2.4. Pastoral Discipleship
The pastor as an official of the church has a responsibility unlike any member who is associated with the church. The roles and functions covers a wide and diverse area where it is not only confined to the congregation but to individual as well. From a discipleship perspective, the pastor has a major role in discipleship and it is therefore important that the focus of discipleship is kept central through the key functions of the pastor. 2.4.1 Pastor as a Shepherd
The word 'Pastor' is a term that is derived from a Latin word which means shepherd and it is widely used in Old and New Testament metaphorically. Alastair Campbell explains, “in view of its leadership associations it is perhaps not surprising that shepherd or 'pastor' became a term to describe the leader of a congregation” (Campbell 30). The scripture uses the imagery of the shepherd and sheep to stress on the importance of the task of pastoral care. It may be more helpful if we …show more content…
T.K. Koshy Vaidyan in his A Pastoral Theology and Manual elaborate on the “major aspects of the pastoral work as a shepherd” (124), where he dwells on the basic function of a shepherd which will help to understand the role that a shepherd plays and the responsibility that he has towards the sheep. He listed down pastoral responsibilities and functions such as“feeding the sheep, watching the sheep, guarding and protecting the sheep,leading and guiding the sheep, healing the sheep, rescuing the sheep, ruling the sheep and comforting the sheep” (Vaidyan 124–129). These traits of a shepherd are intrinsically link to the role of the pastor, and from these responsibility, it is evidently clear that a pastor's role is an ameliorate
The pastor as an official of the church has a responsibility unlike any member who is associated with the church. The roles and functions covers a wide and diverse area where it is not only confined to the congregation but to individual as well. From a discipleship perspective, the pastor has a major role in discipleship and it is therefore important that the focus of discipleship is kept central through the key functions of the pastor. 2.4.1 Pastor as a Shepherd
The word 'Pastor' is a term that is derived from a Latin word which means shepherd and it is widely used in Old and New Testament metaphorically. Alastair Campbell explains, “in view of its leadership associations it is perhaps not surprising that shepherd or 'pastor' became a term to describe the leader of a congregation” (Campbell 30). The scripture uses the imagery of the shepherd and sheep to stress on the importance of the task of pastoral care. It may be more helpful if we …show more content…
T.K. Koshy Vaidyan in his A Pastoral Theology and Manual elaborate on the “major aspects of the pastoral work as a shepherd” (124), where he dwells on the basic function of a shepherd which will help to understand the role that a shepherd plays and the responsibility that he has towards the sheep. He listed down pastoral responsibilities and functions such as“feeding the sheep, watching the sheep, guarding and protecting the sheep,leading and guiding the sheep, healing the sheep, rescuing the sheep, ruling the sheep and comforting the sheep” (Vaidyan 124–129). These traits of a shepherd are intrinsically link to the role of the pastor, and from these responsibility, it is evidently clear that a pastor's role is an ameliorate