The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
Expositional Leadership: Shepherding God’s People from the Pulpit
Andrew Remington Rillera
Crossway (2024). 148 pp.
Just as the academy seems to get more specialized every year, so too does vocational ministry. Peruse the church job listings online and you will find not only standard positions such as Pastor, Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, and Youth Pastor, but positions such as Pastor of Spiritual Formation, Pastor of Administration, Pastor of Pastoral Care, or Pastor to Middle-School Girls. The larger the church, the seemingly more specific the ministry responsibilities are. Many churches delegate preaching to a particular position (or perhaps a few positions depending on their form of church governance), leadership and administration to another position(s), missions and evangelism to another position, and pastoral care to still yet other positions. This way of operating is defended on pragmatic grounds: emphasizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses, acknowledging the limited bandwidth of individuals, or giving people what they seem to want if they are going to come to your church. In turn, church members begin to assume this is how things should be done—that some are called to pastorally care for them, some are called to preach to them, and some are called to lead them, but no one could or should be expected to do all three.
The Bible presents a very different picture of the pastoral vocation, one in which a pastor is called to shepherd a particular church by preaching, leading, and pastoring (e.g., Acts 20:28; Eph 4:11–16; 1 Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1–4). This does not necessarily mean that churches cannot have specialized positions, especially if they are large, but it does mean the more that leadership, preaching, and pastoral care are separated from another, the farther away the position gets from the biblical calling of pastor. Reintegrating these three areas of ministry into a coherent, workable calling—one that is not only achievable for the pastor but beneficial for the church (as God intended and Scripture describes)—is the goal of Expositional Leadership.
Pace and Shaddix, who both serve as professors teaching preaching and pastoral ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, define expositional leadership as “the pastoral process of shepherding God’s people through the faithful exposition of his word to conform them to the image of the Son by the power of his Spirit” (p. 15). They believe that so much of the trouble in churches today, whether caused by the pastor or the congregation, is due to the unhealthy segregation of leadership, preaching, and pastoral care. Based on their convictions of who God is, what the church is, what the Bible says pastors are, and the centrality of expository preaching in the pastoral task, they believe expositional leadership is what will help pastors faithfully pastor, and therefore help churches to become healthy, gospel-centered, Christ-honoring churches.
The six chapters of the book each focus on one essential aspect of pastoral leadership that can be leveraged through sermon development and delivery. The first chapter is on scriptural leadership and works to establish the inseparable connection between expositional preaching and pastoral leadership and to explain how scriptural leadership must be distinguished from secular leadership in form, function, and focus, particularly in the pulpit. Chapter two explores the nature of spiritual leadership through preaching, focusing on the pastor’s own spiritual growth and maturity before highlighting the centrality of a healthy pulpit ministry for the church’s own spiritual growth and maturity. The third chapter addresses strategic leadership and explains the importance of sermons aimed at particular congregations in particular contexts, bringing the inspired Scripture to bear on casting vision and challenging churches to fulfill certain ministry tasks. In the fourth chapter, Pace and Shaddix consider servant leadership and how the pastor ought not only to serve the church through preaching but also lead the church to serve through preaching. The fifth chapter focuses on situational leadership in preaching, exploring how the pastor can effectively lead through difficult seasons and issues, both in the congregation and the world at large. Chapter six explains sensible leadership, exhorting pastors toward wisdom and humility in their ministries. The book ends with a conclusion that offers several practical ways to assess one’s own ministry and apply the book’s material.
I found this book to be a refreshing, encouraging read. In my experience as a Senior Pastor, especially in the largest church I pastored, I continually fought the expectations of some in the church that I would only focus on one area of ministry while leaving other responsibilities to other staff members. Of course, different people wanted me to focus on different things, whether it was visionary leadership, administration, preaching, or pastoral care. Especially early on in my ministry, I looked to books to help me integrate the different areas of pastoral ministry, as well as to help me teach and model this to my church. However, most books on pastoral ministry focus on only one aspect of ministry, as most authors specialize in one area of ministry. I would have loved to have read this book fifteen years ago! If you are struggling with a similar situation, or if you want to consider a practical way to integrate all the Bible teaches about pastoral ministry, I recommend this book to you.
Gary L. Shultz, Jr. (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of Theology at Baptist University of Florida and Editor of Baptist University Press. He is a member of the St. John Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
