Pastors and the Preeminence of Christ

The other day I posted a list of principles that I believe ought to be foundational for any pastor. Starting today, I’m hoping to elaborate on each point, beginning with “The Preeminence of Christ.”

A pastor’s most significant responsibility is to perceive and proclaim the preeminence of Christ. In all that he does, the pastor is explicitly Christ-centered, to the glory of God the Father.

First, a pastor must himself perceive Christ’s preeminence. By this, I mean that the pastor himself truly grasps, in head and heart, Christ’s supremacy in all things. It is not merely that he speaks of such things to others, or preaches such things from the pulpit, or agrees to such things when asked. Rather, it is that his own heart is gripped mightily by the beauty, sufficiency, and authority of Christ. His Savior is wonderful to him and his Lord authoritative over him before ever he seeks to proclaim such truths to others. His whole ministry, then, becomes the overflow of his own inward life. A dry spring quenches no one’s thirst, and a pastor not deep in his life with Christ is ineffective in his task.

And, indeed, it is his task to proclaim the preeminence of Christ. Whatever else he is, the minister of Christ is a herald and a preacher of Christ, declaring spiritual things with spiritual words. He cares little for the latest trend or most popular novelty, but instead loves the old, old story, having resolved to know and make known nothing but Christ and him crucified. To be sure, the minister doesn’t have his head in the sand when it comes to the wider world- his duty surely involves being informed- but nothing in that whole world will divert him from his overarching mission: to proclaim the excellence of his Lord. And even as he must teach (and indeed he must) on a whole host of themes, never are these taught apart from a sure and vital commitment to connecting all things to the preeminence of Christ, that all men His glory might see.