In my first pastorate, the empty pastor’s study served as a metaphor for my sparse understanding of pastoral ministry. No letter from the former pastor lay in a drawer to instruct me on the personality of the church. No instruction manual addressing polity issues, doctrinal controversies, church conflicts, or personal growth could be found. I had a little experience and a couple of years of seminary under my belt. And suddenly, I faced shepherding this little flock—alone.
Or so I thought.
Centuries ago, an older man did write a letter to a younger man who faced the challenging task of pastoring the congregation the older man had planted. That letter is called 1 Timothy. While it cannot be called “The Complete Pastor’s Instruction Manual,” it’s the closest thing biblically —along with the other Pastoral Letters—that we have. Paul preferred doing face-to-face instruction for Timothy and the Ephesian church but in case of a delay, he told Timothy, “I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14–15 ESV). With
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