfil their duties
first and foremost by teaching others the gospel of Jesus Christ through godly
example.
The good example of dedicated priests encourages others to live
the gospel.
The priest organizes the sacrament of Baptism
as the sacred ordinance by which people become members of the church, are
healed of original sin and receive forgiveness of personal sins.
The baptized
enter the path to the celestial kingdom by means of the sacrament of Baptism.
Priests have the sacred responsibility of
administering the sacrament of the Eucharist to members of the church.
Priests
should be fully familiar with the sacramental rites and prayers.
They should
dress appropriately and respectfully and wash their hands before performing
this ordinance.
Priests should be worthy to perform the
sacred ordinance as true representatives of the Saviour.
The Lord sent out the disciples with a
commission to ministry[Luke 10:1].
The mandate Jesus
gave to the disciples was clear;
& Pray for priests to
labour in the harvest of the Lord [Luke 10:2]
& Depend on God for
provenance of money and necessities [Luke 10:4]
& Be safety conscious
[Luke 10:5]
& Bless family members
of the household with the blessings of peace [Luke 10:5]
& Deal with rejection
of both the blessing of peace and the gospel message [Luke 10:6]
& Accept assistance
and meals from those to whom they preached the gospel [Luke 10:7]
& Establish a church
base in one home in each area [Luke 10:7]
& Accept whatever
welcome and meals – whether offered by rich or poor – with a spirit of
acceptance and gratitude [Luke 10:8]
& Heal the sick [Luke
10:9]
& Preach the gospel
to the sick. Inform them that the message of the Kingdom of God - as sent to
them by the Son of God, Jesus Christ - has
drawn near to them [Luke 10:9]
& Accept rejection of
the gospel message and move on to evangelize those who prove more receptive. Disciples
are thus not to waste valuable evangelization time on fruitless discussion with
those as yet unreceptive to the gospel. They are to warn of the serious nature
of rejecting the truth about Jesus Christ the Saviour. Thereafter the disciples
are to disengage from their preaching task, and immediately move on with their
task of evangelization to the next town [Luke 10:10-11]
& Disciples are given
the authority of Jesus Christ within their commission [Luke 10:16]
& Disciples are given
the ability of exorcism [Luke 10:17]
The priest requires helpers in the church: there is too much work in
parish and ministry evangelization for one person to carry out alone and
unaided.
Church staff may include church
leaders who can oversee various parish tasks and ministries when duty or
situations require priestly absence.
Leadership training is important within the church in various
ministries:
& Church Board of
management
& Parish councillors/
church elders
& Church facilities
management i.e. administrative positions which oversee the physical church
environment, finances and staff elections. Frequently, these are parishioners
voted into office by the parish and/or Board of church management, and those
voted in serve specific terms
& Church safety
guidelines
& Child safety
guidelines
& Christian education
of children and adults
& Sunday school
programme
& Music ministry
& Choir directors
& Pianists, organists
and church musicians
& Hospice ministry
& Hospital visitation
& Home visitation
& Prison ministry
visitation
& Prayer ministry
& Care of senior
church parishioners
& Food for the poor
& Clothes closets for
those in need
APPOINTMENT
OF CHURCH STAFF
Members of church ministries must be men and women of faith in God.
They
should have a sense of responsibility. Service to God through duties in the
church should be their solemn commitment.
However, the priest should be aware
not to overburden willing church staff with onerous or overly heavy burdens.
The responsible priest takes
care not to place undue pressure on marriages of church staff.
This the priest
does by having due respect for the boundaries between church and family life.
The Parish Board and church
elders carry the following responsibilities;
& The good order of
the congregation:
& Ensurance of the
integrity of Christian instruction and education
& Ensurance of the
integrity of the preaching of the gospel message to parishioners
& Ensurance that the
church remains true to the authentic message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and
does not become a false or profit-based organization
& Support and assistance
of the priest by means of wisdom and good counsel.
Rev Catherine
Disclaimer: this information is not meant to replace your Priest, Theologian, Doctor or Health Professional Care
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