The book of 2 Timothy self attests to being written by the Apostle Paul at the end of his life to encourage Timothy to continue Gospel ministry in the face of hardship by joining fearlessly in Paul’s suffering (1 Tim 1:1-18). Chapter 2 begins with a series of imperatives to conduct this ministry through the grace of God, and entrusting this ministry to faithful men.

Assuming that this command is normative for pastors today, the question becomes how can pastors fulfill the clear command given to Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:1-2 to “entrust these things to faithful men”?

With these things being identified as the words which Timothy has heard concerning the gospel in Paul’s presence (2:8), the section begins with an imperative to Timothy to be strengthened (present passive imperative), by the grace which is in Christ Jesus. The minister must constantly be strengthened by the grace of Christ. Without the grace of God operating in the minister, he will lack the strength necessary to fulfill all subsequent commands presented in this section.

But how do we entrust these things, the content of the gospel message and direct implications of living consistently with that message, to faithful men?

First Things First

The first thing is to recognize that this is a command to pastors; there was no institutionalized training available for Christian leaders as the apostles busied themselves, preaching daily from house to house and engrossing themselves in ministry. In this context, Christian leaders like Paul and Timothy trained pastors informally during the rigors of ministry, or no one did.

Timothy, as seen in the Pastoral Epistles, was actively engaged in this work of discipleship. This text takes for granted the fact that elders made elders. But how should the pastors go about doing this? Pastoral qualifications are primarily character based, with one gift excepted (that of teaching).

However, many pastors fail to recognize those who fit the description of “faithful men.” William D. Mounce notes in Vol. 46 of the Word Biblical Commentary that “Timothy is not to find people in positions of church authority and hand over the reins of power. He is to find believing men who are of trustworthy character.”

Too often, good and faithful men sit in congregations, with no exhortation or invitation to join in the work. The pastor must take upon himself the God-given responsibility of the apostolic command to intentionally identify those men whose character fits the prescriptions of 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and to equip them through an intentional discipleship relationship. 

Four Ways to Make Pastors

As pastors contemplate their legacy and begin to anticipate retirement they should intentionally begin to prepare the faithful hands of others in which to entrust the work. Paul had this exact same concern as he considered the end of his ministry through impending martyrdom martyrdom (2 Tim 4:6). How can we equip “faithful” men for the pastorate? Here are four ways:

Identify Model Character

The primary qualifications of the pastor are found in 1 Timothy 3, and they are almost entirely concerned with character. The pastor should evaluate the men in his own congregation, in consultation with his own elder board/pastoral team, to identify men whom they believe fit these qualifications.

While some churches may include some informal congregational assessments, others may instead seek the opinions of a few of the most mature among the congregation, or those who know certain candidates best.

In my own church, a revitalization context, we have chosen to refrain from a congregational assessment until further along in the process.and completion of the training does not guarantee installation. 

Test Teaching Ability

The only gift which is required for pastors is the ability to teach. Teaching is a spiritual gift, but it also can be an acquired skill. What cannot be taught is a willingness to teach. If a man is willing to teach, he can be taught a method to teach (methodology). 

Gauge Interest and Offer an Invitation

If a man fits the character prescription and is willing to teach, he should be offered an invitation to a formal discipleship relationship. If the candidate is married, we approach his spouse to see if she is in agreement. Furthermore, we are very candid about the difficulties of ministry upon the family and ask her to consider her own willingness to support her husband in this endeavor. 

Preach and Pray

The Pauline Epistles are clear that the predominant task of the pastor is to preach and teach and devote himself to prayer (Acts 6:4). These tasks should comprise the majority of the candidate’s training. 

A Sample 3-Year Program

In my own church, I instituted a 3-year program modeled around preaching methodology. The yearly goals are based on these three aspects of sermon delivery (yes, the focus is on the man’s ability to preach the Word):

Year 1: Read the Text

The men who are closest to me joke around about multiple things with me, parroting my most repetitive quotes. The first one is, “Start with the text. Read the text.” This year the candidate is expected to read the entire Bible and accountability in this regard is paramount. Furthermore, their sermons, of which they will preach at least two, are to begin with a clear reading of the passage at hand.

William Perkins, in The Art of Prophesying, notes in his summary that “Preaching involves: 1. Reading the text clearly from the canonical Scriptures.” This introduction is non-negotiable. The candidates meet monthly, reading a variety of books including Feed My Sheep. Expository preaching is heavily emphasized, and these men are then given the opportunity to preach at least twice during the year, and to co-lead a weekly small group.

What we experienced was telling. Over the first three months, many of the candidates (five of eight) dropped out for various reasons. Time restraints and family concerns were the main cause. Though some might be discouraged by such a drop out, we took this as God’s sovereign design to enable the quick identification of those who were most ready for the demands of the position.

Two of the three remaining candidates, by God’s grace, had the means to enter seminary and bible college, and we encouraged them along in their journey into further training. The success of these two candidates enabled the subsequent steps below to be accelerated. However, keep in mind that not all future candidates will have the ability to start formal (institutional) training.

For those who will not be able to afford or commit to the demands of institutional training, like our third remaining candidate, this method of training pastors in the context of a local church remains a viable option. 

Year 2: Explain the Text

If a man is going to preach the text, they must not only know what the text says, but how it says it. During the second year of training, our focus turns to hermeneutics. I personally recommend either Fee and Stuart’s, How to Read the Bible for All it is Worth, or Hayes and Duvall’s, Grasping God’s Word.

The candidates are given more opportunities to preach, and we attempt to give each candidate six sermons a year while they continue to lead small groups. The best way to get these candidates the number of repetitions necessary for improvement is to get them out preaching at other venues, typically through pulpit supply. 

Year 3: Apply the Text

The goal of the third year is to transform dry lectures into life-changing preaching. We aim to teach the preachers-in-training how to apply their texts to the congregation. William Perkins again proves timeless in counsel for the preacher: “Application is the skill by which the doctrine which has been properly drawn from Scripture is handled in ways which are appropriate to the circumstances of the place and time and to the people in the congregation.”

Perkins notes in the next chapter that this application should “Enable us to live well in the context of the family, the state and the church. It involves both encouragement and exhortation.”

Since this adjusts focus from exegesis (without abandoning that essential step) and moves on to the task of theology, the men read through Grudem’s Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Bible Doctrine(It should be mentioned that this author does not endorse all aspects of Grudem’s work, particularly continuationism, but this work offers the opportunity to have fruitful discussions on how to evaluate academic and theological works critically.). They also read John Piper’s, The Supremacy of God in Preaching.

The Personal Benefit in Making Pastors

Throughout the process of training men for ministry, I have had the privilege to share my own journey in pastoral ministry. These candidates have spent a great deal of time with me, moving desks into my own office at the church, and my home, and have been a means of grace in my life.

As the pandemic and political upheaval of the past few years has burdened many pastors, these men have encouraged me in times of hardship, weeping as I weep, and rejoicing as I rejoice.

As the normal hardships of ministry ensue, and discouragement grows, they have offered me accountability and a safe place to be authentic.

As someone who holds the theological conviction that God is sovereign over all things, we have some one liners to encourage us in these hard times.

Regarding salvation we often say “I didn’t choose Jesus, Jesus chose me!” During a time of particular hardship, I looked at one of the candidates and asked “Why did I choose to preach?” Without hesitation he responded, “You didn’t choose this life, this life chose you.” That was a message of grace that was sufficient for the hardships of that day.

Pastoral ministry is hard and it was never meant to be done alone. Through inviting men into your life and intentionally discipling them, they will undoubtedly learn from you. However, I can testify that I have learned just as much from them about pastoral ministry, and their friendship and comradery in the fire-fight of ministry has been an invaluable source of encouragement in what can often feel like a very lonely job. 

Summary

I would never claim that we have identified the best or only method for raising up “faithful men” to the pastorate, but I do believe that our approach offers a starting point by which the pastor may enter the task of entrusting these things to faithful men. Each candidate will have varying journeys along this path, but it is my prayer that this will offer a replicable model for others to begin fulfilling their charge to find and equip faithful men.