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Who is a New Testament Minister?

- Job Anbalagan

Who is a minister under the New Testament? Jesus said, “whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt.20: 26-28). What is prevalent today in our churches? We find ministers occupying positions of authority and power over the people to whom they are supposed to minister. They expect their congregations to serve them with their tithes. Though the Levitical priesthood was done away with by Christ Jesus, His ministers still perform the Levitical duties, and seek services from their congregations. This trend is also visible in evangelistic circles and conferences of ministers. The evangelists or the ministers who are called to minister covet prominent places on the dais. They love the best places and the best seats (Matt.23: 6). At times, we find a large number of seats placed on the dais just to please them. They do not want to sit in the audience. They want themselves to be introduced to the audience. When the true revival breaks out, we will hardly perceive the line of demarcation between those “on the dais” and those “in the audience”. In this regard, I want to testify to a dear minister of God who is no more today. He was my spiritual leader in the 70s. He is the late Bro.Glady Easwararaj. God used him mightily in our country and in USA. He was a man of simplicity and humility. He used to emphasis on the body ministry, the five-fold ministry etc. Whenever we arranged the evangelistic crusades in the North India, he used to be one amongst us, putting up tents, and arranging chairs, etc. The people in the audience would see him emerge from amongst them when the time for delivering his messages came.

A pastor’s ministry does not end with giving a long sermon on Sundays or taking a long Bible Study on other days. He is a servant to the people of God. He is also their shepherd, representing the great Shepherd. He has to visit their houses, pray for them, counsel them and physically help them in times of need. In case there are some poor saints in the church, he should collect contributions from other members, and minister to them.

In some churches, the designations of the worldly organizations have sneaked into the churches of God. A pastor is designated as Assistant Pastor, Sr. Pastor or Chief Pastor. No minister wants to call himself/herself a servant.

“But who is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matt.23: 11).